College Football: Minnesota West blocks Ridgewater's rally

WORTHINGTON - Ridgewater rallied in the final minutes to catch Minnesota West but the Bluejays blocked a conversion kick with one second left to preserve a 34-33 victory on Saturday.

The Warriors trailed by two touchdowns with 12:21 to play, but Dane Massey hit Raumello Cooper for a TD with about eight minutes left, then Cooper ran 24 yards and scored with one second left to pull Ridgewater within a point of overtime.

But the Bluejays’ Devontae Cooper blocked Glenn Meyer’s PAT attempt.

Ridgewater fell to 1-2 overall while the Bluejays won their first game of the season.

The Warriors play on the road for a third straight week at the North Dakota State College of Science at 1:30 p.m. in Wahpeton, N.D.

Raumello Cooper played a strong game, with 150 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries. He scored on a 59-yard run in the second quarter, on the 24-yard run at the end of the game, and his third TD came on the nine-yard throw from Massey.

Massey hit 14 of 32 throws for 193 yards and also threw a five-yard TD pass to Tyler Howell in the third quarter. Massey also ran eight yards for the Warriors’ first score in the first quarter.

Tre Lewis caught five passes for 74 yards, Howell had three receptions for 51 yards and the score.

Minnesota West 34, Ridgewater 33

Ridgewater (1-2)              7 6 7 13 - 33

MN West (1-2)  13 7 7 7 - 34

M – Adrian Carter 5 run (Rachael Evens kick)

R – Dane Massey 8 run (Glenn Meyers kick)

M – Michael Lewis 1 run (kick failed)

R – Raumello Cooper 59 run (kick failed)

M – Chris Briggs 54 pass from Kanye Harris (Evans kick)

M – Carter 8 run (Evans kick)

R – Tyler Howell 5 pass from Massey (Meyers kick)

M – Terrell Price 83 pass from Harris (Evans kick)

R – Cooper 9 pass from Massey (Meyers kick)

R – Cooper 24 run (kick blocked)

Ridgewater

First downs: 20 … Rushing: 40-199 … Passing (com-att-yds-int.): 14-32-193-2 … Fumbles lost: 2 … Penalties: 7-57

Rushing: Raumello Cooper 20-150, Massey 14-47, Brandon Brice 1-4, Nick Rusch-Maier 1-4, Christian Bangura 4-(-2) … Passing: Dane Massey 14-32-193-2 ... Receiving: Tre Lewis 5-74, Tyler Howell 3-51, Jusias Kalis 3-41, Cooper 2-14, Romello Boykin 1-13 … Punting: Glenn Meyers 6-187 (31.2) … Interceptions: Jaquon Cogshell 1 … Fumble recoveries: Logan Pytleski 2, Keon Adams 1, Jebah Joe Doe 1, Nate Collier 1 … Tackles (solo-assist): D’Tavius Williams 3-7, Jack Goeman 1-8, Pytleski 2-7, Brandon Brice 2-6, Adams 3-4, Doe 2-4, Edward Gaines 1-5, Cogshell 1-4, Alex Partridge 1-4 … QB sacks: Williams  1, Goeman 0.5, Pytleski 1, Doe 0.5

Minnesota West

First downs: 21 … Rushing: 54-214 … Passing (com-att-yds-int.): 3-6-150-1 … Fumbles lost: 5 … Penalties: 7-93

Rushing: Datha Dickerson 11-72, Michael Lewis 12-58, Adrian Carter 11-46 … Passing: Kanye Harris 3-6-150-1 ... Receiving: Terrell Price 1-83, Chris Briggs 2-67 … Punting: Jordan Chester 4-122 (30.5) … Interceptions: Trey Murdock 1, Zack Konz 1 … Fumble recoveries: Davontae Cooper 1, Brian Jones Jr. 1 … Tackles (solo-assist): Kenny Reid 6-4, Kenneth Butler 1-8, Devin Davis 2-5, Corey Anderson 0-6, Joshua Bentil 4-2 … QB sacks: Reid 2, Davis 0.5, Bentil 1, Cooper 0.5