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Dakota State University

Scoreboard

37
Winner Dakota State (S.D.) DSU 3-5, 3-5 NSAA
28
Mayville State (N.D.) MSU 1-5, 1-5 NSAA
Winner
Dakota State (S.D.) DSU
3-5, 3-5 NSAA
37
Final
28
Mayville State (N.D.) MSU
1-5, 1-5 NSAA
Score By Quarters
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th F
DSU Dakota State (S.D.) 0 30 7 0 37
MSU Mayville State (N.D.) 14 0 0 14 28

Game Recap: Football |

DSU explodes for 30 second quarter points, closes fall season with win

November 19, 2020

MAYVILLE, N.D. – Dakota State (S.D.) shook off their slow start in the final fall North Star Athletic Association football contest at Jerome Berg Field, trailing 14-0 to Mayville State (N.D.) Thursday evening.  The Trojans exploded for 37 unanswered points in the second quarter and early third quarter, holding off the Comets by the score of 37-28.

Dakota State ended their fall football season schedule with a 3-5 overall/NSAA conference record.  Mayville State, which have not played since Oct. 24, fell to 1-5 overall record.  The Trojans won their fifth straight meetings with the Comets, including the previous four meetings held at Jerome Berg Field.  DSU also lifted their all-time series record of 18-14 with MSU.

FIRST QUARTER

  • Dakota State committed a turnover in the early first quarter, allowing Mayville State to score on the following play after a fumble committed by the Trojans on DSU's 16-yard line.
  • Creighton Pfau threw a 16-yard touchdown pass to Josh Portillo with 13:01 on the clock in the first quarter.  Max Cooper hit a successful PAT extra-point kick to put Comets up 7-0.
  • After the Trojans turned the ball on downs on MSU's 47-yard line, the Comets used seven plays for 53 yards to extend their lead.  Jason Nelson rushed for a seven-yard touchdown, followed by Cooper's PAT extra-point kick to make it 14-0 in favor of MSU with 6:10 left in the first quarter.

SECOND QUARTER

  • Mayville State was forced to punt to kick off the second quarter, the Trojans started their first scoring drive of the game after a 21-yard punt by the Comets to MSU's 47-yard line.
  • Tyler Tappe threw a 17-yard touchdown pass to Josh Giles with 13:45 on the clock in the second quarter.  Caleb Nielsen followed up with the PAT extra-point kick as DSU trimmed MSU's lead to 14-7.
  • With the Comets' ball on DSU's 40-yard line, Noah Guse recorded a 'pick six' interception return for a touchdown.  He returned an interception of 68 yards for a touchdown, his third 'pick six' this season for the Trojans.  Nielsen followed up with the PAT extra-point kick to knot the game at 14-14 with 8:18 on the clock.
  • Mayville State committed another turnover on the ensuing possession.  The Comets fumbled the ball on their punting team, while the Trojans recovered the ball and returned it for a touchdown by Dajshon Keel.  Nielsen followed up with the PAT extra-point kick as DSU earned their first lead of the game at 21-14 with 8:18 on the clock.
  • Dakota State's lead grew to 23-14 after they recorded a safety on MSU Pfau's intentional grounding on the Comets' 8-yard line.
  • After Cooper McDermott's 20-yard kick-off return to MSU's 35-yard line, DSU moved the ball to MSU's 9-yard line after Zach Brooks' 19-yard rush and Brenner Furlong's 7-yard rush.  Furlong followed up with a 9-yard rushing touchdown.  Nielsen hit a successful PAT extra-point kick to extend the Trojans' lead to 30-14.

THIRD QUARTER

  • Dakota State kicked off the third quarter with 11 plays for 55 yards in over five minutes to widen their lead.  The Trojans converted a fourth-and-one situation on MSU's 46-yard line after a one-yard rush by Gavin Holland.  DSU marched down the filed as Tappe threw an 8-yard touchdown pass to Giles with 9:46 left on the clock.  Nielsen made a successful PAT extra-point kick to make it 37-14 in favor of the Trojans.
  • The rest of the third quarter saw four total punts, including 53-yard and 44-yard punts by DSU's Nielsen.

FOURTH QUARTER

  • The Comets snapped their scoring drought with a 1-yard touchdown rush by Cole Dukart with 10:08 left in the third quarter.  MSU trimmed their deficit to 37-22 after a successful 2-point PAT try Pfau's pass to Cooper.
  • Dakota State was forced to punt on the following possession.  The Comets used 11 plays for 80 yards in the final scoring drive of the game.  Pfau threw a 12-yard touchdown pass to Elijah Roundtree with 2:46 left in the game.  The 2-point PAT attempt by the Comets failed as the Trojans held on to a 37-28 lead.
  • DSU secured the game after Gustavo Bonilla intercepted MSU Pfau.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

  • Tappe finished the game by going 6-of-9 for 59 yards with two touchdowns for the Trojans.  He also rushed 13 times for 47 yards.  Brooks was 3-of-10 for 70 yards.  He also had 14 rushing yards.
  • Jacob Hirsch had two catches for 47 yards for Dakota State.  Keel added three receptions for 44 yards.  Giles had three receptions for 35 yards with two touchdowns.
  • Furlong ran eight times for 42 yards with a touchdown for DSU.  Branson Taylor also had an 11-yard run. 
  • Conner Tordsen led the Trojans' defense with six tackles and three quarterback sacks for 19 yards loss.  Braedon Wallenstein added six tackles.  Cole McCarty, Bonilla and Benalshaikh each had five tackles.  Jason Sakamoto also had a quarterback sack. 
  • Guse had two interceptions and returned it for 68 total yards with a touchdown for the Trojans.  Bonilla also had an interception.  Keel had a fumble recovery return for a touchdown.
  • Nielsen was perfect 5-of-5 on PAT extra-point kicks for Dakota State.  He also had five punts for 230 total yards, including a game-long 53-yard punt.  He averaged 46.0 yards per punt in the game.
  • Pfau was 18-of-30 for 214 passing yards with two touchdown passes and three interceptions for Mayville State.  He was sacked five times.  Cole Dukart rushed eight times for 43 yards, while Nelson added 14 rushes for 32 yards.
  • Roundtree had five receptions for 6 yards and a touchdown for MSU.  Portillo added four catches for 59 yards and a touchdown.  Maalik Flowers recorded four receptions for 43 yards.  Dukart had four receptions for 42 yards.
  • Austin DeLaroque collected 12 tackles for the Comets.  Josiah Walker added eight tackles, a quarterback sack and a forced fumble.  Daniel Simpson, Danzele Navy and My'Quel Johnson each had five tackles.  Adrien Pidgeon recorded an interception and three pass break-ups.

TEAM COMPARISONS

  • Mayville State outgained Dakota State by 10 total offensive yards (264-254).  The Trojans rushed 125 yards compared to the Comets 50 rushing yards.  MSU had 214 passing yards, while DSU had 129 passing yards. 
  • Both teams were 3-of-11 on third down conversions.  The Trojans produced 18 first-downs compared to the Comets 17 first downs. 
  • Dakota State caught three interceptions in the game, with one returned for a touchdown.  Mayville State had one interception in the game.

UP NEXT 

Dakota State awaits until spring season and see if they can make up their final North Star Athletic Association conference game with Mayville State (N.D.).  Stay tuned to the DSU athletics website for future updates on schedule changes.

Nick Huntimer, Dakota State University Sports Information Director

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