UND ATHLETICS
GRAND FORKS, N.D. – No. 13/15 North Dakota (6-4, 4-2 MVFC) stumbled in a slugfest with No. 1 North Dakota State (10-0, 7-0 MVFC) inside the Alerus Center, 15-10, on Saturday afternoon. The Bison did not have a lead in the game until the final 2:22.
The Fighting Hawks held a 10-9 edge on the scoreboard and faced 4th & 1 at the UND 50 with under 4:30 to go. North Dakota elected to go for it and was stopped short on a rush by Jerry Kaminski on the fourth down attempt. The Bison took advantage of the momentum and scored to take their first lead of the game four plays later when Cole Payton found the end-zone on an eight-yard rush. NDSU then elected to go for two and was unsuccessful when Payton was stopped at the 1 by Malachi McNeal and Montre Samuels-Parker to give the Hawks a chance at the end.
On the ensuing kick return, Avery Scott pitched the ball to Kristen Hoskins at the UND 20 and he returned it to the UND 44. The play was reviewed and eventually penalized for an illegal forward pass to give the Hawks the ball at their own 14 to begin the drive. North Dakota did not gain any yardage and had to punt, but the defense once again stood tall to give the ball back to the offense at its own 29 with 1:22 left. North Dakota went 43 yards over the next nine plays before the drive came to a halt when Kaminski’s pass was intercepted at the NDSU 1 to allow the Bison to escape with the 15-10 win.
Prior to the Bison touchdown, North Dakota’s defense held North Dakota State in-check and had only allowed them three field goals. In the game, the Fighting Hawks limited the Bison to just 268 yards of total offense. Before kickoff, NDSU was averaging 475.5 yards of offense per contest. The Bison finished contest with 143 yards rushing and 125 yards passing.
McNeal and Zach Lewis paced the defensive effort for UND with eight tackles apiece and seven solo stops each. McNeal made a statement early, picking off North Dakota State and returning it to the NDSU 11 in the first quarter. Two plays later, Sawyer Seidl ran in the two-yard score to bring the tally to 7-0 early. It was the only touchdown of the game for North Dakota. Seidl ended the day with 69 yards rushing on 23 attempts.
Kaminski finished 21-for-38 passing for 170 yards and was intercepted three times. UND earned 287 total yards of offense in the contest, led by the 170 yards through the air. B.J. Fleming was the most productive Fighting Hawk receiver with six grabs for 53 yards.
Payton led the Bison offensively and was 8-for-15 passing for 125 yards, while surrendering an interception in the first half. He also contributed 68 yards on the ground, including the eight-yard touchdown run. Bryce Lance was the top NDSU receiver with three grabs for 61 yards and Barika Kpeenu paced the rushing attack with 73 yards on 18 tries.
At intermission, the Fighting Hawks held a narrow 7-6 lead over the Bison. Seidl had the two-yard rushing touchdown after McNeal’s interception in the first quarter. NDSU connected on field goals from 20 yards out and 38 yards out to trim the deficit to 7-6 by halftime.
In the third stanza, the teams traded field goals. Kenten Laughman first connected on a 32-yarder midway through the third quarter to push the Hawk advantage to 10-6 and NDSU’s Eli Ozick made his third field goal of the afternoon with 1:09 left in the quarter to cut the deficit to 10-9. Ozick was 3-for-3 kicking for the Bison.
North Dakota will visit Murray State this Saturday. Kickoff between the Fighting Hawks and Racers is slated for 11 a.m. The game will stream on ESPN+ and will be carried on the Fighting Hawks Radio Network
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