It was a day of firsts at Jerome Berg Field for everyone involved. It was Derek Schlieve's first game as the head coach of the Mayville State University Comets football team. It was also Robert Morris University's first football game as an upstart new program out of Chicago, Illinois.

Robert Morris University is led by head coach Jared Williamson. Williamson, a Comet football alumni, had his guys ready to go and the Eagles gave Mayville State everything they had in them. 

The Comets were the first to score in the contest on a 12-play, seven minute drive ending on a Jake McLain touchdown run from three yards out. Robert Morris didn't take long to get back into it as quarterback Matt Westerkamp hit LaMont Wims for a touchdown to cap off the Eagles' first drive and give them a 7-6 lead after the first quarter.

McLain knocked in a field goal midway through the second quarter to give the Comets the lead at 9-7. On the following Comet drive McLain connected with Taylor Kunkel for a 31-yard touchdown on a nice lob pass to the corner of the end zone. Kunkel made a very athletic play on the ball and did a good job of getting a foot in bounds. 

LaMont Wims answered the Kunkel touchdown with one of his own. Wims took a screen pass 60 yards down to the four yard line and followed it up with a touchdown run on the following play. The two-point conversion was good and the teams went into halftime tied 15-15. 

The second half was much slower offensively as the defenses started taking over and the field position battle began. Going into the fourth quarter Mayville State was looking at an 18-15 deficit and had hit a wall on offense. 

With 10:38 left in the game, the Comets took over on offense and after three unsuccessful plays were looking at a fourth & six from their own 49 yard line. The Comets ran a fake punt play and senior Tony Evanstad hit Steven Lopez across the middle for a first down. Lopez made a great play on the ball and kept the drive alive for Mayville state. Dominique Bradley and Mitchell Ford took over the game on the ground as the combination of those two ran the ball down to the eight yard line. 

The Comets faced another fourth down as it was fourth and two from the eight yard line when McLain took off and ran in an eight yard touchdown, giving Mayville State their first lead since late in the second quarter. 

With just over four minutes left in the game, Schlieve needed a big stop out of his defense to keep the win intact. Dominique Bradley made a tackle on Lyle Cox at the Mayville State 20 yard line on a fourth and three play that ended the Eagles' drive and hopes of stealing a win in their inaugural football game. 

McLain led the Comets offense recording 272 total yards through the air and on the ground. The senior from Chadron, Nebraska rushed for 152 yards and two scores and threw for 120 yards and a touchdown. McLain also was doing the kicking for Mayville State as he made one field goal and handled all the kickoffs. 

Kunkel led the receivers for Mayville State with five catches for 70 yards and one touchdown. Lopez followed Kunkel with three catches for 51 yards. 

The Comet defense played well in this contest. Bradley and Josh Jefferies led the team in tackles. Bradley finished with 13 tackles and Jefferies had 11. 
    
Maybe the biggest play of the game came on defense when Bradley forced Westenkamp into a fumble on the Mayville State 20 yard line when the Eagles had the momentum and were looking to get into the end zone. Ryan Tucker recovered the fumble to give the Comets some life and keep the game tied. It was a great play by the defensive back.

Robert Morris was led offensively by Wims with 83 yards rushing and 68 yards receiving. Wims also was able to get into the end zone twice, once on the ground and once in the passing game. Tyler Warden was a target of many of the passes this afternoon and proved to be a good choice for the Eagles. Warden caught five balls for 69 yards and had one touchdown. 

It was a great start for head coach Derek Schlieve's career. The former defensive coordinator got an ice water bath as time expired from the celebrating players. The Comets will be in action again next week as they travel to Crookston, Minn. to take on the University of Minnesota-Crookston Golden Eagles on Friday, September 2nd, 2011.

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