2008 Woodie Awards
Dome record not enough for victory
Drew Kochanny
Issue date: 9/13/07 Section: Sports
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The Wildcat football team's attempt to start the season on a positive note was ruined by the Hillsdale Chargers in Saturday's home opener when NMU lost, 42-41. A new style of Wildcat football may have been established, however, as sophomore running back Mark Bossuah rushed for 317 record-breaking yards.
The 'Cats (0-2 overall, 0-2 GLIAC) dropped their second straight game, this time in an offensive shootout that boasted more than 1,100 yards of total offense.
"We're still early in the second year. We're still early in this season," NMU head coach Bernie Anderson said. "We've played two games now down to two-point and one-point losses."
This is Anderson's second year at the helm of the NMU squad and, up until Saturday, the 'Cats had trouble establishing a running attack and averaged a mere 94.8 yards per game in 2006.
On Saturday, Bossuah eclipsed that mark by over 200 yards and broke a 16-year NMU and Superior Dome record for rushing yards. The Dome record was previously held by NMU running back Nelson Edmonds when he rushed for 260 yards in 1991. Edmonds also held the previous Wildcat single game mark of 291 yards in a game.
"The running game was something we really needed to establish tonight and continue to throughout the season for us to become a better team," Bossuah said. "I think we proved what potential we have as an offense today."
Finding the end zone first on Saturday was Hillsdale running back Vinnie Panizzi, who scored with 9:14 left in the first quarter.
Northern wasted no time on their next drive and less than two minutes later Buddy Rivera found sophomore wideout Zach Nichols, who made a diving catch in the end zone. The 42-yard pass tied the game at seven a piece.
The see-saw battle continued throughout the night and Hillsdale (2-0, 2-0) and Northern both scored on their next possessions. Hillsdale took the lead with 4:06 remaining in the first when wide receiver Aaron Waldie caught an 11-yard pass from quarterback Mark Nicolet.
The 'Cats (0-2 overall, 0-2 GLIAC) dropped their second straight game, this time in an offensive shootout that boasted more than 1,100 yards of total offense.
"We're still early in the second year. We're still early in this season," NMU head coach Bernie Anderson said. "We've played two games now down to two-point and one-point losses."
This is Anderson's second year at the helm of the NMU squad and, up until Saturday, the 'Cats had trouble establishing a running attack and averaged a mere 94.8 yards per game in 2006.
On Saturday, Bossuah eclipsed that mark by over 200 yards and broke a 16-year NMU and Superior Dome record for rushing yards. The Dome record was previously held by NMU running back Nelson Edmonds when he rushed for 260 yards in 1991. Edmonds also held the previous Wildcat single game mark of 291 yards in a game.
"The running game was something we really needed to establish tonight and continue to throughout the season for us to become a better team," Bossuah said. "I think we proved what potential we have as an offense today."
Finding the end zone first on Saturday was Hillsdale running back Vinnie Panizzi, who scored with 9:14 left in the first quarter.
Northern wasted no time on their next drive and less than two minutes later Buddy Rivera found sophomore wideout Zach Nichols, who made a diving catch in the end zone. The 42-yard pass tied the game at seven a piece.
The see-saw battle continued throughout the night and Hillsdale (2-0, 2-0) and Northern both scored on their next possessions. Hillsdale took the lead with 4:06 remaining in the first when wide receiver Aaron Waldie caught an 11-yard pass from quarterback Mark Nicolet.
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