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The Malone University football team picked up an exciting 42-35 overtime win at home Saturday in its Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) contest against Northern Michigan University.

After falling behind 35-21 with just over six minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, the Pioneers (1-5 overall, 1-5 GLIAC) rallied back to force overtime, scoring on a pair of touchdown throws by quarterback Kaleb Scott.  A four-yard toss to running back Ronnie Beers capped a 75-yard drive and pulled Malone to within 35-28 at the 4:21 mark of the fourth stanza.  Scott then connected with wide receiver Josh McLaughlin on Malone's longest pass play of the season – a 62-yard heave that tied the game up at 35-35 with 2:34 to go.

The Pioneer defense forced a three-and-out on Northern Michigan's (1-5 overall, 0-5 GLIAC) ensuing possession, but kicker Marcus Moeller's 48-yard field goal attempt sailed wide left as the fourth-quarter clock expired, sending the game to overtime.

Malone got the ball first in the extra period and quickly put seven points on the scoreboard as Beers crossed the goal line with his fourth touchdown of the afternoon – this time on a six-yard run to make the score 42-35.

Needing a touchdown to extend the game, the Wildcats took the ball and moved inside the Pioneer 10-yard line on their overtime possession.  However, the Pioneer defense managed to seal the win by forcing their sixth turnover of the afternoon.   On a second down running play, Lucas Haupt charged in from his safety position and jarred the ball loose from the NMU ball carrier.  A frenzied scrum ensued for the loose pigskin before teammate Demarco Donaldson managed to cover up the ball at the one-yard line, cementing the victory and sending the Homecoming crowd of 2200 into a celebratory roar.

In all, the Pioneers picked off two passes and recovered four fumbles during Saturday's contest, marking the most turnovers Malone had forced in a single game since 2011 when the squad also forced six in a 40-34 double overtime win against Tiffin University.  Donaldson had a huge game for the Pioneer defense, racking up two forced fumbles and 15 total tackles while also establishing a new Malone single-game record with three fumble recoveries.  Donaldson now has eight fumble recoveries in his career, one shy of the Pioneer record (Sean James tallied nine fumble recoveries from 1993-96).

Haupt also played a huge role in the win.  In addition to forcing the overtime fumble, he also posted eight tackles, and set up a touchdown in the third quarter by picking off a pass and returning it to the Northern Michigan one-yard line.  Cornerback Daniel Tepe was responsible for the other Pioneer interception, giving the true freshman three picks through his first six collegiate games.

In addition to all the turnovers, the Malone defense allowed the Wildcats to convert on just three of 16 third downs while also stopping three of Northern Michigan's four attempts on fourth down.

The Pioneer offense came up big throughout the afternoon as the unit posted season highs for points, total yards (444), rushing yards (215), and passing yards (229). 

Beers compiled 87 yards and three touchdowns on 17 rushing attempts.  He also caught three passes that netted 40 yards and a score.

After entering the game at quarterback for injured starter Bryan Jones, Scott completed 12 of 25 passes for 196 yards and two touchdowns.  He also recorded 23 rushing yards, including a one-yard rushing TD that knotted the score at 14-14 early in the third quarter.

McLaughlin hauled in four catches for 89 yards, including the game-tying TD grab near the end of the fourth quarter.  Running back Matt Blasiole also made significant contributions with 87 rushing yards on just 11 attempts (7.9 average).

The Pioneers fell behind 7-0 early on but were resilient all afternoon, tying the game at 7-7, 14-14, 21-21 and eventually 35-35 before taking their first lead of the contest with the overtime touchdown.

For Northern Michigan, quarterback Jaranta Lewis completed 14 of 27 passes for 239 yards and a touchdown.  He also picked up  13 yards and two TDs on the ground.  Wide receiver Kelvin Smarwt tallied seven catches for 53 yards while running back Wyatt Jurasin ended the afternoon with 124 rushing yards and a touchdown on 28 carries.

The Pioneers will be back in action at Fawcett Stadium next Saturday as they compete as the "road" team in the annual rivalry match-up against Walsh University.  Kickoff is slated for 6:00 p.m.  Fans can catch all the action live on the Malone Sports Network (radio broadcast on ESPN 990 AM or streaming live at www.espn990.com).
 
 Malone Notes: Beers' four touchdowns on Saturday marked just the ninth time in Malone football history that one player has crossed the goal line four or more times in a single game (the Pioneer single-game record for TDs scored is five, set by Bernard Payton against Walsh in 2007)....Prior to Saturday, Malone had not had an individual player rush for three touchdowns in a single game since 2010...The four fumble recoveries on the Saturday were the most the Pioneers had recorded in a single game since 1998 when the squad registered six fumble recoveries in a 55-30 win against the University of Saint Francis (IN).