MORRIS, Minn. --- Crown College's football team played in an intense UMAC matchup with the UM-Morris Cougars on Saturday afternoon but unfortunately fell 33-37 as a late Cougar touchdown put Morris ahead with 27 seconds left. 

After both teams traded punts on the first four drives of the game, Morris took an early lead scoring a touchdown on a short field. Crown then drove to the Cougar 11-yard line but turned the ball over on downs. However, the defense didn't allow a single yard and Crown received the ball back in favorable position. This led to sophomore running back Derek Chilcoate finding the end zone on a two-yard run to cap a 15-yard scoring drive early in the second quarter, putting Crown down by only a point after Corey Huard's point after was blocked. 

Later in the second quarter, Crown put together a great drive for six plays and 62 yards to find the end zone to take a lead, capped by a touchdown pass from first-year quarterback Devin Westbrook to first-year receiver Domonquie Guy. Huard made the extra point to put the Storm up six. However, a fumble deep in Crown territory allowed the Cougars to score on a single play for the last score of the second quarter, giving Morris a 14-13 lead at the break. 

Crown once again took the lead back from Morris out of halftime on the opening drive, as first-year quarterback Jared Gilmore found senior receiver Anthony Laureno for a 69-yard score on the second play of the possession; Crown then lead 19-14. Morris matched Crown's touchdown with a score of their own, as a Crown fumble ended up in the end zone, giving the Cougars a 21-19 lead. Morris tacked on a field goal a few drives later to lead 24-19 at the end of the third quarter.

In the fourth quarter, Morris took advantage of an interception to score another touchdown on a short field, giving them a 31-19 lead. Crown didn't lose hope though, with a one play drive on an 80-yard completion from Westbrook to Guy to put Crown within range to take the lead again. On the opening play of the ensuing Morris drive, Crown junior Sebastian Alvarado picked off a pass at the fifty-yard line and returned it back into Cougar territory. Westbrook led the team down the field once again and found Guy in the end zone for the third touchdown connection between the two first-years, this time from 19 yards out. Crown scored the extra point on a fumble after a blocked extra point attempt to go ahead 33-31 with only 4:20 remaining. 

The Cougars then drove down the field and used up almost the rest of regulation, scoring a touchdown with 0:27 left on the clock to steal a victory late, 37-33.

Westbrook and Guy led te Crown offense, with Westbrook passing for 269 yards and throwing three touchdowns and Guy catching 12 passes for 176 yards and three TD receptions. Guy was a single reception away from breaking the Crown record for most catches in a game, which is 13 held by Drew Milner, who caught 13 passes in a single game twice in his career. 

Gilmore also had 100 yards and a touchdown through the air. Leading the rushing attack was Chilcoate once again, who had 33 yards and a touchdown in the contest. Crown had four receivers over the 50-yard mark: junior George Green, junior David McIntosh, Laureno, and the aforementioned Guy. 

Leading the defense was junior defensive lineman Joe Duffy who had two sacks and six solo tackles. Sophomore linebacker Jeremiah Jones had 12 total tackles in the game, along with one pass break up. Senior backer Alex Banks had eight tackles in the game, along with a tackle for a loss and a fumble forced. Along with the interception by Alvarado, junior defensive back Hunter Orozco also had an interception in the game, along with eight tackles. 

Crown returns to KleinBank Stadium next Saturday with the 3-1 MacMurray Highlanders coming to St. Bonifacius from Illinois with a noon start time.