September 22, 2018

Photos credit by Karen Giles

FOREST CITY, Iowa – Dakota State (S.D.) could not overcome their 30-0 halftime deficit Saturday afternoon, falling to Waldorf (Iowa) 50-35 in a high-scoring North Star Athletic Association football conference opener at Bolstorff Field.  The Trojans outscored the Warriors 35-20 in the final thirty minutes of the game, but was not enough to make a comeback.

Dakota State dropped their fourth straight game, falling to 1-4 overall record (0-1 NSAA record).  Waldorf earned its first win of the season, improving their overall record to 1-3 (1-0 NSAA record).

FIRST QUARTER

Both teams were unable to score on their first possession of the game.

Waldorf took the first lead of the game on their second drive of the first quarter, starting their scoring drive on their own 2-yard line.  The Warriors used 10 plays for 98 yards in 4:07 as Hilton Joseph rushed for a 24-yard touchdown.  Slater Gifford followed up with the PAT extra-point kick to give WU a 7-0 lead with 7:27 on the clock.

After the Trojans were forced to punt on the ensuing possession, Waldorf added another touchdown to expand their lead to 14-0.  Jerkevan Harrell ran for a 1-yard touchdown, followed by a successful PAT kick by Gifford with four minutes to go in the opening quarter.

WU outgained DSU 226-23 in total offensive yards in the first quarter.

SECOND QUARTER

From the continuation of WU's drive near the end of the first quarter (2:14 on the clock), the Warriors used 9 plays for 70 yards in four minutes to record their third touchdown of the game.  Joseph ran for an 8-yard touchdown, while Gifford's PAT extra-point kick is good for a 21-0 lead with 13:23 left before intermission.

Dakota State marched down the field to WU's 21-yard line on the following possession; but was turned on downs with 11:07 on the clock. 

Waldorf would answer on their next possession with a touchdown, registering 10 plays for 79 yards in 4:46.  Joseph threw a 19-yard touchdown pass to Bo Evans with 6:29 on the clock.  Gifford added the PAT extra-point kick as WU's lead grew to 28-0.

The Warriors added a safety to make it 30-0 with 5:05 left before halftime.

THIRD QUARTER

Dakota State snapped their scoring drought after kicking off the second half with a touchdown.  The Trojans used 7 plays for 66 yards in 2:22 as Torren Devericks threw a 7-yard touchdown pass to Mitchell Galloway.  Casey Bourque hit the PAT extra-point kick as DSU trimmed WU's lead to 30-7 with 12:40 on the clock. 

Waldorf extended their lead to 37-7 on the next possession.  Joseph connected to Ryan Martinez for an 8-yard touchdown, followed by Gifford's PAT extra-point kick with 10:30 remaining in the third quarter.  The Warriors used 7 plays for 57 yards in 2:02 in the scoring drive.

The Trojans trimmed their deficit to 37-14 as Brodie Frederiksen recorded a 13-yard touchdown run with 7:29 on the clock.  Bourque's PAT extra-point kick was successful.  DSU used 12 plays for 69 yards in 2:57 in the scoring drive.

The Warriors answered back with another touchdown on the ensuing possession.  Joseph rushed for a 16-yard touchdown as WU's lead expanded to 43-14 with 5:40 left in the third quarter.

FOURTH QUARTER

Dakota State started their third scoring drive of the game with 2:55 left in the third quarter and continued through early fourth quarter.  The Trojans recorded nine plays for 46 yards in 3:36 as Devericks connected to Mason Leighton for a 4-yard touchdown pass.  Bourque made the PAT extra-point kick as DSU trailed 43-21 with 14:25 remaining.

Waldorf committed a turnover on the next possession.  Joseph fumbled (forced by DSU's Riley Janke) and was recovered by Michael Cleveland on WU's 11-yard line with 13 minutes on the clock.

Five seconds later, Devericks threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to Leighton for the Trojans.  Bourque made the PAT extra-point kick as DSU cut WU's lead to 43-28 with 12:55 left.

Joseph threw a 24-yard touchdown pass to Martinez, followe by Gifford's PAT extra-point kick to make it 50-28 in favor of the Warriors with 7:14 remaining.

Dakota State quickly answered with a touchdown, scoring less a minute in their scoring drive.  Devericks connected to Leighton for the third time in the fourth quarter, this time a 4-yard touchdown pass with 6:16 left.  Bourque hit the PAT extra-point kick as the Trojans trailed at 50-35.  A 48-yard pass from Devericks to Leighton (DSU's 43-yard line to WU's 4-yard line) highlighted the scoring drive for DSU.

The Trojans were unable to convert their scoring chances on their final drive of the game, turning the ball on downs on WU's 27-yard line with 1:01 left.

Dakota State outscored Waldorf 21-7 in the final fifteen minutes of the game.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

Devericks finished the game by completing 19 passes in 36 attempts for 249 yards with four touchdowns for Dakota State.  Jared Richardson also went 8-of-17 with 71 yards in the air.

Leighton recorded career-highs 11 receptions for 176 yards with three touchdowns for DSU.  He finished the game with 205 all-purpose yards (32 yards from kick-off return).  Galloway added eight catches for 83 yards and a touchdown.

Frederiksen rushed 18 times for 127 yards and a touchdown for the Trojans.  He also had three receptions for 32 yards. 

Ryan Dozier led DSU's defense with 13 tackles.  He also had two tackles-for-loss of five yards.  Curt Boeke added 12 tackles, fumble recovery and a quarterback sack.  Marcus Vanden Bosch tallied nine tackles.  John Trout had seven tackles and 2.5 tackles-for-loss of four yards.  Janke had a forced fumble.  Cleveland had a fumble recovery.

Joseph was 24-of-31 with 269 yards and threw three touchdowns for the Warriors.  He also ran 10 times for 79 yards with three rushing touchdowns.  Evans registered a game-high 179 yards in 23 rushes.

Samuel Huntley had eight catches for 78 yards for WU.  Evans added six catches for 76 yards and a touchdown.  Martinez had three receptions for 35 yards with two touchdowns.

Cameron Newsome led Waldorf's defense with 10 tackles.  He also had an interception.  James Bell III had three quarterback sacks.  MaCoy Yeakel recorded an interception.

TEAM COMPARISONS

Waldorf exploded for 579 offensive yards in the game compared to Dakota State 422 offensive yards.  The Warriors outrushed the Trojans 310-102.  DSU recorded 320 passing yards while WU had 269 passing yards.

The Warriors tallied 29 first-downs.  The Trojans had 24 first-downs.

Waldorf recorded six sacks for a loss of 30 yards.  Dakota State had a sack for four yards loss.

The Trojans converted 4-of-16 on third-downs.  The Warriors were 4-of-9 on third-down situations.

UP NEXT

Dakota State returns home to kick off their three-game home stand next Saturday (Sept. 29).  The Trojans host the nationally-ranked and three-time defending North Star conference champion Dickinson State (N.D.).  The annual Trojan Day homecoming football game is set for 3 p.m. at Trojan Field.

Waldorf travels to Mayville State (N.D.) for the North Star Athletic Association conference action at 2 p.m.

Nick Huntimer, Dakota State University Sports Information Director