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Dakota State University

Scoreboard

16
Dakota State (S.D.) DSU 2-4,
17
Winner Waldorf (Iowa) WU 6-3,
Dakota State (S.D.) DSU
2-4,
16
Final
17
Waldorf (Iowa) WU
6-3,
Winner
Score By Quarters
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th F
DSU Dakota State (S.D.) 6 0 3 7 16
WU Waldorf (Iowa) 0 7 0 10 17

Game Recap: Football |

Trojans suffer heartbreaking defeat at Waldorf (Iowa) 17-16

November 7, 2020

Photos credit by Karen Giles

FOREST CITY, Iowa – Dakota State (S.D.) could not hold their 16-7 lead in a windy North Star Athletic Association football contest with Waldorf (Iowa) at Bolstorff Field.  The Warriors rallied back to score 10 points in the final 1:17 of the game to secure a 17-16 victory over the Trojans.

Dakota State, who was playing their first game since Oct. 17, fell to 2-4 overall/NSAA conference record.  Waldorf wrapped up their 9-game North Star conference schedule with a 6-3 record.  The Warriors swept the season series with the Trojans, evening the all-time series record to 6-6.

FIRST QUARTER

  • Waldorf was forced to punt on the first possession of the game.  John Rybus recorded a 21-yard punt as the Trojans started their possession on WU's 46-yard line with 13 minutes, 40 second son the clock.
  • DSU used seven plays for 10 yards as they moved the ball to Waldorf's 36-yard line.  Dakota State had to settle for a career-best 53-yard field goal by Caleb Nielsen for a 3-0 lead with 10:40 on the clock.  He was just one-yard shy of tying the DSU school record for the longest field goal (54 yards field goal by Don Simon versus Mount Senario, Wis. in 1992).
  • On the ensuing possession, Gustavo Bonilla intercepted Tyler O'Hara's pass on WU's 35-yard line and returned it for 26 yards to WU's 9-yard line with 9:39 to go in the first.
  • Dakota State was unable to score a touchdown as they had to settle for another field goal, a 23-yard field goal by Nielsen to extend their lead to 6-0 with 8:03 on the clock in the first quarter.
  • Waldorf marched down the field with 10 plays for 54 yards in 4:34 on the next possession.  The Trojans' defense forced another Waldorf turnover as Jatoviay Hill fumbled at DSU's 19-yard line.  Edward Fritzler forced fumble and was recovered by Jordan Thomas with 3:22 left on the clock.
  • Dakota State was unable to convert the turnover for a scoring opportunity.  The Trojans were forced to punt, where Nielsen recorded a 67-yard punt to WU's 14-yard line with 1:01 left in the first quarter.
  • DSU led 6-0 by the end of the first quarter.

SECOND QUARTER

  • Waldorf recorded 12 plays for 57 yards in 5:08, moving the ball to DSU's 21-yard line.  Dakota State's defense came up big as the Warriors committed their third turnover of the game with 10:53 to go in the second.  Trojan Jason Sakamoto intercepted O'Hara pass on DSU's 5-yard line and returned it for five yards.
  • Dakota State also blocked Waldorf's punt on WU's 48-yard line.  Conner Tordsen was credited for a block and regained possession on WU's 35-yard line with 6:27 to go in the second.  The Trojans were unable to convert their scoring opportunity as they turned the ball on downs on WU's 26-yard line with 4:15 on the clock.
  • Waldorf began their possession on DSU's 48-yard line with 1:48 to go before halftime.  The Warriors recorded seven plays for 48 yards in 54 seconds in the scoring drive.  O'Hara threw a 20-yard touchdown pass to Ryan Martinez with 54 seconds remaining in the second quarter.  Slater Gifford's PAT extra-point kick was good as WU grabbed a 7-6 lead.

