WATERTOWN, Wis. - The Sabercats were defeated in their final contest of the 2016 season, as they fell to the hard-nosed Cougars of the University of Minnesota-Morris. Four seniors were honored at halftime as four-year players, and that class finished out a year which boasted a 3-7 record, which is the best record in five seasons for MBU.

The Basics

• Result: Sabercats 13-38 Cougars
• Venue: Maranath Baptist University
• Attendance: 208
• Sabercats: finish at 3-7, Cougars: finish at 6-4

How it Happened

• 1st Quarter
  • Minnesota-Morris put themselves on the scoreboard early on when they capped off a six-play drive with a rushing touchdown from the quarterback Donnie Mavencamp to put the Cougars up by seven (0-7)
  • Mavencamp would later fumble a ball that was recovered by Jedidiah Marsh, but the Sabercats could not make the most of their preferable field position on their next drive which brought them into the second quarter.
• 2nd Quarter
  • Despite the letdown of not scoring after the fumble, the Sabercats made up for it just two plays later when Jowan Williams forced a fumble in the endzone that was recovered by Clayton Steuerwald. The defensive touchdown was the first time that Steuerwald has scored for the Sabercats (7-7)
  • After the Sabercats suffered a turnover through an interception, the Cougars capitalized on it eight plays later when Mavencamp snuck into the endzone for an 11-yard rush (7-14)
  • After the Sabercats went three-and-out on their next drive, the Cougars quickly exploited both their own running game and a personal foul called on MBU. Mavencamp then connected a 10-yard pass for the first Cougar touchdown through the air (7-21)
  • The Sabercats then had just 93 seconds to try to tie the game going into halftime, and rushed the matter as they conceded another interception which the Cougars turned into three points just a minute later to go into halftime up by 17 points (7-24)
• 3rd Quarter
  • Another turnover proved costly to the Sabercats, as the Cougars broke the third-quarter stalemate by making the most of an interception to score with a five-yard rushing touchdown nine plays after the pick (7-31)
  • To end the third quarter, Mavencamp strung two passes together for 51 total yards to set up a first and goal. A straightforward one-yard rush quickly put the Cougars' score beyond 30 points of the Sabercats', which gave the hosts a mountain to climb (7-38)
• 4th Quarter
  • Bueltel gave the Sabercats something to smile about on the first drive of the fourth quarter, as 68-yard rush from the Floridian quarterback ended with the second touchdown of the day (13-38)
  • While the Sabercat defense stood firm, the offense could not finish their chances to score, and the numbers on the scoreboard froze in the waning minutes of the game

Senior Day

• Jason Hudson, JB Lamgo, Clint Saxon, and Ben Schulz were all honored as four-year lettermen at halftime.
• Saxon finishes his career at MBU with 1029 rushing yards (11th all-time)
• Schulz finishes in the top 10 in school history eight defensive categories, and currently leads the NCAA DIII in forced fumbles per game

For further information on the Sabercats including a post-season wrap-up, awards, and more, visit mbusabercats.com