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ST. PAUL — Minnesota Duluth quarterback Kyle Walljasper was handed a white envelope Saturday shortly after the Bulldogs’ 53-7 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference victory over Concordia-St. Paul.
It contained a medical bill for a hamstring injury Walljasper suffered earlier in the season.
Congratulations on the win, Mr. Walljasper, now pay up.
“That’s about it,” Walljasper said, laughing.
Walljasper deserves a little slack after the freshman turned in another stellar performance in leading UMD to its second straight NSIC rout before 2,446 at Sea Foam Stadium.
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Walljasper finished 11-for-16 passing for 132 yards and two touchdowns, the first passing touchdowns of his career, while adding 12 carries for 67 yards and another score as the Bulldogs (5-2) won their third straight.
Walljasper had previously been used as a run-first quarterback this season but that changed Saturday when starter Garrett Olson injured his throwing hand early in the second quarter. Olson, who could be seen throwing a football on the sideline after the injury, didn’t return, in a move that was considered largely precautionary.
“No. 12 (Walljasper) does a good job, and we couldn’t stop the run, so the quarterback wasn’t really needed,” Golden Bears coach Shannon Currier said. “They’ve been playing what, three or four quarterbacks all year, so I’m not sure we even look at that guy (Olson) being the starter. Each brings a different dimension to the game. They interchange them without missing a beat.”
Walljasper was asked what UMD coach Curt Wiese said to him after Olson went out.
“Nothing,” Walljasper said. “He knows that I’m ready. Whatever they want me to do, I’ll do it, even throw the ball a little bit.”
Indeed, Walljasper showed he isn’t one-dimensional even if his career passing numbers coming in were only 1-of-6 for 29 yards, with that one completion coming in last week’s 49-14 NSIC home victory over Mary.
“Kyle played really well today,” Wiese said. “He’s had the ability to throw all along and today we had the opportunity to take some of the running plays off his plate and confidently open up the playbook with him. His demeanor as a quarterback is a real attribute. He’s super calm, very intelligent and moves well in the pocket, and today, he was able to put the ball on target to his receivers.”
Concordia (0-7), which came in with the fifth-toughest strength of schedule in NCAA Division II football, had played teams tough but was clearly no match in this one.
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UMD led 19-0 at halftime after amassing 339 yards to only 21 for the Golden Bears (0-7), who had no passing yards in the first half on six attempts.
“It was very tough,” Currier said. “We just got dominated on the line of scrimmage on both sides of the football. We didn’t play our best football. They capitalized on our inability to move the football on offense and we couldn’t slow them down on defense, so all around, it was disappointing.”
Senior running back Wade Sullivan, who had a game-high 100 rushing yards on just seven carries, opened the scoring in the second half with a 56-yard touchdown run. The Bulldogs then put the game away with 20 points in the third quarter as Walljasper added a 19-yard TD toss to Zach Ojile and Levon Bellemy scampered in from two yards out.
Concordia backup quarterback Bryce Sievers connected on a 42-yard touchdown pass late in the third quarter to Texas native Dion Green for his first collegiate touchdown. That snapped the Golden Bears’ streak of six straight scoreless quarters going back to last week’s 44-0 loss at Bemidji State.
Saturday’s performance should certainly help quiet any doubters as Walljasper said he heard plenty of chirping from the Concordia sideline.
“They kept saying Q-run (for quarterback run) every time I was in there,” Walljasper said. “It didn’t bother me. Winning does the talking.”
Pokornowski fills in at placekicker
While UMD didn’t need a punter — the Bulldogs never punted Saturday — they did need a kicker.
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In addition to Olson, UMD lost kicker Curt Cox in the first half to what Wiese called an “upper-body injury.” Later, in the third quarter, junior linebacker Drew Hennessey, who leads the Bulldogs with six quarterback sacks, was helped off the field by a pair of teammates, using his right leg gingerly.
“Both those guys are getting evaluated tomorrow, so we’ll take it day by day,” Wiese said.
With Cox out, UMD went for two points after touchdowns and then had inside linebacker Brad Dati do squib kickoffs.
But then Wiese asked his team who could kick, and starting safety Tim Pokornowski raised his hand. The Bulldogs sent Pokornowski out early at halftime to work on kicks, and the Cloquet product responded by going 4-for-4 on extra-point kicks in the second half.
Pokornowski, a high school quarterback who also plays baseball for the Bulldogs, also handled kickoffs and played as a punt return man at the end, to give other guys a rest, showing even more of his versatility.
“Wow,” Wiese said. “Maybe special teams player of the week for Tim Pokornowski. Tim is an all-around athlete, as we know. He had never kicked before (in college).”
UMD backup kicker Jared Van Watermuelen, a freshman, didn’t make the bus trip to St. Paul.
“We’re limited on the road on who we can bring, so we only brought one kicker, and generally a kicker is a guy who is going to stay healthy,” Wiese said. “We didn’t have a backup plan.”
Wiese smiled and then said, “Now we do.”
