Yungzaki Rushes for 193 Yards as Minnesota Holds Off Detroit
Riley Kade — JRSports One
Yu-chen Yungzaki ran for 193 yards and a touchdown, and the Minneapolis Maulers beat the Detroit Hot Rods 20-17. Minnesota led from the first quarter on and never trailed, and Detroit's last score came with 4:33 left in the game, leaving the Hot Rods three points short.
Yungzaki's 3-yard touchdown run at 10:08 of the first quarter gave Minnesota its first lead, 7-0 after the extra point. Emilio Jintoza's Maulers then went up 14-0 on Esteban Fianita's 2-yard run at 3:55, and that 14-point margin was the largest of the game.
Detroit cut the deficit to 14-7 on Lane Cirley's 4-yard touchdown run at 10:56 of the second quarter. Neither team scored again until the third quarter, when Jason Mast kicked a 26-yard field goal at 8:00 to make it 14-10 after Rhett Brennsby's 43-yard catch carried the ball to the Minneapolis 25. Sandy Zonteda answered with a 27-yard field goal at 3:31 to make it 17-10. He added a 44-yard field goal at 6:53 of the fourth quarter for a 20-10 lead.
Detroit got its last points on a 5-yard touchdown pass from Jun Ninno to Brennsby at 4:33, which made it 20-17. Minnesota punted with 0:31 left, and the Hot Rods' final possession ended without a score.
Yungzaki carried 29 times for 193 yards and a touchdown, and he added one catch for 10 yards. Jintoza completed 8 of 16 passes for 83 yards without a touchdown or interception. The Maulers outgained Detroit 357 yards to 286 and ran for 274 of them, controlling the ball for 31:25.
Ninno completed 18 of 23 passes for 233 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions. Brennsby caught seven passes for 100 yards and a touchdown, and Cirley ran 18 times for 48 yards and a score. Dalton Mosley led Detroit with 10 tackles, and Brent Gow had nine for Minnesota.
Neither team turned the ball over. Detroit was penalized seven times for 60 yards, and Minnesota was penalized three times for 20 yards.
Detroit cornerback Amaury Reada was placed on injured reserve with a fractured leg and will miss nine weeks. For Minnesota, safety Walker Blorkrick is out eight weeks with a concussion, left tackle Wyatt Gairdton is out four weeks with a fractured hand, and cornerback Hunter Kond is out one week with a shoulder sprain. Safety Heath Chooldale (concussion evaluation) and defensive tackle Gavin Laird (knee) are listed as questionable.
The win lifts Minnesota to 6-2. Detroit falls to 2-7.
