Box Score
Box score

MARQUETTE, Mich.-  In a final score right out of the MLB playoffs, the UIndy football team earned a hard-fought 6-5 win at Northern Michigan Saturday afternoon.  The victory was the first-ever for the Greyhounds at the Superior Dome, evening their record to 4-4 overall and 3-4 in GLIAC play.

Midway through the fourth quarter, the game's lone touchdown came on a 12-yard pass from Chris Mills to Tyran Fakes.  Down 3-0, Mills led the Greyhounds 77 yards in just 2:12 against the league's top defense and the nation's third-ranked pass defense.  A 42-yard pass play to Ryan Forney set up the score, as Mills was 4-for-4 for 74 yards on the game-winning drive.

After a scoreless first half, the UIndy defense generated turnovers on each of the first three NMU possessions of the second half.  Though they didn't lead directly to any points, the two interceptions and fumble recovery delayed any Northern Michigan scoring until early the final period.

Senior defensive backs Alex Byrnes and Craig Ray accounted for the picks.  Three plays into the second half, Byrnes earned his team-high fourth interception of the year on a long pass from NMU quarterback Jacob Hicks.

The next time the home team got the ball, Ray came up big, stopping the Wildcat drive with an interception in the Greyhound end zone.  The UIndy defense now has 11 total picks on the year, good for third in the GLIAC.

Three plays into the fourth, NMU (4-4, 4-3) finally broke through, capping a 53-yard drive with a 38-yard field goal from Rockne Belmonte to make it 3-0.

Belmonte, the reigning GLIAC Special Teams Player of the Week, also had a first-half miss from 42 yards as well as a wide left from 40 yards out with 8:29 left in the game.

With the score 6-3 and 6:17 showing on the clock, a missed extra point kept the 'Cats within a field goal.  However, the Greyhound defense allowed zero first downs and just seven total yards the rest of the way.

The Hounds forced a turnover on downs to get the ball back with the scoreboard showing 1:45 left and just one NMU remaining timeout.  Three running plays followed, making it 4th and 8 with mere seconds to go.  The Hounds lined up in punt formation and after the snap, opted to have Fakes run off the remaining six seconds, a play the culminated in Fakes running into his own end zone.  The play conceded the safety but successfully ran out the clock to secure the one-point win.

Neither team reached 200 yards of total offense on the day, with UIndy holding the Wildcats to just 38 yards through the air.  Ray had a game-high 13 tackles, while Jovone Jordan and Justin Robinson each had a sack.

UIndy returns home to Key Stadium Saturday, Oct. 30, to host Ferris State.  Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m.


Notes:  The loss was NMU's first at home this season…The game was scoreless for the first 45:52 of play…Byrnes' pick was UIndy's first takeaway in seven quarters of play…Indianapolis has allowed 10 points or less in three of its five road games this season…The Hounds' pass defense has given up 79 yards or less in four consecutive games.