Great Lakes Wire

The Northern Michigan Wildcats concluded their 2023 football season with a 44-20 loss to the Northern State Wolves at the Superior Dome. The game saw the Wildcats struggle with turnovers, which included three interceptions and two fumbles, giving the Wolves advantageous field positions.

Quarterback Aidan Hoard led Northern Michigan with 286 passing yards, marking their second-best performance through the air this season. However, these efforts were undermined by errors that facilitated scoring opportunities for Northern State.

Northern State took an early lead in the first quarter with quarterback Jacob Van Landingham delivering two touchdown passes: a 22-yard pass to Dakota Larson and a 47-yard pass to Dewaylon Ingram. This initial lead was extended by a blocked punt that made it 16-0 in favor of NSU early in the second quarter. Another touchdown pass to Ingram further increased their advantage to 23-0.

Mike Karlen put NMU on the scoreboard with a 31-yard field goal before halftime, bringing the score to 23-3. However, Van Landingham's fourth touchdown pass of the half widened NSU's lead further before another field goal from Karlen closed out the half at 30-6.

In the third quarter, NSU's Hank Kraft returned an 88-yard kickoff for a touchdown and followed up with a 49-yard run for another score, pushing their lead to 44-6. NMU responded late in the third with Hoard connecting on a seven-yard touchdown pass to Tyquan Cox, who was returning from injury.

The Wildcats accumulated significant yardage in the final quarter but managed only one more score—a 24-yard pass from Hoard to Sam Peiffer—resulting in a final score of 44-20.

Despite the loss, NMU players had notable performances; Peiffer and Michael Love combined for 180 receiving yards. On defense, Mitch Larkin recorded his first interception of the season among his team-leading twelve tackles, finishing his season with an impressive total of 116 tackles.

Overall, Northern State outgained Northern Michigan by totaling 481 yards compared to NMU’s 323 yards during this concluding match of their season.