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St. Bonifaicus, Minn. – The Crown College football team earned its first win of the season in dramatic fashion Saturday night, using a fourth-quarter touchdown and a stingy defensive effort to claim a 13-9 Homecoming victory over Martin Luther College at Old National Bank Stadium.
The Polars improved to 1-2 overall with the win, while the Knights fell to 0-3.
After trailing 9-7 entering the fourth quarter, Crown put together its most important drive of the night. Starting at its own 20-yard line with 9:59 remaining, the Polars marched 80 yards on 10 plays and consumed 6:51 off the clock. Quarterback Zach Brown capped the drive with a 2-yard touchdown run with 3:08 left to give Crown a 13-9 advantage.
The Crown defense took over from there.
Martin Luther's final possession reached the Crown 37-yard line, but the Polars came up with another stop on downs with 1:24 remaining before running out the clock to secure the Homecoming victory.
Crown struck first midway through the opening quarter with the game's biggest play. Facing its own 11-yard line, Brown connected with Jakhari Jones for an 87-yard touchdown pass at the 7:02 mark, giving the Polars a 7-0 lead.
The Knights answered just before halftime when Brady Turriff found Trenton Heyn for a 1-yard touchdown pass with seven seconds remaining in the second quarter. The extra point was unsuccessful, allowing Crown to take a 7-6 lead into the locker room.
Martin Luther took its first lead of the game in the third quarter. A 13-play, 75-yard drive ended with Gabriel Nottling's 22-yard field goal, putting the Knights in front 9-7 with 7:18 left in the period.
The Polars responded in the fourth quarter with the game-winning drive and leaned on a defense that made plays throughout the evening. Crown forced four failed fourth-down conversion attempts, collected two sacks, and recorded the game's only takeaway.
Nathan Tomlinson led the defense with a game-high 16 tackles, while Nolan Merth added 10 stops. Keivon Davis recorded seven tackles and a sack, David Hernandez added six tackles and a sack, and Brian Amune Jr. came away with an interception in the second quarter.
Brown accounted for both Crown touchdowns, finishing 6-of-16 through the air for 150 yards and one touchdown while adding the game-winning rushing score.
Jones hauled in three receptions for 96 yards and a touchdown, including the 87-yard scoring play. Teegan Bartok added three catches for 54 yards.
On the ground, Juymill Lewis paced the Polars with 43 rushing yards on 14 carries.
Crown will have a bye next weekend before opening Upper Midwest Athletic Conference play on Saturday, Oct. 3, when the Polars travel to the University of Minnesota Morris. Saturday's Homecoming contest against Martin Luther did not count in the UMAC standings despite featuring a conference opponent.
