NDSCS vs DuPage, National Championship Rematch
The Wildcats hosted College of DuPage Saturday September 16th in a rematch of last years NJCAA Division III Championship Game, where the Wildcats lost to DuPage 14-12. Heading into the game DuPage was the #1 ranked team in the country and the Wildcats were ranked #2, both teams were undefeated on the season heading into this matchup.
The game started with DuPage marching down the field and scoring on a 3 yard run to take the lead 7-0 at the start of the first, but the Wildcats answered right back with an equally impressive drive marching right back down the field and scoring on a 1 yard TD run from Roosevelt Cage. That would be the end of the action in the first quarter, leading into an action packed second quarter where the two teams combined for 34 points scored in the second! The Wildcats pounced first in the second quarter scoring on a Roosevelt Cage 20 yard TD run allowing the cats to take the lead 14-7. DuPage answered right back scoring a passing touchdown on their next drive, but a missed PAT allowed the Wildcats to keep the lead at 14-13. Shortly after, Drew Boxwell connected with Trevion Carothers for a 77 yard TD pass extending the Wildcats lead to 21-13. DuPage answered back yet again in the second to make the score 21-20. On the final possession of the second quarter the Wildcats were able to score on a 1 yard TD run from Cage with 31 seconds left in the half, the Cats would head into halftime with a 28-20 lead. As things cooled off in the second half the game would go right down to the wire. The two teams continued to battle back and forth with the score tied at 31-31 with 4:33 left in the game. DuPage was able to score a TD with 6 seconds left on the clock to take the lead and beat the Wildcats with a final score of 38-31. NDSCS's Alexander Henry finished the game a perfect 4/4 on extra points and was 1/1 on field goal attempts during the game winning him the honor of NJCAA DIII Special Teams Player of the Week.
