April 24, 2021

Photos credit by Karen Giles

MADISON, S.D. – Dakota State (S.D.) rushed a season-high 221 yards Saturday afternoon, cruising past Mayville State (N.D.) 26-7 in the North Star Athletic Association football contest at Trojan Field.  It was a make-up North Star conference contest from last fall when the Comets were dealing with COVID-19 issues.

DSU finished their 2020 football season with a 4-5 record in the North Star conference, winning two straight games.  Mayville State fell to 2-6 overall record and 1-6 NSAA conference record.

Dakota State lifted its all-time series record to 19-14 over Mayville State, winning the last six meetings including the last DSU's game on Nov. 19 at MSU by the score of 37-28 after a 30-point second quarter explosion.  Saturday's game was the first time since Sept. 16, 2017 that the Trojans hosted the Comets.

FIRST QUARTER

• Dakota State kicked off the game by marching down the field with 13 plays for 73 yards in 7 minutes, 42 seconds for the first score.  The Trojans produced four first-down plays during the drive, highlighted by a 31-yard pass from Zach Brooks to Cole Sylliaasen on a third-and-nine play on DSU's 49-yard.
• Brooks connected to Sylliaasen for a 9-yard touchdown pass to give Dakota State a 6-0 lead with 7:18 on the clock in the first quarter.  Caleb Nielsen extended DSU's lead to 7-0 after a successful PAT extra point kick.
• DSU tallied 87 offensive yards in the first fifteen minutes of the game and held MSU to nine total offensive yards.

SECOND QUARTER

• Mayville State was forced to punt despite recording seven plays for 21 yards in nearly five minutes in the early second quarter.
• The Trojans started the ensuing possession as Jack Anderson exploded for a 78-yard touchdown run to widen their lead to 13-0 with 8:35 on the clock.  Nielsen missed the PAT extra-point kick.
• DSU's Noah Guse intercepted MSU Tim Salmon's pass on Comets' 44-yard line.  Guse returned the interception for 12 yards to give the Trojans their starting drive on MSU's 32-yard line with 8:12 left in the second quarter.
• Dakota State settled down for a 36-yard field goal to balloon their lead to 16-0 with 5:39 to go before intermission.
• Nielsen added a 29-yard field goal with nine seconds left before halftime, making it 19-0 in favor of the Trojans.
• DSU outscored MSU 12-0 in the second quarter.
• The Trojans tallied 236 offensive yards in the first half and held the Comets to 39 total offensive yards.

THIRD QUARTER

• There was only a total of 14 total offensive yards combined by both teams in the first ten minutes and thirty-five seconds of the third quarter.
• The Trojans could not extend their lead with 6:17 on the clock as Nielsen's 47-yard field goal was missed after the Comets turned the ball on downs on MSU's 30-yard line.
• Dakota State closed the third quarter with their final scoring drive of the game, recording eight plays for 53 yards in 4:25.  Anderson rushed back-to-back 10-plus rushing yard plays, starting with a 12-yard rush from MSU's 25-yard line to MSU's 13-yard line followed by a 12-yard touchdown rush.
• DSU made it 26-0 after Nielsen converted a successful PAT extra-point kick.

FOURTH QUARTER

• Mayville State closed the game with a touchdown.  The Comets used seven plays for 77 yards in 3:36 as Salmon connected to Reece Smith for a 15-yard touchdown reception.  Samer Waz added the PAT extra-point kick as the Comets trailed 26-7.
• MSU outgained DSU 115-89 in total offensive yards in the second half.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Anderson rushed 16 times for 136 yards with two touchdowns for Dakota State.  He also had a reception for three yards.  He racked up a total of 150 all-purpose yards in the game. 
• Brooks added 10 rushes for 48 yards.  Gavin Holland had 13 rushes for 40 yards.
• Brooks finished the game by going 12-of-23 for 104 passing yards with one touchdown for DSU.  Sylliaasen had four receptions for 66 yards and a touchdown.  Dajshon Keel added four catches for 23 yards.  Jalen Stewart had three receptions for 12 yards.
• Nielsen recorded five punts for 214 total yards, averaging 42.8 yards per punt for the Trojans.  His three punts went inside the 20-yard line.
• Devonte Murphy led DSU defense with seven tackles and 1.5 tackles-for-loss of 4.8 yards loss.  Mahdi Benalshaikh and Jay Skogerboe each added six tackles.  Marcus Vanden Bosch recorded a quarterback sack.  Guse had an interception and returned it for 12 yards.
• Cole Dukart had 10 rushes for 52 yards for Mayville State.  Salmon completed 10 passes in 24 attempts for 97 yards with a touchdown and an interception.
• Josh Portillo led the Comets with seven catches for 30 yards.  Smith added two receptions for 57 yards and a touchdown.
• Bailey Mullenberg registered nine punts for 306 total yards, averaging 34.0 yards per punt for MSU.  He also had a quarterback sack.
• Austin DeLaroque had a game-high 12 tackles (6 solo, 6 assists) for the Comets.  Josiah Walker and Daniel Simpson each added nine tackles.

TEAM COMPARISONS

• Dakota State collected 325 total offensive yards in the game compared to Mayville State 154 total offensive yards.  The Trojans averaged 5.1 yards gained per play, while the Comets averaged 3.2 yards gained per play.
• The Trojans recorded 15 first downs and limited the Comets to seven first downs. 
• DSU held MSU to 57 rushing yards in the game.  Dakota State recorded 104 passing yards compared to Mayville State 97 passing yards.
• The Trojans maintained a time possession of 32 minutes, 15 seconds.  The Comets had the ball for 27 minutes and 45 seconds.
• Dakota State converted 6-of-16 on third-down conversions.  Mayville State was 1-of-13 third downs. 

UP NEXT

Stay tuned to the Dakota State athletics' website for the upcoming 2021 Trojan football schedule. 

Nick Huntimer, Dakota State University Sports Information Director