College football: Minnesota West wins second straight thriller

THIEF RIVER FALLS - Minnesota West head coach Jeff Linder saw some great things from his team Saturday that can’t be measured on a stat sheet.
“They could have fallen apart at any time with the turnovers and mental mistakes but they stuck together,” Linder said of Saturday’s 21-18 Western Division win at Northland. “That says a lot about the character of this team.”
The Bluejays turned the ball over six times, yet when it came to crunch time it was their defense coming up with the crucial takeaways. West overcame an 18-6 deficit early in the fourth quarter to get the win with all 15 of its points coming off of turnovers.
With 8:40 left to play, Pioneers’ quarterback Chandler Rigdon dropped back to throw a screen pass. Jays’ linebacker Devin Davis read it perfectly. He stepped in front of the receiver, picked it off and ran back 28 yards for the pick-six. Rachel Evans tacked on the extra point to get the visitors back within a score at 18-13.
Northland still had that lead and the ball late in the game as it was trying to run out the clock. Again the West defense forced a huge turnover. This time, Brian Jones Jr. punched the ball free from a Pioneer ballcarrier. Fellow Bluejay Kenny Reid scooped it up at the Northland 26 and returned it to the 7 to give his offense a golden opportunity.
“Our defense was outstanding all day,” said Linder of a unit that allowed only 111 total yards of offense. “We put a lot of pressure on the quarterback when they passed and did a great job against the run. At the end of the day when we all came together, our offense thanked our defense for keeping us in the game. It was a total team effort. When things don’t work out for one side of the ball, the other steps up.”
After struggling to finish drives throughout the contest, West’s offense held its end of the bargain when it mattered most.
Kanye Harris - who started his second game in a row at quarterback in relief of injured starter Edgar Blackbull - took matters into his own hands. The freshman from Detroit plunged into the end zone with only 19 seconds on the clock to give West its first lead of the afternoon. He also ran in the 2-point conversion to put the Bluejays in control, 21-18, with only 19 seconds to go.
“It was exciting,” Linder said. “The whole game we’d been moving the ball, moving the ball but we weren’t scoring. But the guys’ attitudes never went down and they persevered.”
Despite driving deep into the Pioneers’ red zone in the first half, the Bluejays found themselves in a 12-0 hole at halftime. That finally changed late in the third quarter when Harris connected with Vincent Howard on a 46-yard touchdown pass. Jacob Bradford was able to block Evans’ PAT attempt, but West was on the board, down 12-6.
Early in the final frame, Northland used its defense to create some offense. Tafario McKrachon intercepted a pass at his own 13-yard line and brought it all the way back. That set the score at 18-6 in favor of the Pioneers’ with 10:06 to play.
“I think one of the main reasons we didn’t back down mentally was because we knew we were moving the ball,” Linder said. “We had a lot of opportunities, we just couldn’t finish.”
The Bluejays finished the game with 308 total yards of offense to only 111 for the Pioneers. Dathan Dickerson led the rushing attack with 64 yards on 14 carries while Harris ran for 51 yards on 23 totes. He was also 12-of-24 passing for 169 yards. Howard ended the day with four catches for 66 yards with Rashead Yelverton catching two balls for 38 yards.
Davis and Brian Jones, Jr. had an intercept each for the West defense. Reid got in on a team-high 12 stops, four of which were sacks. Jeremiah Bentil also had a hand in four sacks and seven total tackles. Kenneth Butler made eight tackles.
Minnesota West (2-2 overall, 2-0 Western Division) returns home Saturday for a noon kickoff against Dakota College.
West 0 0 6 15 - 21
North 6 6 0 6 - 18