Oct. 12, 2002

Final Stats

ST. CLOUD, Minn. - The No. 19 ranked University of Northern Colorado football team needed an extra period for the second consecutive week, but the outcome was once again in the Bears favor as redshirt freshman Mike Swim connected on a 35-yard field goal in overtime to send UNC to a 27-24 victory over previously undefeated and ranked No. 25 St. Cloud State team and vault the Bears into first place in the North Central Conference standings.

"That's a mark of a field goal kicker, you have to make them when the pressure is on," Head Coach Kay Dalton said about Swim's field goal. "I'm tickled to death with the win, we knew it would be a hard game. Overall, it was a great team effort. We keep the fans in the stadium, they sure don't go home early."

The win was the sixth in a row for UNC (5-1, 4-0 NCC) over the Huskies (5-1, 3-1). St. Cloud had entered the game ranked number one in the midwest region, while UNC sat in sixth place.

St. Cloud came out of the gate hot, scoring the game's first 10 points in the first quarter. But the Bears were able to hit the scoreboard at the end of the first quarter on a 27-yard field goal by Swim.

UNC tied the game with 2:40 remaining before the half, as senior George Carroll hauled in a 44-yard pass from senior quarterback Mark Passard. But SCSU managed a 41-yard field goal before the first half expired to lead 13-10 at intermission. And field goal right out of halftime pushed that advantage to 16-10 before UNC turned the tide.

The big play of the game was a 91-yard kickoff return by junior wide receiver Brad Pyatt, the transfer from Kentucky, at the 9:40 mark of the third quarter that erased a six-point defecit and put UNC back on top.

Junior running back Adam Matthews then scored from two-yards out with just over five minutes left in the game to extend the Bear advantage to 24-16.

St. Cloud State then drove down the field but was thwarted by a Hassan Rashad interception with just over three minutes to go in the game. UNC was unable to convert a first down and had to punt. SCSU then took the ball down the field and scored on a touchdown pass from Heckendorf to Ben Nelson in the corner of the endzone with only 24 seconds left. The Huskies converted the two-point conversion to tie the contest at 24-24.

The Huskies took possession first in the overtime and drove the ball to the three-yard line before a false start pushed them back to the eight-yard line. Heckendorf's next pass was intercepted in the endzone by Nick Sims to end the scoring threat. UNC was then given its chance with the ball at the 25-yard line and the drive led to Swim's game-winning field goal.

Matthews, who rushed for a career-high 178-yards against Nebraska-Omaha last week, had another tremendous week carrying the ball 29 times for 114 yards and a score.

Passard was 17-30 on the day for 202 yards, a touchdown and no interceptions.

UNC held St. Cloud State to 24 points, the Huskies lowest total of the season. SCSU had been averaging 40.2 points per game in its five prior contests in 2002.

After not playing an overtime game in almost four seasons, the Bears have now played in overtime games in back-to-back weeks.

After an extended road trip, the UNC football team returns home to battle South Dakota next Saturday in the school's annual Homecoming game. Kickoff is set for Noon at Nottingham Field.