ARKADELPHIA - Neither time, nor the ball, stayed on Henderson State’s side Saturday.
St. Cloud (Minn.) State turned multiple turnovers into points and outlasted the Reddies 40-35 in the first round of the NCAA Division II playoffs in front of 3,233 at Carpenter-Haygood Stadium. Henderson State outscored the Huskies 21-13 in the second half but couldn’t bridge the gap after the Huskies built a 27-14 lead going into halftime.
“I’m proud of the way my team performed there at the end,” Henderson State Coach Scott Maxfield said. “It’s a disappointing loss any time you get knocked out of the playoffs, especially at home.”
It was the Reddies’ second consecutive home playoff defeat and their first loss of the year. It came in a game where they lost the ball four times to the Huskies, who entered with a plus-19 turnover ratio. St. Cloud State also held the ball 34:15 to 25:45 for Henderson State.
The points off turnovers and other mistakes allowed St. Cloud State (11-1) to build the edge that helped it hang on at the end.
“We knew those big corn-fed boys up North were going to come down here and bring it,” said Henderson State junior quarterback Kevin Rodgers, who passed for 567 yards and raised his career total to 10,076.
The Reddies closed the halftime deficit to 27-21 on Rodgers’ 7-yard pass to Darius Davis with 12:43 left in the third quarter. St. Cloud State responded with a 74-yard scoring drive that ended when quarterback Phillip Klaphake kept on an 8-yard touchdown run to give the Huskies a 34-21 lead with 9:18 left in the quarter.
The Reddies (11-1) grabbed momentum when Zack Richardson blocked Eric Mielke’s 31-yard field-goal attempt, but they lost it immediately when Marvin Matthews leaped to intercept Rodgers’ pass to Corey Chappell with 14:07 left in the game. It was the Reddies’ fourth turnover.
Henderson State, with its hurry-up offense, still had time. The Reddies covered 61 yards in two plays as Davis took a short pass by Rodgers and threaded his way through tacklers on the left sideline to clear the pylon and cut it to 34-28 with 7:33 left in the game.
After Chad Peterson returned the kickoff to the Reddies 47, halfback Michael Walker found a wide-open Dan Brown behind the Henderson State secondary for an easy touchdown and a 40-28 lead with 7:16 left.
Henderson State cut it to 40-35 with Rodgers’ 5-yard touchdown pass to Kevin Nichols with 3:59 to go, but after forcing a punt, time ran out on the Reddies as Rodgers’ final pass was incomplete.
“What a great football game and obviously a first class organization,” St. Cloud State Coach Scott Underwood said. “We’re just happy and thrilled with the victory.”
Henderson State fumbled three times in the first half, losing two, threw an interception, missed a short field goal and had its punter dropped for a loss as St. Cloud State built its 13-point halftime advantage.
Three of the Reddies’ miscues led to points.
The Huskies’ first touchdown came on a 10-yard runby Ledell White after Eric Poggenburg intercepted Rodgers.
Walker then scored on a 1-yard run, making it 13-7 with 14:09 left in the half, after Al Lasker fumbled a punt that Joe Mooney recovered for St. Cloud State.
Christian Latoof couldn’t get off a a punt after a low snap and St. Cloud State dropped him at the Henderson State 36, leading to Klaphake’s 14-yard scoring pass to Grant Thayer that made it 27-14 with 6:45 remaining in the second quarter.
Henderson State’s Charles Gonsalves banged a 20-yard field goal attempt off the right upright with 4:18 left,and his 53-yard attempt in the closing seconds was short.
Davis, the Reddies’ leading receiver, fumbled after taking a pass to the Huskies 8 on the opening drive, although St. Cloud State didn’t capitalize on that turnover.
The Huskies’ other score came on Walker’s 40-yard run that made it 21-14. Henderson State scored on a 7-yard pass from Rodgers to Joseph Snapp and on a 2-yard run by Keaton Stigger.
“We threw for plenty of yards, and we moved the ball up and down the field,” Maxfield said. “It just goes back to our execution in the red zone.”
Division II results
FIRST ROUND St. Cloud State 40, Henderson State 35 Winston-Salem 27, Slippery Rock 20 W. Chester 38, American International 7 Carson-Newman 37, Newberry 27 Grand Valley St. 40, Saginaw Valley St. 7 West Texas A&M 27, Indianapolis 14 North Alabama 30, Tuskegee 27 Minnesota-Duluth 55, Emporia State 13
Sports, Pages 23 on 11/24/2013