Victory At Last !

[MeanGreen61]

Victory at Last

NT 31 - Monroe 21

Richard White

Issue date: 10/16/07 Section: NEWS

On Saturday night an emerald beacon shined brightly from the clock tower, representing the football team's first victory of the season. NT (1-5, 1-2) defeated the University of Louisiana at Monroe (1-5, 1-2) 31-21 at Fouts Field.

A school record 99-yard touchdown pass and two NT defensive touchdowns off interceptions highlighted head coach Todd Dodge's first career college victory.

"The look on those players' faces when we got into the locker room, that's what I'll remember most," Dodge said. "Going into this game, I didn't have one feeling at all through the first five weeks that the wheels were coming off in any way, or that attitudes were heading south."

The NT offense didn't score until halfway through the second quarter. Freshman quarterback Giovanni Vizza (16-of-30 for 202 passing yards, one touchdown and one interception) praised the NT defense for picking up the slack and containing the Warhawks offense while the NT offense battled through its initial troubles.

"We weren't clicking at times and the defense came out and definitely helped us out tremendously," Vizza said. "They took the pressure off of us a lot of times. It was a great relief to know they had my back tonight."

Early in the second quarter, senior defensive end Montey Stevenson intercepted a tipped pass from ULM quarterback Kinsmon Lancaster and returned it 20 yards for a touchdown, putting NT up 7-0. For the first time all season, the NT defense recorded a scoreless first half as the Mean Green led 21-0 going into the third quarter.

"I wanted to win for this man so bad," Stevenson said of Dodge. "He's done so much for this university and this team. He's so passionate about his job and we see it every day in practice."

Dodge deferred all credit for the victory to the much-improved defense, which had given up no fewer than 30 points in every game heading into Saturday's conference matchup.

"They proved to themselves tonight who they really are," Dodge said.

After ULM punted the ball out of bounds at the 1-yard line, NT made college football history on the first play of its offensive series. Vizza connected with junior wide receiver Casey Fitzgerald for a 99-yard touchdown pass, the longest in school history and only the 16th time such a feat has occurred in NCAA history. He also led the team with 118 receiving yards, followed by junior wide receiver Brock Stickler with 68 yards.

"It was amazing," Fitzgerald said. "I knew he [the nearest defender] was going to break on it hard, so I was just trying to make him miss and I knew I had open field after that."

NT intercepted ULM again late in the second quarter. Junior defensive back Dominique Green intercepted a tipped pass for a 75-yard touchdown. NT's offense helped pile on the points as freshman running back Micah Mosley's one-yard touchdown run with 3:35 remaining in the game put NT up 31-7. Mosley led the team in rushing with 73 yards, followed by Vizza who had 66 yards.

The Warhawks made matters difficult for the Mean Green as they scored 14 points in 49 seconds, cutting into NT's lead, 31-21 with 34 seconds left to play. A failed ULM two-point conversion followed by a botched onside kick ended the Warhawks late rally. Watching NT's lead decrease substantially in the final two minutes proved nerve-wracking for Dodge.

"I can't lie. When you struggle and need a win and as a team you probably deserve a win, you're old heart starts thumping a little bit when that happens," Dodge said.

NT's major defensive victory was stopping Sun Belt Conference leading rusher Calvin Dawson, who entered Saturday averaging 134 rushing yards per game. NT held him to 65 rushing yards

[gksmith]

There's a hole in the dike! Let the walls crumble and the flood of victories begin!!