After a hard-fought win against UW-Oshkosh, the Wildcats football team traveled to Grand Rapids to face off against Davenport University.

After an early first quarter touchdown pass from NMU quarterback Drake Davis to wide receiver Wyatt Davis for the 35-yard connection, the Wildcats couldn’t seem to get it going. Davenport answered with three quick touchdowns to make it 21-7.

“I think the guys came together really well in the second half and competed,” offensive coordinator Dylan Chmura, said. “I thought the guys rallied well, like I said in the second half and then competed, that was a breakpoint coming out of that game.”

With 23 seconds left on the clock just before half-time, NMU running back Brock Franklin ran for a two-yard touchdown to make it 21-14 just before the half. Davenport outlasted the Wildcats to win the game 31-21.

NMU will have another chance to face off against Davenport this season at the Superior Dome in Marquette, MI on Oct. 8, as they begin conference play soon.

“It comes down to just trusting the rules, playing hard, great technique … the guys kind of got back to the mentality of ‘we need to go out there and do our jobs to the highest possible level,’” Chmura said.

The Wildcats will be working extra hard this week in practice, in order to bounce back against a relatively new Division II football program, Post University, this Saturday Sept. 24 in the Superior Dome for the homecoming football game.

“I mean they compete hard on tape, and they know what they’re doing. So, it’s going to be a good challenge for us, a good battle for us to come back home for homecoming and compete,” Chmura said.

This will be a good test as the Wildcats come off a loss, they look to create some momentum in order to really show how well the team can compete. They have played well during stretches of games and flash the potential to win games.

“It’s a great opportunity to do that with practice today and build off of the things that maybe you didn’t do well in the game or need to improve on,” Chmura said. “I know the guys are ready to do that. You know, they’re set in their improvement-driven mentality right now, and we’re going to continue to put one foot in front of the other.”

Last year, the team had a hard time building on the momentum they would have after a win, so the team will be placing extra emphasis on the small wins in order to try turning the tough start to the season around.

“Build off of successes that you have and just continue to be really on the attack of every single rep,” Chmura said. “Starting in practice, whether it’s weights, whether it’s meetings, and build on it. Just stay in that mindset of  ‘Okay … we had some successes.’ Just go do it again and do it with high effort and intensity.”