From Viking’s Athletics (Zac Lucy Photography)
Valley City, ND (vcsuvikings.com) – Dickinson State racked up 410 yards of offense Saturday as the Blue Hawks defeated Valley City State 35-10 in NAIA football action.
The Vikings put together an impressive first quarter drive, going 75 yards in 14 plays to tie the game at 7-7 on a Noah Chambers 1-yard touchdown run. From there, it was pretty much all Blue Hawks.
Dickinson State scored twice in the second quarter opening up a 21-10 halftime lead en route to the victory.
Valley City State drops to 0-3 overall. Dickinson State improves to 1-2 overall. Saturday’s game was a non-conference contest. The two teams will meet again Oct. 29 in Dickinson for their NSAA conference game.
Valley City State running back Justice Bice had 14 carries for 69 yards to lead the Viking offense. Taylor Simmons had five carries for 22 yards, and Chambers rushed for VCSU’s only touchdown. Chambers was 11-for-23 passing for 130 yards.
Austin Young, Taylor Simmons and Justin Cruz each had two catches, and Jacob Gottenborg gained 42 yards on one pass reception. VCSU kicker Rodrigo Castaneda nailed a 26-yard field goal in the second quarter.
Riley Gerhardt led the Viking defense with 13 tackles while Dustin Kasowski had nine. Jahidi West tallied seven tackles and an interception, and Paco Baltazar had seven tackles as well.
Dickinson State quarterback Aaron White went 25-for-33 for 299 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. Riley Linder carried the ball 12 times for 44 yards and two scores. Conor McCarvel had a monster game at receiver, finishing with 11 catches for 132 yards and two scores.
Jayden Heartwell had seven stops for the Dickinson defense, and JaQuawhann Booth had two sacks.
Dickinson had 410 yards of offense (299 passing, 111 rushing) and the Vikings gained 231 yards (130 passing, 101 rushing). The interception by West was the only turnover of the game. Dickinson held a 35:35 to 24:25 advantage in time of possession.
Up next: Valley City State travels to Presentation College for a non-conference game at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 24. Dickinson State hosts Mayville on Sept. 24.