MORRIS, Minn. — In a contest that came down to the final snap, the Crown College football team held on for a gritty 24-23 Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) victory over the University of Minnesota Morris on Saturday evening at Big Cat Stadium.
The Polars struck first late in the opening quarter when Zach Roe capped a nine-play, 51-yard drive with a 40-yard field goal. Early in the second quarter, Maguire Keller intercepted a pass and returned it eight yards to set Crown up with prime field position. Two plays later, Judah Davis took a handoff 28 yards to the house to extend the lead to 10-0. Minnesota Morris answered with a 31-yard touchdown pass, but the Polars responded immediately as Davis broke loose for a 42-yard touchdown run, sending Crown into halftime ahead 17-7.
Minnesota Morris opened the second-half scoring with a 39-yard field goal in the third quarter to pull within one possession. Crown answered on the first snap of the fourth quarter, with Davis scoring his third touchdown of the evening on a 12-yard run to push the advantage to 24-10. The Cougars rallied late, connecting on two fourth-quarter touchdown passes, including a 45-yard score on fourth-and-25 with 35 seconds remaining. On the ensuing point-after attempt, Juan Jones broke through to block the kick, preserving Crown's 24-23 lead. After Minnesota Morris recovered an onside kick and drove into Crown territory, a 44-yard Cougar field goal attempt missed wide as time expired, sealing the victory for the Polars.
Judah Davis powered Crown's offense with a career day on the ground, carrying the ball 22 times for 170 rushing yards and three touchdowns, averaging 7.7 yards per attempt. Quarterback Zach Brown orchestrated the attack, rushing 15 times for 96 yards—highlighted by a 58-yard dash—while completing five passes for 49 yards. Teegan Bartok led the receiving corps with a 26-yard catch, while Michael Sarych hauled in two receptions for 19 yards and Jakhari Jones added two catches.
The Polars' defense set the tone at the line of scrimmage, producing 6.0 sacks for 49 yards in losses and forcing two turnovers on the evening. Kyjuan Simmons anchored the defense with a team-high 11 tackles, 1.5 sacks, and a forced fumble. Jakayln Roy wreaked havoc in the backfield with eight tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, and 1.5 sacks, while Eddie Hallowanger tallied seven tackles and two pass breakups. Maguire Keller contributed four tackles, an interception, a fumble recovery, and a pass breakup, while Braylon Eidsvoog added five tackles and 1.5 sacks. On special teams, AJ Shaffer averaged 18.3 yards across four kickoff returns with a long of 31 yards, and Reichen Hoekstra pinned three punts inside the 20-yard line.
As a team, Crown established control through the run game, piling up 266 rushing yards on 37 attempts (7.2 yards per carry) and totaling 315 yards of offense while controlling the clock for over 30 minutes.
Crown returns home to Old National Bank Stadium on Saturday, October 10, when they host Westminster College (MO) in UMAC play, with kickoff scheduled for 12:00 p.m.
