In the opening game of the Graphic Edge Bowl, Ellsworth (IA) Community College defeated No. 20 Northland Community & Technical College, 55-14 to kick off the first leg of the day at the UNI Dome in Cedar Falls, Iowa.
According to NJCAA records, the bowl win is the 24th in the history of the Panthers, the most of any NJCAA program. The loss dropped Northland to 9-3 in 2017; the Pioneers finished the regular season at 3-2 in the MCAC Western Division and 9-2 in MCAC play. The Pioneers played their way to the Region XIII / MCAC State Championship game, where they defeated Mesabi Range College, 68-35 at St. Cloud State University on November 12.
In the Graphic Edge Bowl, both Northland and Ellsworth featured prolific passing attacks, with each team throwing for more than 300 yards on the day. NCTC signal caller Shannon Patrick racked up 382 passing yards while his Ellsworth counterparts Jake Schuman and Paris Chambers accumulated 301 and no interceptions. However, the balanced Panther offense outgained the Pioneers in the rushing category; 222 yards to only 13 total yards on the ground for NCTC. Additionally, the Ellsworth defense combined to forced six turnovers (five interceptions, one fumble) while sacking NCTC's quarterback, Shannon Patrick 7.5 times. The Pioneers conceded a total of 11.5 total tackles for a loss behind the line of scrimmage.
Patrick concluded his stellar season for Northland with 382 yards and accounted for both NCTC touchdowns in the air, with both tosses to Malik Williams in the first half.
At the half, Ellsworth led by only one score (21-14) but broke away for 27 unanswered points in the third quarter to put the game out of reach. With the victory, Ellsworth improves to 4-8 overall while the Northland Pioneers fall to 9-3 overall, 9-2 in MCAC action.
Click this link for the complete NCTC vs. Ellsworth CC box score.
The final NJCAA Top 20 Football poll will be released Monday, December 4th.
For full MCAC football statistics, please visit: http://www.mcacsports.org/sports/fball/2017-18/leaders
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The Minnesota College Athletic Conference is the organizational body for NJCAA-affiliated two-year technical and community college athletic programs in the Minnesota State system. The mission of the Minnesota College Athletic Conference is to advance intercollegiate athletics by providing an engaging and supportive environment for success of our student athletes and competition among member institutions. The MCAC is committed to the guiding principles of encouraging the development and success of student athletes, promoting the integrity, honesty and loyalty to member schools as well as upholding the sustainability of conference athletic programs.