St. Bonifacius, Minn. - Courtney and the defense dominated again as Crown beat the Knights from Martin Luther by a score of 34-21. Courtney broke his own single game rushing yards record, and tied the single game rushing touchdowns record as the defense combined for ten tackles for loss and two turnovers including a pick-6. This win also clinches a share of the UMAC Championship, with a chance to win the conference outright next weekend.
The game got off to a slow start scoring wise, but the Polars were able to find the end zone on their third possession of the game.
Jamarrius Courtney broke off a 71-yard touchdown run with 1:16 left to go in the first quarter to give the Polars a 7-0 lead. The Knights responded a few drives later to even the score at 7 with 13 minutes left in the half. With under a minute left in the quarter the Knights lined up for a field goal to take the lead into the half, but Eddie Hollowanger blocked the attempt to keep the score even. It took the Polars one play in the second half to score as Courtney broke off another long run of 66-yards to give the Polars a 14-7 lead. The Knights responded right back with a touchdown drive of their own to bring the score back to even at 14. Crown would punt on their next possession, but
Nathan Tomlinson jumped a pass near midfield and returned it for a touchdown to retake the lead 21-14. The next time the Polars got the ball they scored again on a 45-yard
Jamarrius Courtney touchdown run.
Nathan Tomlinson made another huge play to break up a pass on fourth down to give the Polars the ball back deep in Knight territory. Courtney capatilized, scoring his fourth rushing touchdown of the game, this time from the 7-yard line. This gave the Polars a 34-14 lead at the end of the third quarter. The Knights did score once late in the fourth quarter, but the Polars had already sealed the victory 34-14.
The Polars had a big day statistically from numerous Polars. Courtney broke the single game rushing yards record, and tied the rushing touchdown record. Courtney is also closing in on the UMAC single season rushing record, and should break it early in next Saturday's game against Greenville.
Nathan Tomlinson is just the 7th Polar to return an interception for a touchdown.
Jakalyn Roy was also dominant with 3 tackles for loss and 10 total tackles, which leads the team. Roy's 3 tackles for loss break Crown's single season record.
Keivon Davis had 2.5 tackles for loss and 8 total tackles.
Eddie Hallowanger added 7 tackles, while
Jaylen Gray and
Luke Johnson both had 6 tackles with one for loss. Hallowanger also forced a fumble, and Tomlinson had an interception with two pass breakups.
The Polars travel to Greenville next Saturday, November 15 to play a 12:00pm game with a chance to win the UMAC outright.
