BIG RAPIDS, Mich. – Wildcat senior Christian Jessie returned the opening kick-off 100 yards to put the Northern Michigan University Wildcats up 7-0 at Top Taggart Field, but Jason Vander Laan and the Ferris State Bulldogs proved to be too much for the Wildcats to handle.  The Bulldogs used 536 yards of total offense to defeat the Wildcats, 35-22, in the final game of the 2013 Northern Michigan University Football season.  The Wildcats finished the season 3-7 overall and in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference while Ferris State finished the regular season at 8-3 overall, 8-2 in GLIAC play. 

After Jessie's return for the touchdown, Ferris State responded with 12 plays to go 89 yards for a touchdown of their own.  The Wildcats took to the air on their next drive as freshman quarterback Shaye Brown connected with junior Kelvin Smarwt for a 31-yard reception putting the Wildcats in Ferris State territory.  On the ensuing play sophomore sophomore Wyatt Jurasin went 27 yards on a first down carry to give the Wildcats a first down on the Ferris State 12-yard line. The Bulldog defense came up with three stops to force the Wildcats to go for the field goal.  Freshman kicker John Oberheide kicked the ball straight through the uprights to put the 'Cats in the lead 10-7. 

The Bulldogs and Wildcats each took their turns offensively, both giving the ball back on downs, respectively. On the Bulldog drive Wildcat sophomore Thomas McNamara stepped up on fourth down to wrap-up Bulldog running back Antonio Agurs for a two-yard loss.  On the Wildcat drive the Bulldog defense was too much for Wildcat quarterback Brown to handle as he threw incomplete to sophomore Austin Young twice and was forced to throw the ball away on another down.

On the next Bulldog possession Jason Vand Laan and the Bulldogs appeared to be going for it on fourth and nine from the Northern Michigan 44-yard line but Jason Vander Laan pulled a punt out of his bag of tricks. The Bulldogs downed the ball at the Northern Michigan five-yard line.  The Wildcats then possessed the ball to end the first quarter and to start the second quarter running six plays to go just 24 yards in 1:54, concluding in a 42-yard punt by freshman Robert Salani.

Ferris State went on to score 21 unanswered points in the second quarter to finish the half with a 38-10 lead.   

The second half started with a Ferris State touchdown as the Bulldogs used 9 plays to go 75 yards in 4:07.  The Wildcat used a 12-yard return by Christian Jessie and marched down the field using just five plays to situate themselves with a first and goal from the Ferris State six-yard line.  The Bulldogs came up with a fourth-down stand and took over on downs.

Key tackles by Wildcat junior Nick Krause and sophomores Thomas McNamara and Aamad Bush then led to the Bulldogs having to punt the subsequent possession back to the Wildcats. 

Northern Michigan started their next drive at the Ferris State 49-yard line with 4:36 to play in the third quarter.  A pass from Brown to sophomore wide received Marcus Tucker brought the ball out to the Ferris State 41-yard line.  A Jurasin carry then gave the Wildcats a first down at the Ferris State 32-yard line.  Christian Jessie then caught a nine-yard pass and was brought down by his facemask which gave the Wildcats a first down on the Ferris State 13-yard line.  Redshirt freshman Keon Collier and Jurasin each took a turn running it up the middle for the 'Cats before Collier found a gap to go seven-yards for a touchdown at 1:40 of the third quarter.  The score cut the Bulldog lead to 35-16. 

On the following Bulldog possession Wildcat Nick Krause recovered a Bulldog fumble to give the Wildcats the ball on the Ferris State 49-yard line at 14:25 of the fourth quarter.  The Wildcats weren't able to convert and gave the ball back to the Bulldogs on downs just four plays, 1:27 later. The Bulldogs gave the ball back on downs 7 plays later using only 2:12 of the clock.  The Wildcats used nine plays to get to the Ferris State 23-yard line but again gave the ball back to the Bulldogs on downs at 8:37 of the fourth quarter.

The Bulldogs strung together 8 plays to move the ball from their 10-yard line to the Northern Michigan 31 yard line.  On a fourth down with six-yards to go Bulldog quarterback Vander Laan was sacked for a 12 yard loss by Junior Trever Kruzel who forced Vander Laan to fumble the ball.  Redshirt freshman Adam Nichols recovered the fumble and returned it 48 yards for a Wildcat touchdown.  The Wildcats went for two points and were not successful leaving the score at 35-22 which went on to be final.

The Wildcats were led offensively in the game by Shaye Brown who had 274 yards and two interceptions on 47 throws with 17 completions.  Christian Jessie led the Wildcat receivers with 104 yards on 5 receptions.  Nick Krause led the Wildcats defensively with 15 tackles and 1 fumble recovery.  McNamara had 13 tackles including 2 tackles for losses and 1 forced fumble. Vander Laan carried the ball 39 times for the Bulldogs, picking up 211 yards.  He added 152 yards on 14 of 25 in the air.  The Bulldogs finished the day with 384 yards rushing and 152 yards passing.

NOTES:

*This marked the final game for the Wildcat seniors: Chad Anderson, Armoni Broussard, Casey Cotta, Patrick Fehlberg, Christian Jessie, Rodney Lamar, Brandon Parson, Brock Reynolds, Cody Scepaniak, Morgan Stenz, and Anthony Vella .

*Christian Jessie played in 40 games as a Wildcat and finished his career with 1871 yards on 138 receptions and 14 touchdowns; 85 kick returns for 2240 yards and 3 touchdowns including his longest return (100 yards) against Ferris State on November 16.  Jessie holds the NMU record for career kick return yards (2240), career kick returns (85),  season kick return yards (1059 in 2012), season kick returns (37 in 2012), longest kick return (100 yards on November 16, 2013), most kick returns in a game (7 on 9/28/2013), most kick return yards in a game (179 on 9/28/2013).