MARQUETTE – The Northern Michigan University football team has its home opener at 4 p.m. Saturday against Angelo State.

The Rams come to the Superior Dome from Texas at 0-1 and finished last season at 7-4. Their most recent NCAA Division II playoff appearance was in 2014, when they defeated Michigan Tech 42-41.

The only time Northern has played Angelo was in 1987 when the Wildcats defeated the Rams 23-20 in the Division II playoffs.

The Wildcats opened with a victory last weekend in a 38-35 overtime win over Lake Erie.

NMU was down 19-0 in the second quarter and trailed by as many as 22 points before mounting its comeback.

A touchdown pass from quarterback Shaye Brown to Jon Washington in the final minute of regulation and the ensuing two-point conversion sent the game into overtime.

In the extra session, after Lake Erie opened with a field goal on its possession, Wildcats running back Jake Mayon plunged into the end zone for a 6-yard touchdown on Northern’s second play to give NMU the victory.

Brown led the Wildcats offensively as he threw for 230 yards and two scores, while also setting the NMU career touchdown passes record. He currently has 54 TD passes.

The senior also only needs 174 passing yards to become the school’s all-time career leader in that category.

Mayon had a career-best 143 rushing yards last week against the Storm, while Darryl Williams led the NMU defense with 10 tackles and one sack.

Information compiled by Journal Sports Writer Ryan Stieg. His email address is rstieg@miningjournal.net.