MARQUETTE – A week ago, the Northern Michigan University football team was plagued by turnovers and missed opportunities on the road.

Saturday’s home opener against Quincy University was a much different story as the Wildcats took advantage of the chances they had, notching their first win of the season, 31-14.

NMU quarterback Shaye Brown completed 23 of 26 passes – an 88.5 percent completion rate – for 353 yards and three touchdowns, each score to wide receiver Marcus Tucker. Tucker had 10 receptions total for 205 yards.

“It’s nice to get a win,” NMU head coach Chris Ostrowsky said. “Marcus is a special player, no doubt about it and Shaye did a great job today. Between the two of them, they have a special connection for sure.”

The Wildcats got on the board first when Brown found Tucker over the middle for a 31-yard TD. When Quincy punted on its next possession, Austin Young of Escanaba returned the kick down the right sideline deep into Hawks territory, hurdling a Quincy defender for extra yards. But the Hawks defense stiffened and NMU had to settle for a 35-yard field goal by Ryan LaBerge of L’Anse.

On NMU’s next possession, the Wildcats got their running game going as Wyatt Jurasin of Ishpeming turned into two long runs for first downs. Later in the series, Tucker turned a minimal gain into a first down by breaking two tackles, which led to Tucker’s second TD 59 seconds into the second quarter on a 15-yarder over the middle from Brown to put NMU up 17-0.

“It’s nice throwing to ‘Tuck,'” Brown said. “He’s one of the league’s best. We try to get him the ball as much as we can and he did a great job making plays. He’s a leader.”

NMU’s defense took over the limelight for the rest of the first half. After getting burned for a 68-yard pass play, the Wildcats stiffened, stopping Quincy on fourth down. Even after the Hawks blocked an NMU punt, the Wildcats “D” stepped up again with another fourth-down stop.

“For a defense, when a team wants to go for it on fourth down, it’s disrespectful for us,” Northern linebacker Levi Perry said. “So it was time for us to get to it and we did.”

NMU was dealt a blow late in the first half when Jurasin was carted off the field with a leg injury. The extent of Jurasin’s injury was unknown.

“It’s heartbreaking for Wyatt,” Ostrowsky said. “He knows how much I love him and I’m not sure what the extent of his injury is yet, but for sure, it’s not a great situation.”

Quincy put together its first lengthy drive shortly after halftime, burning more than six minutes before quarterback Nick Lonergan scrambled for a 16-yard score to pull to within 17-7.

The Wildcats shot themselves in the foot on their next series. With the ball one yard away from another TD, Brown fumbled running into the end zone and Quincy recovered. The Hawks then torched the NMU defense for another long pass play, and this time, Chris Harris made it count with a 1-yard TD run to pull Quincy within 17-14.

After his mistake on the previous possession, Brown made up for it with a 68-yard TD bomb to Tucker, again over the middle, and the Wildcats regained a 24-14 lead.

NMU also caught a break on the ensuing Quincy drive. The Hawks moved the ball to the Wildcats 5, but coughed it up in the backfield and NMU recovered the fumble.

The ‘Cats took advantage by marching nearly the length of the field, capped off by Aaron Harris’ 15-yard TD run.

“Aaron was actually our third-down back, so I think we’re pretty good at that position and he really played very well,” Ostrowsky said. “He hit hard and I’m proud of him and he’ll continue to get better.”

The Wildcats defense stepped up one final time late in the game, stopping the Hawks cold on fourth down near midfield.

Brown and Tucker then finished off Quincy, connecting along the left sideline for a long first down as NMU ran out the clock.

Up next for NMU is another home game against Hillsdale to celebrate homecoming at 4 p.m. Saturday in the Superior Dome.

Ryan Stieg can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 246. His email address is rstieg@miningjournal.net.