******* ******* *******

In a game with 90 points and nearly 1,200 yards of offense, it was the Jimmie defense that rose to the occasion late.

Up eight deep into the fourth quarter, the Jimmies forced a fumble on Presentation College's second-to-last possession and then ended it by forcing four straight incompletions to finish off an entertaining and season-ending 49-41 win Saturday at Rollie Greeno Field.

"It was a lot like our season, kind of up and down at times, but we're definitely happy with the way it ended," said senior defensive back Nick Klawon, who had an interception earlier in the game. "There was a lot of adversity. They're very good on offense, thankfully we were able to make enough plays late to get it done."

The game resembled a track meet, especially early, and the perfect weather conditions helped. Eight of the first nine possessions of the game ended in touchdowns.

"They have players in key positions that give you fits," Jimmie head coach Shawn Frank said of the Saints (0-4, 4-4). "What I was proud of was, yeah, we had a tough day defensively, but at the end there we were able to make a few key plays. Our young men stuck with it, like they have all year."

The win gave the Jimmies (3-1, 3-7) at least a share of the North Star Athletic Association championship. They also finished the season on a two-game winning streak. The winner of next week's Mayville State-Valley State game will finish with a piece of the title, although the Jimmies beat both in conference play earlier.

"This is the way we wanted to finish it. We wanted to go out on a high note feeling like we accomplished something," said Klawon, who had knee surgery earlier in the season, but battled back onto the field. "We can feel good about the way we finished the season."

It was a tough go early for both defenses

The two offenses combined for six first-quarter touchdowns with the Jimmies in front 28-14 after 15 minutes.

Beau Eriksson had touchdowns to Michael Sena and Chris Johnson in the early barrage. D'Marco Smith scored on his only carry of the game for the opening TD and Johnson had a 7-yarder late in the period. Smith left with a foot injury and didn't return.

That left more carries for Johnson, who piled up a career-best 128 yards rushing on 18 carries.

Eriksson accounted for nearly 400 yards, throwing for 327 and running for another 42. Eight of his 24 completions went to senior wide receiver Jacob Erbes, who capped his strong season with 124 yards and a third-quarter touchdown grab.

"We knew we'd be able to attack," Erbes said. "We needed to be aggressive and keep putting points on the board because their offense is pretty tough."

Presentation College, in just its third season of having a football team, and first in the NAIA, rolled up 618 yards of offense. Running back Devin Mohn (187 rushing, 58 receiving) and wide receiver Matthew James (178) are as good as any tandem in the country.

After Presentation made it 49-41 on Stephen Braswell's touchdown toss to Jerred Tarrell, the Saints recovered an onside kick and looked in great shape with nearly 3 minutes left. But the Jimmies got a strip sack of Braswell with Anthony Buzzell pouncing on the loose ball.

The Jimmies went 3-and-out, and the Saints drove to midfield, but the defense stiffened and forced four straight incompletions to end the three-hour plus affair.

"We don't take any solace in losing. We don't like this taste in our mouth," said Presentation coach Andy Carr. "We do feel good about the fact that we're playing down for down with storied programs like Jamestown. That tells us we're doing things right and that we're close."

Even with all the offense, both teams had a handful of highlight reel defensive plays. Senior linebacker Chris Sharp made a stellar interception in the fourth quarter for the Jimmies. Jarelle Miller was all over the field again with a team-leading 12 tackles.

But the offense carried the load, surging to 547 yards.

"It's a great way to end the season," Erbes said. "We wanted to finish the season the right way and to win here and home, so we can definitely feel good about that."

Courtesy of Jamestown Sun Sports Editor, Dave Selvig, 11/4/13

******* ******* *******

******* ******* *******

You certainly can't call the Jimmie football team a bunch of quitters.

Struggling at 1-7, the University of Jamestown put together four solid quarters against its chief rival last Saturday in a 16-13 win over Valley City State.

Now with just one game left, the Jimmies can finish with a winning streak, albeit it a modest one.

Still without a home win, the Jimmies host Presentation College at 1 p.m. today in what will be the final game for 18 seniors, 13 of whom are starters.

"It's certainly a day as coaches we don't look forward to," said an emotional Jimmie head coach Shawn Frank. "It's a great group of young men that has really stuck with us through some tough times, and it's a group of young men that is working toward their degrees and that's the most important step in this whole process."

Both sides of the ball will be hit hard by graduation losses.

On defense, linebackers Chris Sharp, Dillon Kelly and Jeremy Cole will play their final games. Leading tackler J.T. Petsch will suit for the final time as will fellow safety Nick Klawon. Petsch has led the Jimmies in tackles two straight seasons.

Up front Bradley Brooks and Chris Engelstad will leave big shoes to fill. Brooks (64) is second on the team in tackles. Engelstad has 4.5 tackles-for-loss and 3.5 sacks.

Offensively, all-conference linemen Mike Findlay and Jacob Strass will roam the trenches one last time. Wide receiver Jacob Erbes leads the team in catches and yards, while tight end Derrick Dohmann has had a solid season.

Running back Steven Nelms overcame a major knee injury early in his career, but persevered to the end, while fullback Dan Snider has been a sturdy lead blocker.

Casey Glenn is part of the team's deep receiving corps and dresses one more time. Kicker Ryan Benke, a former Blue Jay, tees it up one more Saturday.

Brady Yrjo has backed up quarterback Beau Eriksson all season. Jared Williamson was a quarterback prior to moving to tight end for his final campaign. Williamson caught a TD pass early in the season. Antonio Martina hasn't seen a lot of time, but played a key role on special teams.

"With these kids, their parents raised good people and it's our job as coaches to continue that when they allow them to come to us," Frank said. "These young men have meant a lot to our football program and we're going to miss them."

Building it up

Presentation College's football team isn't even three years old, but coach Andy Carr clearly has the Saints (4-3) going in the right direction.

An upset of the Jimmies today would ensure a winning season, their first in the NAIA. They spent the first two seasons as an NCAA Division III program, meaning this is the first year they could offer scholarships.

"We feel like the move (to the NAIA) has been a really positive one for us," Carr said. "Obviously, there's been an increase in the level of competition, but we've made some strides to where we want to be and where we need to be."

Carr said the school is committed to building a credible program.

"When we started we were the only Division III team in the Dakotas. Now being in the NAIA, everybody is familiar with the DAC and even with Northern State's history in the NAIA, it's made a big difference," Carr said. "Obviously it's process of building up our program, our facilities and our college in general, but we definitely feel like we have things going in the right direction."

X's and O's

The Saints rely on junior running back Devin Mohn, who has the Jimmies' full attention. Frank also singled out wide receiver Matthew James.

Defensively, the Saints will take some chances at the line of scrimmage with blitzes and different looks.

"You can see they have a lot of talented players," Frank said. "They've really accounted well for themselves this season and I expect it to be a very good football game."

Carr made it clear to his charges to ignore the Jimmies' record.

"We've told our team that their record is meaningless. They're a good football team and a strong program in general" Carr said. "They play really hard. They have good players all over the field and they're well-coached. This is going to be another great test for us."

Courtesy of Jamestown Sun sports editor Dave Selvig, 11/2/13

******* ******* *******