UND NOTEBOOK: Sioux are picking up steam

ST. CLOUD, Minn. - UND's ground game is picking up steam. And it couldn't come at a better time.

The Sioux again were effective on the ground Saturday, rushing for 209 yards against St. Cloud State in UND's 34-27 overtime football win.

Ryan Chappell's 150 yards led the way against a St. Cloud defense that was ranked No. 1 in North Central Conference total defense. The Huskies were allowing 108.5 rushing yards per game in NCC play and 291.8 yards overall.

"Give credit to the offensive line," Chappell said. "Always give credit to the line. The holes were there last week. They were there this week."

The Sioux rushed for a season-high 240 yards last week against Minnesota Duluth.

UND's two biggest running plays against St. Cloud came from Chappell in overtime.

The Sioux had the first possession of overtime. Chappell gained 11 yards on UND's first play, then scored from 14 on the next.

"The first (11-yard) run was our basic counter," Chappell said. "The second was a trap play. They had been working well the whole game. We spread those plays out."

Chappell has rushed for 782 yards this season. He needs 140 more yards to break Phillip Moore's freshman school rushing record of 921 yards. Both Chappell and Moore are Grand Forks Central High School graduates.

Similar spot

UND has faced a handful of goal-line situations this season. More times than not, the Sioux have succeeded in holding teams off the scoreboard or giving up a field goal.

UND's latest stand came against St. Cloud, which had a first-and-goal at the Sioux 4 in overtime and trailed 34-27.

On first down, St. Cloud running back Kenneth Patrick was stopped for no gain by Sioux linebacker Steve Brennan. St. Cloud quarterback Jon Quesnel threw incomplete passes on the Huskies' next three plays. Brennan was credited with a quarterback hurry on third down.

"We've had quite a few goal-line stands," UND coach Dale Lennon said. "The benefit we have from those is that we don't panic. If you don't panic in those situations, you have a chance."

Brennan didn't panic.

However, he was hoping against one thing. "I was just hoping they wouldn't get a first-and-goal at the 1," Brennan said.

Augustana had a first-and-goal from the Sioux 1 in overtime in late September, but UND hung on for a 24-21 win.

Go for two?

If St. Cloud scored from the Sioux 4 in overtime, the Huskies would have faced the decision of kicking for the extra point to tie and force a second overtime or going for a two-point conversion and the win.

With only three wins this season, St. Cloud didn't have anything on the line.

Had St. Cloud scored, would the Huskies have gone for two and the win?

"We probably would have kicked the extra point and play the second overtime," St. Cloud coach Randy Hedberg said.

Big Sioux block

St. Cloud's Philip Hedlof blocked a Brandon Hellevang field-goal attempt and returned the ball 59 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter, which put the Huskies ahead 20-14.

UND also blocked a field-goal attempt, which came in the fourth quarter.

Adam Wolff blocked Jon Gutierrez' 35-yard field-goal attempt with 9:18 to play.

That turned out to be a big play for the Sioux, who trailed 27-24 at the time.

UND took over at its 20 and drove 66 yards in 7½ minutes for a game-tying 31-yard field goal by Hellevang.

"All we had to do is kick that field goal in the fourth quarter," St. Cloud coach Randy Hedberg said.

Clock management

UND nearly won the game in regulation. But Brandon Hellevang's 48-yard field-goal attempt into the wind with three-tenths of a second remaining was short and wide right.

UND took over with 1:02 to play in regulation at its 31. Reed Manke's short passing game took the Sioux to the St. Cloud State 38 with 3.8 seconds to go.

Instead of a Hail Mary pass into the end zone, Manke threw a quick strike to Martin Tatom, who ran out of bounds after a 7-yard gain. There were three-tenths of a second on the clock after Tatom's catch.

Notes and quotes

-- Sioux freshman receiver Brady Trenbeath had a big day, catching 10 passes for 92 yards. Trenbeath is known for his strong perimeter blocking.

-- "Give credit to our offense for answering their scores," UND coach Dale Lennon of the Sioux offense that scored second-quarter touchdowns on back-to-back possessions after St. Cloud scores.

-- UND played two quarterbacks. Chris Belmore, who started four games this season as Reed Manke has battled a shoulder injury, played one series in the third quarter. Belmore completed a pass for 11 yards.

-- Three UND running backs carried the ball against St. Cloud. In 30 carries, only one attempt resulted in negative yardage. That was only a two-yard setback, as the Sioux averaged 5 yards per rush.

-- "St. Cloud is a very good football team. They've been a hard-luck story this season." UND coach Dale Lennon on St. Cloud's 3-7 record, which includes six losses by 10 or fewer points.