Forest Clements saw the Hail Mary pass float into the hands of Bemidji State receiver Jody Henningson, but unfortunately for the Minnesota Duluth defensive back, he couldn't do anything about it when the teams met last fall in Bemidji.
Clements was on the other side of the field, defending a Bemidji receiver who was nothing more than a decoy. Henningson caught the 32-yard touchdown pass as time expired, and then something even more improbable happened.
The Beavers kicker missed the extra point that would have forced overtime, and UMD escaped with a 35-34 win.
The same teams meet again at 6:05 p.m. Saturday at Malosky Stadium, and it's anybody's guess how this one is going to turn out between the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference rivals.
"Everybody's got to have a game like that once in their life. It makes you appreciate football," Clements said. "But hopefully, it doesn't have to come down to something like that again."
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What a game it was.
UMD led 28-14 late in the fourth quarter before Bemidji fought back with a 10-yard touchdown strike with 3:14 remaining. The Beavers quickly got the ball back and tied the game when quarterback Derek Edholm found Dustin Kroeplin out of the backfield for a 56-yard touchdown reception, sending the crowd of 1,435 at Chet Anderson Stadium into a frenzy.
Bulldogs return man D.J. Winfield took all that momentum back when he returned the ensuing kickoff 84 yards for a touchdown as UMD regained a 35-28 lead with 1:29 remaining.
Edholm then marched the Beavers the other way, capped by his touchdown heave to Henningson. In all, the teams combined on three touchdowns in the final 100 seconds and four in the final 200.
"It was a tremendously exciting finish," said UMD coach Bob Nielson. "It was a wild game, and I'm sure for them, one that was really tough to lose."
Bemidji coach Jeff Tesch said his team didn't dwell on the loss and hasn't talked about it much in practice this week.
"That was then, this is now," Tesch said.
The loss possibly kept the Beavers out of last year's playoffs, but it wouldn't have mattered as the NCAA later ruled Bemidji couldn't compete in the 2009 postseason for using an ineligible player, something Tesch disputes.
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UMD went on to win its second straight NSIC title and has now won a school-record 22 straight conference games. All those wins were decided by at least seven points -- with the exception of last year's Bemidji game.
"I think UMD looks as good as they did in their championship year in 2008," Tesch said. "The defense is the thing that sticks out. They're not only creating interceptions and fumbles and sacks, they're running them back for touchdowns, and Winfield is going crazy on special teams. Offensively, their quarterback shows he's a year older, making them so much more diversified than last year. They've got one of the better looking teams I've seen in awhile."
Clements, a senior from Bloomer, Wis., has one of the four defensive touchdowns for UMD this season, and the Bulldogs (3-0) nearly had another one last week. Most teams would be happy with four in a season.
Bemidji (2-1), meanwhile, returned its entire offense from 2009 but is still struggling to get in sync. Augustana shut out the Beavers for the first time in 13 years two weeks ago, but Clements expects Edholm and Co. to challenge UMD after the quarterback threw for nearly 400 yards against the Bulldogs last year.
"They've got everybody back, so we're going to see the same things we saw last year. They're going to come right at us," Clements said. "We know every week is going to be a battle, but that's the way we want it.
"The expectations since I've been here have been raised to the roof. It's just amazing how it's changed. We expect to be great all the time, and we're pushed to be great all the time. Anything less isn't good enough."
