October 28, 2017
PHOTO GALLERY - Photo credits by Cody Welu
MADISON, S.D. – Dakota State (S.D.) earned a 14-7 halftime lead Saturday afternoon at Trojan Field in the battle of top two teams in the North Star Athletic Association football conference. The Blue Hawks outscored the Trojans 21-11 in the final thirty minutes of the game, holding on to win their third North Star conference title with a 28-25 thrilling victory in the NAIA Football Game-of-the-Week.
Dakota State was playing their first game as a ranked team at No. 25, while Dickinson State was ranked No. 15. The Trojans saw their three-game winning streak come to an end, falling to 6-3 overall record and 4-2 NSAA conference record. The Blue Hawks extended their winning streak to six games and raised their overall record to 8-1 and 7-0 record in North Star conference play.
It was the final home game at the Trojan Field, where Dakota State finished the 2017 home schedule with a 3-1 record.
FIRST QUARTER
Dakota State quickly opened up with an 80-yard touchdown pass to Jacob Giles to Austin Opdahl. Brywn Ractliffe followed up with a successful PAT extra-point kick as the Trojans earned a 7-0 lead with 14 minutes, 39 seconds on the clock.
Dickinson State would answer back with a touchdown on their first drive of the game. The Blue Hawks used 7 plays for 65 yards in 3:36 as Karsten Mack rushed for a 7-yard touchdown. Cody Johnson added the PAT extra-point kick as DiSU knotted the game at 7-7 with 11:03 left in the first quarter.
DaSU was unable to convert their scoring chance on the ensuing drive, despite recording 12 plays for 54 yards in 5:44. The Trojans turned the ball on downs on DiSU 25-yard line with 5:19 to go in the first.
The Blue Hawks also turned the ball on downs on the next possession, registering 11 plays for 46 yards in 4:43. Dakota State regained their possession with 36 seconds left on DaSU 29-yard line.
SECOND QUARTER
Dakota State took control of the ball in the second quarter. The Trojans began their drive on their own 11-yard line and marched down to the Blue Hawks' end zone. DaSU was unable to regain their lead after Ractliffe's 23-yard field goal was blocked by DiSU's Thomas Sease with 2:41 to go before intermission. The Trojans used 16 plays for 83 yards for 9:10 in the drive.
After the Blue Hawks went three-and-out, the Trojans began their drive on their own 25-yard line with 2:12 on the clock. DaSU would use 8 plays for 75 yards in 1:50 to regain their lead at 14-7. Giles threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to Opdahl, while Ractliffe added a PAT extra-point kick for a seven-point lead with 22 seconds remaining in the first-half. Dakota State recorded five first downs in the scoring drive.
The Trojans prevented the Blue Hawks from scoring with no time left on the clock, despite a 28-yard pass from Hayden Gibson to Chase Anderson from DiSU 41-yard line to DaSU's 36-yard line.
Dakota State outgained Dickinson State 323-171 in total offensive yards in the first-half.
THIRD QUARTER
The third quarter belongs to Dickinson State where they outscored Dakota State 14-0. The Blue Hawks kicked off the third quarter by registering 11 plays for 78 yards in 6:19 as Mack rushed for an 18-yard touchdown. Johnson followed up with a successful PAT extra-point kick to tie the game at 14-14 with 8:41 on the clock.
Dakota State went three-and-out for their first drive of the second-half.
The Blue Hawks earned their first lead of the game after the Trojans were forced to punt. DiSU recorded 8 plays for 62 yards in 3:20 as Gibson threw an 8-yard pass to Seth Ewoniuk. Johnson's PAT extra-point was good as DiSU grabbed a 21-14 lead with 4:37 left in the third quarter. The highlight of the scoring drive for the Blue Hawks was a fake punt on fourth down situation on their own 42-yardline, where Hunter Johnson rushed for 19 yards that resulted a first-down on DaSU's 39-yard line.
FOURTH QUARTER
Dakota State broke their scoring drought early in the fourth quarter. The Trojans used 9 plays for 83 yards in nearly four minutes, but had to settle for a field goal. Ractliffe hit a 22-yard field goal as DaSU trimmed DiSU's lead to 21-17 with 11:33 remaining. A 54-yard pass from Giles to Brendon Waldner highlighted the scoring drive.
