September 12, 2015
Photo credits by Kaden Huntrods
VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS
MADISON, S.D. – Dakota State (S.D.) was unable to tie the game late in the fourth quarter as Waldorf (Iowa) recovered a DSU's fumble on WC's 1-yard line with 6 minutes, 13 seconds left Saturday evening at Trojan Field. The Warriors went on and held off another comeback by the Trojans for a 24-17 Dacotah Bank/North Star Athletic Association football conference opener for both teams.
Dakota State ended their three-game home stand with a 1-2 overall record (0-1 NSAA conference record). Waldorf earned their first victory of the season, improving to 1-1 overall record and 1-0 NSAA.
The Warriors opened the game by using 10 plays for 75 yards in 3:39 for the first touchdown. Cody Smith threw a 16-yard touchdown pass to LeVaughnte Calhoun with 11:21 left in the first quarter. Dustin Wilke's PAT kick was successful as WC grabbed a 7-0 lead.
DSU answered back on the ensuing possession with a field goal. The Trojans recorded 9 plays for 62 yards in 2:31 as Nic Behrens kicked a 23-yard field goal to cut WC's lead to 7-3 with less than nine minutes remaining in the first quarter. During the scoring drive, Dakota State had three straight first-down plays of 10 yards or more (Jacob Giles' 19-yard pass to Austin Opdahl, Jeremy Christner's 23-yard rush and Daveon Banks' 11-yard rush)
After Wilke's 15-yard punt from WC 24-yard line to WC 39-yard line with 4:51 remaining in opening quarter, the Trojans started off the drive with a 37-yard pass from Giles to Brendon Waldner to WC 2-yard line. Christner rushed for a 1-yard touchdown run to give DSU a 9-7 lead. Behrens added the PAT extra-point kick to extend Trojans' lead to 10-7 with 2:53 left in the first quarter.
Waldorf regained their lead in the early second quarter, thanks to a 41-yard touchdown pass from Smith to LaVar Johnson, Jr. Wilke's PAT kick was good as the Warriors earned a 14-10 lead with 12:55 remaining before intermission. WC used 7 plays for 87 yards in 2:54 in the scoring drive.
Dakota State was unable to convert their scoring chances on the next possession where Banks was able to return a 66-yard kickoff return from DSU's 3-yard line to WC 28-yard line. The Trojans fell short on fourth-and-two situation on WC's 23-yard line, turning the ball on downs with 11:20 on the clock in the second quarter.
Waldorf's Wesley Charles intercepted Giles' pass at the DSU's 26-yard line with less than three minutes before halftime, setting up their scoring opportunity. The Warriors recorded 6 plays for 13 yards as Wilke hit a 30-yard field goal for 17-10 lead with 22 seconds remaining in the second quarter.
Waldorf held on to a 17-10 halftime lead.
The Trojans set up a good position to start the third quarter as Thomas Romack returned a 25-yard kick-off return from DSU's 25-yard line to 50-yard line. DSU continued their drive with 7 plays for 38 yards in 2:02, but Behren missed a 29-yard field goal with 12:58 left in third.
Dakota State rallied back to tie the game later in the third quarter. The Trojans started their drive on their own 30-yard line and used a pair of 15-plus rushing yard gains. Giles rushed for 15-yard gain to DSU's 45-yard line and Hagan Hines added a 34-yard gain to WC's 21-yard line. DSU was able to convert their red zone opportunity as Christner rushed for a 2-yard touchdown with 3:35 left in the third quarter. Behrens hit the PAT extra-point kick to tie the game at 17-17.
Waldorf broke the 17-17 tie into a 24-17 lead with 9:13 left in the game. The Warriors recorded 8 plays for 47 yards in 3:57 as Julian Ampaw ran for a 2-yard touchdown run. Wilke's PAT kick was good.
On the ensuing possession, Dakota State went on to use 7 plays for 60 yards to the WC's 2-yard line for their scoring chance to tie the game. The Trojans committed a turnover with a fumble by Banks and was recovered by the Warriors on WC 1-yard line with 6:13 remaining.
After the Warriors were forced to punt with two minutes left in the game, Dakota State started their drive on their own 39-yard line. The Trojans recorded three first downs in the drive, but came up short for first down after a fourth-and-seven situation on WC's 21-yard line to WC's 17-yard line, securing the victory for Waldorf.
Both Waldorf and Dakota State scored seven points in the second-half.
Giles completed 15 passes in 34 attempts for 187 yards for the Trojans. He rushed five times for 28 yards. Christner ran 17 times for 69 yards and rushed for two touchdowns. Hines added six rushes for 53 yards. Banks had 13 rushes for 43 yards.
Opdahl caught eight passes for 67 yards for DSU. Waldner added four catches for 104 yards. Bobby Tisch had two receptions for 14 yards.
Ben Kullos had a career-high 25 tackles for Dakota State, breaking a new DSU school record for most tackles in a single game. Noah Sanderson was the previous record holder with 23 tackles in a game versus Minot State (N.D.) on Oct. 27, 2007. Kullos had four tackles-for-loss of 11.8 yards and 1.5 quarterback sacks.
Cooper Hausmann and Cole Potter each added nine tackles for the Trojans. Danny Jordan and Hunter Smith each had seven tackles. Romack had a forced fumble. Dereck DeVries recorded an interception.
Smith was 9-of-12 for 105 passing yards with two touchdowns and an interception for the Warriors. Isaac Sanchez added 8 passes in 11 attempts for 56 yards. Kevin Pollock rushed 16 times for 74 yards. Ampaw had 10 rushes for 48 yards and a touchdown.
LaMont Johnson had five receptions for 52 yards for Waldorf. Vybert Greene had four catches for 21 yards. Johnson, Jr. had a catch for 41 yards and a touchdown. Calhoun had a reception of 16 yards and a touchdown.
Trent Jones led the Warriors' defense with nine tackles and a quarterback sack. Johnathan Black added seven tackles and 1.5 tackles-for-loss of 7.5 yards. He also had two forced fumbles.
In kicking comparisons, Wilke had nine punts for 331 yards (36.8 average with two punts inside the 20-yard line), five kickoffs for 252 yards (50.4 average), 1-for-1 on field goal and 3-for-3 on PAT extra-point kicks for Waldorf. For DSU, Behrens had five punts for 180 yards (36.0 yards with two punts inside the 20-yard line), four kickoffs for 229 yards (57.3 yards average), 1-for-2 on field goals and 2-for-2 on PAT extra-point kicks.
Dakota State outgained Waldorf 380-315 in total offensive yards. The Trojans recorded 193 rushing yards compared to the Warriors' 154 rushing yards. DSU had 187 passing yards while WC had 161 passing yards.
DSU had 19 first-downs in the game compared to WC 16 first-downs. Waldorf was 7-of-18 o third-downs, while Dakota State was 6-of-17 on third down situations.
WC was perfect 3-of-3 in red zone conversions while DSU was 3-of-5. The Warriors had the ball control for 34 minutes while the Trojans had a time possession of 26 minutes.
Dakota State continues their Dacotah Bank/NSAA conference action next Saturday as they play their first road game of the season. The Trojans visit Jamestown (N.D.) at Rollie Greeno Field with a kick-off starting at 1 p.m. in Jamestown, N.D. Waldorf returns home next Saturday as they host the nationally-ranked Valley City State (N.D.) with a 1 p.m. kickoff at Bolstorff Field in Forest City, Iowa another conference game action.
Nick Huntimer, Dakota State University Sports Information Director
