November 8, 2014
DICKINSON, N.D. – Dakota State (S.D.) could not hold on to their three-point lead in overtime Saturday afternoon at the Biesiot Activities Center as Dickinson State (N.D.) rallied back for a 20-17 North Star Athletic Association football conference thriller. The Blue Hawks snapped the Trojans' three-game winning streak.
Dakota State prevented Dickinson State from scoring in the opening drive of the game. The Blue Hawks started their drive at their own 11-yard line and marched down the field by recording 14 plays for 49 yards in six minutes and 52 seconds. Kaler Ray fumbled the ball and was recovered by Cole Potter as the Trojans gained their first possession on DaSU's 30-yard line with 8:08 left in the first quarter.
Both teams were unable to score in the opening quarter. The Trojans had one drive in the first quarter and went three-and-out with a time possession of 1:39. The Blue Hawks used a total of 29 plays with a time possession of 13:21.
Dickinson State quickly got on board to kick off the second quarter. Jesse Carney ran for a 19-yard touchdown run to give the Blue Hawks a 6-0 lead with 14:53 in the second quarter. The PAT kick by Josh Borm was good to extend DiSU's lead to 7-0. The Blue Hawks used 13 plays for 80 yards in 6:36 in the first scoring drive of the game.
The Blue Hawks were unable to extend their lead after Borm's 47-yard field goal was wide left with less than six minutes remaining in the first-half.
Dickinson State led 7-0 at halftime.
The Trojans came out of the locker room to kick off the third quarter with a touchdown. DaSU recorded 12 plays for 76 yards in five minutes as Jacob Giles rushed for a 1-yard touchdown run. Tanner Hubbard's PAT kick was no good as Dickinson State maintained their 7-6 lead with 10 minutes remaining in the third quarter.
DiSU answered back on the ensuing drive with a 28-yard touchdown run by Carney. Borm added the PAT kick to put Dickinson State up 14-6 with 6:50 remaining in the third quarter. The Blue Hawks used six plays for 62 yards in 3:10 in their scoring drive.
Dakota State tied the game in the early fourth quarter. Giles connected to Zach Ely for a 28-yard touchdown pass with 12:22 left in the game. The PAT run by Giles was good as the Trojans tied the game at 14-14. The Trojans used 12 plays for 80 yards in 5:33 in the scoring drive.
DaSU Hubbard's 41-yard field goal attempt with 1:18 remaining in the game was no good as Dickinson State regained their possession on DiSU's 24-yard line.
DiSU Borm's 54-yard field goal attempt was no good as time expired, forcing the game into overtime.
Dakota State took the first possession in overtime. Jeremy Christner opened with a 10-yard run from DiSU's 25-yard line to DiSU 15-yard line. The Trojans were unable to add another first down as Hubbard nailed down a 29-yard field goal to give Dakota State their first lead of the game at 17-14 in overtime.
After a pair of runs by Ray (4-yard and 7-yard), Dickinson State sealed the game with a 14-yard touchdown run by Carney. The Blue Hawks lifted their overall record to 6-4 and 4-1 in NSAA conference.
Giles was 8-for-20 for 105 passing yards with a touchdown and an interception for the Trojans. He rushed eight times for 45 yards with a touchdown. Christner ran the ball 25 times for a total of 84 yards.
Brendon Waldner and Ely each had two receptions for 29 yards for Dakota State. Ely had a receiving touchdown. Bobby Tisch added two catches for 19 yards. Austin Opdahl had a catch for 21 yards.
Ben Kullos led the Trojans' defense with 19 tackles, including 1.5 tackles-for-loss. Potter added eight tackles and a fumble recovery.
Ray completed 14 passes in 21 attempts for 74 yards for the Blue Hawks. Carney rushed 18 times for 164 yards with three touchdowns. Ray added 18 rushes for 87 yards. Myren Moore had 13 rushes for 55 yards.
Austin Brown led DiSU with four catches for 23 yards. JT Keith added two receptions for 17 yards.
Alex Huitzil tallied 13 tackles for Dickinson State. Michael Hernandez added nine tackles. Michael Thompson had an interception and returned it for 27 yards.
Dickinson State outgained Dakota State 375-241 in total offensive yards. The Blue Hawks recorded 301 rushing yards compared to the Trojans' 136 rushing yards. DaSU had 105 passing yards while DiSU had 74 passing yards.
The Blue Hawks had 27 first-downs in the game. The Trojans had 17 first-downs.
Dickinson State had the ball for 34 minutes and 36 seconds. DaSU had a time possession of 25 minutes and 23 seconds.
Dakota State finished their successful 2014 campaign with an overall record of 6-5 and 2-4 in the North Star Athletic Association conference game. It was the first time since 1998 season that the Trojans had six wins and a winning season.
It was the final career collegiate football game for five Trojan seniors – Ely, Matt Groff, Aaron Gronwald, Mitch Trestrail and Zac Woods.
Nick Huntimer, Dakota State University Sports Information Director