The Blue Hawks quickly responded back with a 68-yard rushing touchdown by Mack, expanding DiSU's lead to 28-17 with 10:21 left. Johnson added the PAT extra-point kick for Dickinson State.
DaSU could not convert their scoring opportunity on the ensuing possession, Ractliffe's 24-yard field goal was blocked by DiSU's Thomas Sease with 7:03 left. The Trojans recorded 8 plays for 69 yards in 3:18 in the drive.
After Dickinson State produced two first downs, the Blue Hawks were forced to punt with just near three minutes remaining.
Dakota State marched down the field by recording 7 plays for 80 yards in 1:37 as Giles threw a 3-yard touchdown pass to Opdahl – their third touchdown of the game together – with 1:31 left. The 2-point PAT attempt was successful as Giles connected to Mitchell Galloway as the Trojans cut the Blue Hawks' lead to 28-25. DaSU had three plays of over 10-yards in the scoring drive, including a 38-yard pass from Giles to Galloway.
The Trojans used an onside kick attempt but missed the opportunity to maintain possession as the Blue Hawk Paxton Miller recovered the ball, securing the victory and North Star conference title for DiSU.
Dakota State outscored Dickinson State 11-7 in the final quarter.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Giles led Dakota State by going 22-of-36 for 383 passing yards with three touchdowns. Waldner caught eight passes for a season-high 115 yards. Opdahl added seven catches for 136 yards with three touchdowns. Galloway had three receptions for 58 yards. Mason Leighton recorded three catches for 41 yards. Trever Listman had a catch for 33 yards.
Hagan Hines rushed 19 times for 95 yards for the Trojans. Brodie Frederiksen had 11 rushes for 84 yards.
Curt Boeke led DaSU's defense with 10 tackles. He also had three tackles-for-loss of 26.0 yards and a sack. Ryan Dozier, Darby Neal and John Trout each tallied eight tackles. Levar Colbert had seven tackles.
Mack rushed 22 times for 206 yards with three touchdowns for Dickinson State. Gibson was 15-of-27 for 192 yards with a touchdown.
Andersen caught four passes for 65 yards for the Blue Hawks. Ewoniuk added four catches for 54 yards and a touchdown. Randy Ivey had three receptions for 37 yards.
Cain Boschee and Sease each led DiSU's defense with 11 tackles. Sease blocked a field goal two times and recorded a sack. Derick VandeBossche had 10 tackles. Hunter Moore registered a quarterback sack and 3.5 tackles-for-loss of 13.0 yards.
TEAM COMPARISONS
Dakota State gained a total of 576 offensive yards (7.8 yards per offensive play) in the game compared to Dickinson State 411 offensive yards (6.6 yards per offensive play). The Trojans recorded 383 passing yards while the Blue Hawks had 192 passing yards. DiSU outrushed DaSU 219-193.
The Trojans tallied 26 first-downs in the game. The Blue Hawks had 19 first-downs.
Dakota State maintained the ball for 30 minutes, 51 seconds. Dickinson State had the ball control for 29 minutes, 9 seconds.
DaSU converted 9-of-15 on third-downs compared to DiSU 4-of-11 on first-downs.
TROJANS SENIORS
Saturday's game was the final home game for 17 Dakota State seniors, where they were honored prior to kick-off. They are Alex Babcock, Dereck DeVries, Eric Gauer, Jacob Giles, Danny Jordan, Daidrick Kibbie, Mike McAlister, Austin Opdahl, Justin Pontarelli, Brywn Ractliffe, David Riehle, Brock Reinhiller, Greg Rodriguez, Nick Van Roekel, Hunter Smith, Ron Tortorello and Brendon Waldner.
UP NEXT
Dakota State kicks off their two-game road trip to wrap up their regular-season. The Trojans travel to Mayville State (N.D.) for a North Star conference action. Kick-off from the Jerome Berg Field is set for 3 p.m. in Mayville, N.D.
Dickinson State will have a bye next and returns home on Saturday, Nov. 11 as they wrap up their regular-season versus Mayville State.
Nick Huntimer, North Star Athletic Association Sports Information Director
