Dobert gains 243 yards, scores four touchdowns
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The first game for the Northern Michigan football team under interim head coach Billy Lindquist was one for the ages, as the Wildcats outlasted Davenport in a four-overtime classic, 47-45.
The marathon affair tied the longest game in program history, matching a 34-28 four-overtime defeat against Tiffin in 2008.
Redshirt freshman Noah Dobert once again stole the show. For the second time this season, he rushed for a remarkable 243 yards, finding the end zone four times, and delivering the walk-off two-point conversion in the fourth overtime to seal the win.
The GLIAC’s leading rusher is now making national waves. Dobert ranks among the nation’s top five in total rushing yards (1,250) and rushing yards per game (125.0). His two 243-yard outings both sit inside the NCAA’s top 15 this year. With 11 touchdowns, he’s also found the endzone on the ground the most times in the program since Jake Mayon’s 14 in 2018.
As a team, NMU’s ground game was again relentless, piling up 344 rushing yards to Davenport’s 161. The Panthers edged Northern through the air (185 to 32), but the Wildcats attempted only five passes all day. Trevor Theuerkauf and Noah Hofmann each added rushing scores alongside Dobert’s four.
Northern led 21-14 at halftime and pushed ahead 28-14 in the third quarter, but Davenport stormed back with 14 unanswered points in the fourth to tie it 28-28. The teams traded blows through the first three overtime periods, matching touchdowns and two-point conversions each time, before the Wildcats finally broke through.
The Panthers fumbled into the end zone to start the fourth OT, setting the stage for Dobert’s game-clinching plunge, a poetic finish to a game that will be remembered for years in Marquette.
“I am really proud of the team,” Lindquist said after the game. “Everyone played their roles and we stayed together. I couldn’t be more proud of their resiliency. It was a great team win!”
Lindquist was promptly greeted with a Gatorade bath as his Wildcats snapped a six-game skid against Davenport. The win marked NMU’s first over the Panthers since 2021, improving the Wildcats to 2-8 overall and 2-5 in GLIAC play while dropping DU to 5-4 (4-3).
How It Happened
After each team went three-and-out to open the day, the offenses traded haymakers with five straight touchdown drives. The scoring started when Dobert burst down the left sideline untouched for a 53-yard score midway through the first quarter to make it 7-0.
Davenport answered quickly on a 70-yard drive capped by a 7-yard TD run from Cephus Harris to tie it 7-7, and that score held through the end of the quarter.
Early in the second, NMU pieced together a patient 13-play, 77-yard march, chewing up more than six minutes, with Dobert finishing the drive on a 20-yard dash up the middle. The Wildcats led 14-7.
The Panthers responded again behind Clint Walker’s 27-yard run, but Northern’s offense went back to work. A methodical 16-play, 72-yard drive that consumed more than nine minutes ended with Theuerkauf’s 1-yard keeper, giving NMU a 21-14 halftime lead.
Dobert dominated the first half, racking up 173 yards and two scores on 16 carries (10.8 per carry). NMU outgained DU 209-83 on the ground through two quarters.
Momentum swung Northern’s way early in the third when Murphy Monreal made a highlight interception in the end zone, his second of the year, to halt a promising Panther drive. NMU capitalized with an 80-yard, 17-play drive that took up nearly 10 minutes and ended with Hofmann’s 1-yard score to make it 28-14 late in the third.
But Davenport wasn’t done. A Wildcat turnover deep in their own territory led to a 16-yard TD run from Kayden Collins, cutting the lead to 28-21. The Panthers then forced another turnover and tied it 28-28 with just over a minute left to send the game into overtime.
From there, the chaos was only beginning.
In the first overtime, Dobert powered in from six yards out to give NMU the lead, but Davenport answered by converting two fourth downs. In the second extra session, DU struck first and converted a two-pointer to go up 43-35. Needing a miracle, Dobert provided one, fumbling, recovering, and scoring on the same play before Theuerkauf’s two-point run tied it again, 43-43.
Both sides converted in the third overtime, a one-play attempt from the three, forcing a fourth frame. Davenport fumbled into the end zone on its attempt, opening up the window for NMU.
And then, fittingly, the ball found Dobert one last time. A handoff and a surge into the endzone finished the game with a monumental Wildcat win.
Up Next
The Wildcats close out the season at home on Saturday, Nov. 15, hosting Wayne State at 1 p.m. in the Superior Dome.
