The Malone University football team fell on the road to Northern Michigan University on Saturday afternoon by a final score of 41-13.

The Wildcats took advantage of good field position early on, scoring three touchdowns within the first seven minutes of the contest.

After a 52-yard return on the opening kickoff by wide receiver Marcus Tucker, NMU's Terrance Dye raced 43 yards to the end zone on the first play from scrimmage.

A punt and an interception brought the Pioneers' next two drives to an end and NMU capitalized each time as Wildcat quarterback Shaye Brown made the score 21-0 with TD passes of 25 and 12 yards.

Malone kicker Devin Wallace got the Pioneers on the scoreboard midway through the second quarter, capping a 12-play, 64-yard drive with a 32-yard field goal.

The Wildcats' special teams unit came up big once again on the ensuing kickoff as Tucker fielded the ball at his own 15 and raced 58 yards to the Malone 27-yard line.  On the very next play, Brown connected with wide receiver Paris Woods on a 27-yard touchdown pass, swinging the momentum back in the hosts' favor.  NMU would later tack on a 36-yard field goal to take a commanding 31-3 advantage into the locker room at intermission.

The Pioneers opened the third stanza with a 12-play touchdown drive as running back Matt Blasiole cut the deficit to 31-10 after plunging across the goal line on 4th & 1, marking his ninth rushing TD of the season.

Malone's defense would then force a three-and-out to give the ball back to the Pioneer offense.  However, Northern Michigan quickly regained control, intercepting a pass on the first play of Malone's next drive and returning it 25 yards for a touchdown.

The Pioneers would engineer a 14-play, 66-yard drive late in the third quarter, making the score 38-13 on Wallace's second field goal of the afternoon – this time from 29 yards out.

Malone successfully executed an onside kick following the field goal, but was unable to put any more points on the scoreboard the rest of the way.

Malone Individual Highlights
-Blasiole eclipsed 100 rushing yards for the third time this season, finishing the afternoon with 143 yards and a TD on 29 carries
-RB Jonathon Zimmerly picked up 71 yards on just 10 rushing attempts
-QB John Iacucci completed 7 of 21 pass attempts for 29 yards while also gaining 55 rushing yards
-WR Ashton Dulin snagged two catches for 12 yards
-LB Ryan Weber paced the Pioneer defense with nine total tackles, including one tackle for loss
-DB Darien Giles added a career-high seven tackles
 
Northern Michigan Individual Highlights
-Brown completed 15 of 18 passes for 185 yards and three scores
-Dye gained 106 rushing yards on 13 attempts with one TD
-Woods caught four passes for 54 yards and two touchdowns
-Tucker hauled in four grabs for 51 yards and had the two big kickoff returns, totaling 110 yards
-DB Julian Hornback posted 10 tackles and an interception
-DL Dante Holmes added 10 tackles and a pair of forced fumbles
-LB Levi Perry tallied nine stops and ran back the interception for a TD in the third quarter
 
Game Notes
-Malone held a 23-16 advantage in first downs, nearly doubled the Wildcats in time of possession (37:58 to 22:02) and ran 90 offensive plays compared to 42 for NMU
-The Wildcats overcame the offensive disparity by generating several big plays and forcing a total of four turnovers
-The Pioneers converted four of five fourth downs
-Malone's 297 rushing yards marked the highest single-game total for Malone since running for 434 yards in a win at Alderson Broaddus University in November of 2013
-Blasiole is the first Pioneer to rush for nine TDs in a single season since Joseph Peters posted 10 rushing touchdowns in 2009
-Not since 2013 had a Malone player surpassed 100 yards in three different games (Bryce Pratt and Justin Davis both had three separate 100-yard performances in 2013).
 
Up Next: Malone hosts rival Walsh University at 6:00 p.m. next Saturday in the 21st annual battle for the John Bankert-Dick Gallagher Memorial Trophy.  Watch the game live at http://livestream.com/maloneuniversity