CALEDONIA, Mich. — Davenport football (5-4) narrowly fell to Northern Michigan University in a dramatic contest, with a final score of 47-45 at the Farmers Insurance Athletic Complex on Saturday. This game marked the longest in program history, stretching to an astonishing four overtimes and was the first overtime home game for DU since Nov. 10, 2018, against SVSU. Despite scoring on all five red-zone attempts, the Panthers were unable to overcome the Wildcats' strong ground attack which finished with 344 yards.
The game opened with the teams trading punts and then the Wildcats got on the board. Noah Dobert went off left tackle untouched for 53 yards on 3rd-and-6 for a 7-0 lead with 9:02 left in the quarter. The Panthers responded with a methodical drive, highlighted by
D'Wan Mathis's 35-yard pass to
Keonta Nixon.
Cephus Harris capped the drive with a 7-yard rushing touchdown at the 4:45 mark for his 17th rushing score of the season.
Ian Jenkins added the extra point to tie the game at 7–7. The first quarter concluded with the Wildcats advancing into Panther territory, setting up a competitive second quarter.
The Wildcats extended their lead early in the second quarter with a 20-yard touchdown run by Dobert, making the score 14–7 at the 13:15 mark. The theme for most of the game was the ball control offense by NMU and their second touchdown drive lasted 6:25 and covered 77 yards in 11 plays. The Panthers responded again as
Clint Walker broke free for a 27-yard touchdown run around left end, leveling the score at 14–14 with 10:08 remaining. It was the first rushing TD of the season for the tight end. However, the Wildcats regained control with a late drive, culminating in a 1-yard touchdown rush by quarterback Trevor Theuerkauf, bringing the score to 21–14 with just 37 seconds left. Despite a quick advance by the Panthers, the clock ran out with Northern Michigan maintaining their lead. The Panthers handed the ball off to Harris to try and set up a potential field goal, but he didn't get down in time to leave any time on the clock.
In the third quarter, the Wildcats stopped DU's first drive of the second half as Mathis was intercepted at the goal line by Murphy Monreal. Northern Michigan capitalized on the turnover, orchestrating a lengthy 17-play, 80-yard drive lasting 9:55 and culminating in a 1-yard touchdown run by Noah Hofmann with 35 seconds remaining in the quarter. Michael Karlen added the extra point, bringing the score to 28–14 in favor of the Wildcats.
In the fourth quarter, the Panthers surged back to tie the game against the Wildcats, and capitalized on NMU turnovers.
Reed Snitker forced a fumble that was recovered by
D'Angelo Bellamy at the NMU 16-yard line after a video review, setting up a touchdown by
Kayden Collins on the very next play at 9:25 to play making it 28-21.
Xavier Marquez intercepted a pass at the NMU 20 after tipping it to himself on an edge blitz with 4:01 remaining in regulation. It led to a 5-yard rushing touchdown by Harris with 1:18 left on the clock, and tied him for the career rushing TD mark at Davenport with 18. The game moved to overtime as the Wildcats ran a couple of running plays and elected to take their chances in overtime.
In overtime, Northern Michigan took the lead with a 1-yard touchdown run by Dobert, followed by a successful extra point by Karlen, making it 35-28. The Panthers responded as Mathis connected with
Keonta Nixon for a 4-yard touchdown on fourth down, and Jenkins's extra point tied the game at 35. Davenport got the ball first in the second overtime and used six plays before Mathis called his own number from six yards. Harris then rushed for two points and a 43-35 lead. Dobert fumbled on the first play for the Wildcats, but the ball bounced back up to him and he continued into the end zone. Dobert then also scored the two-point conversion to keep the game going at 43-43. The third overtime features alternating two-point plays and both teams scored as Theuerkauf ran one and then
George Sims for DU caught one to make it 45-45. Mathis however fumbled into the end zone in the fourth overtime. NMU won the game as Dobert crashed through the left side of the offensive line for the 47-45 final.
Mathis completed 19-of-29 passes for 185 yards and one touchdown and added another score on the ground with 45 rushing yards on 11 attempts. Harris tallied two touchdowns while rushing for 43 yards on 15 carries, and also contributed with four receptions for 28 yards.
George Sims recorded five catches for 53 yards. On defense,
Jamar Mills led the team with a career-high 18 tackles, while
Kennedy Nelson and
Carlo Aybar both achieved career-highs of 10 tackles each. Marquez added an interception and five tackles.
Looking ahead, the Panthers will face off against Ferris State on Saturday, Nov. 15 at noon in the Calder City Classic and Senior Day.