THIRD QUARTER

  • Both teams committed a turnover on the first possession of the second half.  DSU fumbled the ball, while WU fumbled the ball after Hill's 23-yard rush.  Tordsen forced a fumble on Hill on DSU's 31-yard line and was recovered by Thomas with 12:49 on the clock in the third.
  • After a 20-yard punt by the Warriors from WU's 23-yard line to WU's 47-yard line, Torren Devericks opened with a 21-yard pass to Cole Sylliassen to WU's 21-yard line.
  • Dakota State had to settle for a field goal, as Nielsen hit a 43-yard field goal to regain a 9-7 lead with 7:05 left in the third quarter.
  • Both teams were unable to score for the rest of the third quarter.  Nielsen closed the third quarter with a 63-yard punt for a touchback.

FOURTH QUARTER

  • Dakota State and Waldorf struggled offensively for the majority of the fourth quarter.
  • DSU committed a turnover on interception as the Warriors regained possession on WU's 45-yard line with 3:14 to go.
  • After a 1-yard rush by O'Hara, DSU's Sakamoto recorded a 'pick six' 50-yard interception return for a touchdown to widen their lead with 2:39 remaining.  Nielsen added a PAT extra-point kick as the Trojans' lead grew to 16-7.
  • Waldorf scored on the ensuing possession.  The Warriors used seven plays for 65 yards in 1:22 as O'Hara threw a 47-yard pass to Dominick Watt with 1:17 left.  Gifford added the PAT extra-point kick as the Warriors trimmed DSU's lead to 16-14.
  • The Trojans began their drive on their own 4-yard line from the kick-off.  The Warriors used two timeouts during the drive and forced DSU to punt with 23 seconds lefts.  Against the wind, Dakota State recorded an 18-yard punt from DSU's 1-yard line to DSU's 19-yard line with 14 seconds left.
  • Gifford hit a game-winning 36-yard field goal on the first play with 10 seconds remaining.  Waldorf regained their lead at 17-16.
  • Dakota State was unable to come back after a pair of completions from Devericks to Sylliaasen (16- and 13-yards).

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

  • Devericks completed 13 passes in 29 attempts for 117 yards for Dakota State.  Sylliaasen had five catches for 60 yards.  Jacob Hirsch added two catches for 29 yards.  Branson Taylor rushed 11 times for 19 yards.  Brenner Furlong had 10 rushing yards.
  • Nico Feroni and Cole McCarty each had eight tackles for the Trojans.  Braedon Wallenstein added seven tackles.  McCarty and Fritzler each had a quarterback sack.  Sakamoto had two interceptions in the game for a total of 55 yards return and a touchdown.  Tordsen had five tackles, a forced fumble and a blocked punt.
  • Nielsen was 3-of-3 on field goals, including a game-long 53 yards.  He also had nine punts for a total of 350 yards, averaging 38.9 yards per punt and two touchbacks.  Nielsen had five kick-offs for 299 total yards (59.8 yards per kick-off).
  • O'Hara was 13-of-30 for 162 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions for Waldorf.  He also rushed 12 times for 35 yards.  Watt had five catches for 88 yards and a touchdown.  Seth Oakes added three catches for 21 yards.  Martinez had two catches for 27 yards and a touchdown.  Hill rushed 24 times for 96 yards. 
  • Drewe Buckholdt tallied 10 tackles and a sack for the Warriors.  Thomas Edwards added seven tackles, 5.0 tackles-for-loss of 22 yards, and three quarterback sacks.  Cameron Callion had an interception and returned it for 17 yards.

TEAM COMPARISONS

  • Waldorf racked up a total of 344 offensive yards compared to Dakota State 97 total offensive yards.  The Trojans had 117 passing yards and negative 20 rushing yards.  The Warriors registered 162 passing yards and 182 rushing yards.
  • WU collected 16 first downs compared to DSU eight first downs.  The Warriors maintained possession for 32 minutes, 16 seconds.  The Trojans had the ball control for 27 minutes, 42 seconds.
  • Waldorf converted 7-of-20 on third-down situations.  Dakota State was 1-of-17 on third downs. 
  • Dakota State outscored Waldorf 10-0 in points off turnovers.

UP NEXT

Dakota State returns home next Saturday as they host Valley City State (N.D.) in a make-up North Star Athletic Association contest from Oct. 24.  Kick-off is scheduled for 2 p.m. at Trojan Field in Madison, S.D.

Nick Huntimer, Dakota State University Sports Information Director

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