This story was written by NMU Sports Information

MARQUETTE---The Northern Michigan football team was downed by Hillsdale, 41-38, Saturday afternoon at the Superior Dome.

A 55-yard field goal by Tyler Blackburn tied the game at 31 with 4:10 left in the third quarter, but the Chargers kicked a field goal on their next possession and then capitalized on a blocked punt deep in the Wildcat end to pull ahead, 41-31, just 50 seconds into the fourth quarter.

Jake Mayon broke multiple tackles to score a 55-yard touchdown with 7:37 left on the clock, and Northern Michigan re-gained possession of the ball with 5:22 remaining after Darryl Williams tied up Joe Reverman for a loss of two yards on a 4th and 2 at the Wildcat 43. But Northern Michigan went three and out, and Hillsdale chewed up the remaining minutes on the clock by marching down to the Wildcat 29.

In the first half, the teams combined to post 684 yards of offense and score 59 of the game's 79 points.

The Chargers led, 14-7, at the end of the first quarter thanks to a 37-yard Austin Sandusky touchdown run and a three-yard Reverman touchdown rush. Aaron Harris hauled in his first touchdown of the year at the 5:53 mark, taking a pass from Shaye Brown and running 35 yards for the score.

In the second quarter, the Wildcats outscored Hillsdale, 21-17. Paris Woods caught his first touchdown pass of the day, a 49-yard score, just 47 seconds into the frame.

The Chargers responded on their next possession when Reverman found a seam and ran 65 yards down the field. After that, the teams traded touchdowns. Woods sent Northern Michigan to the locker room down by a 31-28 margin after out-leaping two cornerbacks in the end zone to haul in a 21-yard pass by Brown.

Blackburn's field goal was three yards shy of the school record, set in 2012 by Rockne Belmonte against Grand Valley State.

Brown recorded a season-best 346 yards and four touchdowns on 29 for 47 passing. He finished one touchdown shy of his career high, set Nov. 15 in a 66-38 win over Findlay at the Superior Dome.  Woods totaled with 123 receiving yards on five catches while Mayon ran for 104 yards on the ground.

Pat Ryan led the Wildcat defense with 12 tackles. Alex Hamilton forced and recovered a fumble early in the third quarter.

With the loss, Northern Michigan falls to 3-6 (3-5 GLIAC). The Wildcats take on rival Michigan Tech Nov. 5 at 1 p.m. in their final home game of the 2016 campaign. The game will be broadcast live on 100.3 FM The Point in Marquette, and AM-600 in Escanaba.