September 19, 2015
Photo credits by Lexy Sattler and Lori Waldner
JAMESTOWN, N.D. – Dakota State (S.D.) held a 14-7 halftime lead over Jamestown (N.D.) Saturday afternoon at Rollie Greeno Stadium in the Dacotah Bank/North Star Athletic Association conference action. The Trojans outscored the Jimmies 24-6 in the final 30 minutes of the game en route to a 38-13 victory.
Dakota State, who was playing their first road game of the season Saturday after playing the previous three games at the Trojans, moved back to .500 with an overall record of 2-2 and 1-1 in NSAA conference play. Jamestown remained winless in four games and was playing their first conference game of the season.
The Trojans won for the third time in the last four meetings with the Jimmies.
After UJ went three-and-out in the opening drive of the game, DSU marched down in the field to score the first points of the game. Dakota State used 10 plays for 79 yards in 3 minutes, 51 seconds as Jeremy Christner rushed for a 3-yard touchdown run. Nic Behrens added the PAT extra point kick to give DSU a 7-0 lead with 9:56 remaining in the first quarter.
DSU was able to convert their scoring chances after Austin Opdahl blocked UJ's punt in the early second quarter. On the fourth-and-four situation on UJ's 41-yard line, Opdahl blocked the punt and was recovered on UJ's 19-yard line, starting the scoring drive for the Trojans.
Christner rushed for his second touchdown of the first-half to extend Trojans' lead to 14-0 with 11:28 left in second quarter. He scored on a six-yard touchdown run and Behrens' PAT kick was successful.
Jamestown trimmed DSU's lead to 14-7 with closing minutes of the first-half. The Jimmies used 13 plays for 61 yards in 5:43 as Beau Eriksson connected to Kyle Samoisette for a 16-yard touchdown pass on a third-and-goal situation. The PAT kick by Grant Linde was good with 39 seconds remaining before intermission.
Dakota State held a 14-7 halftime lead.
The Trojans were able to open up the second half with another scoring drive. DSU recorded 9 plays for 38 yards in 3:27 as Behrens hit a 42-yard field goal (season-long field goal) as Trojans' lead grew to 17-7 with 11:33 left in the third.
Jamestown went three-and-out on their first drive of the second-half. The Trojans scored on the ensuing possession, highlighted by a 32-yard rush by Hagan Hines.
Christner ran for his third touchdown of the game for Dakota State, rushing for a 1-yard touchdown with 7:48 remaining in the third quarter. Behrens' PAT kick was successful as the Trojans' lead expanded to 24-7. DSU recorded 10 plays for 68 yards in 1:58 in the scoring drive.
Dakota State made it 31-7 after the Jimmies turned the ball on downs on UJ's 46-yard line in the early fourth quarter. Robert Johnson rushed for a pair of 18-yard gains, setting up for a 1-yard touchdown run by Jacob Giles with less than 12 minutes left in the game. Behrens' PAT kick was good.
UJ trimmed DSU's lead to 31-13 with 4:33 left after Charlie Heck ran for a 3-yard touchdown run. Linde's PAT kick was blocked by DSU's Danny Jordan.
The Trojans added another score on the next possession, securing the onside kick by the Jimmies. Hines rushed for a 19-yard touchdown run to extend DSU's lead to 37-13. Behrens made it 38-13 after he converted the PAT kick with less than two minutes remaining.
Hines rushed 12 times for a total of 115 yards with a touchdown for Dakota State. Christner added 21 rushes for 85 yards with three touchdowns. Johnson had 16 rushes for 82 yards.
Giles was 11-of-24 for 115 passing yards for the Trojans. He had a rushing touchdown.
Bobby Tisch recorded three receptions for34 yards for DSU. Brendon Waldner had two catches for 31 yards. Doug Hale added two receptions for 15 yards.
Ben Kullos led the Trojans' defense with 16 tackles (9 solo, 7 assist). He had a forced fumble. Jordan added seven tackles and a blocked PAT extra point kick. Bronson Arguello, Dereck DeVries, Terrell Johnson, Curt Boeke and Tyler Poggemeyer each had five tackles.
Clifton Marshall had a forced fumble for DSU. Ophdahl had a blocked punt. Hunter Smith and Thomas Romack each had fumble recovery. Austin Ross had an interception.
Behrens was perfect 5-for-5 on PAT extra-point kicks and added a 42-yard field goal for Dakota State. He had five punts for a total of 184 yards (36.8 yards per punt) and one of his punts resulted inside the 20-yard line. Behrens recorded seven kickoffs for a total of 310 yards (44.3 yards per kickoff).
Eriksson completed 14 passes in 36 attempts for 133 yards with a touchdown and an interception for the Jimmies. He added 14 rushes for 69 yards. Mike Thingstad had 10 rushes for 65 yards. Heck had a rushing touchdown.
Michael Sena led UJ with five receptions for 42 yards. Dan Janu added three catches for 27 yards.
Jarelle Miller registered 15 tackles for the Jimmies. Wes Worthen added nine tackles.
Dakota State outgained Jamestown 396-278 in total offensive yards. The Trojans rushed 58 times for a total of 281 yards compared to the Jimmies 39 rushing attempts for 145 yards.
DSU had 24 first-downs in the game, while UJ had 16 first-downs. The Trojans had a time possession of 30 minutes, 5 seconds compared to the Jimmies' time of possession of 29 minutes, 55 seconds.
DSU converted 6-of-16 third-downs compared to UJ's 6-of-18 third-down conversions. The Trojans were perfect 5-for-5 on red zone conversions while UJ was 2-of-3 in red zone conversions.
Dakota State stays on the road next Saturday as they visit St. Amborse (Iowa) in a non-conference game. Kick-off from the Brady Street Stadium is set for 1 p.m. in Davenport, Iowa.
Nick Huntimer, Dakota State University Sports Information Director
