DICKINSON, ND (NewsDakota.com) A stiff Bluehawk run defense, and a hot receiver led to a Valley City State University loss 21-13 Saturday in Dickinson.
Noah Sickler caught seven passes for 151 yards and two touchdowns, while the Viking run game was held to just 43 yards on the ground in a win for the Bluehawks that give them the inside track for their eighth consecutive conference championship. Dickinson State moved to 4-0 in North Star Athletic Association (NSAA) play, while the Vikings fell to 2-2 in the league, 3-5 overall.
Tempo was set on the opening drive, as Dickinson State held the ball for 7:47 on a 75-yard drive that featured the first of the big grabs of Sickler’s day, a 21-yard catch that converted a third-and-12. Backup quarterback Bridger Grovom finished the drive with a three-yard run.
Valley City State struck back in the second, as Noah Chambers (Fr., Juneau, AK,) found Austin Young (Sr., Pequot Lakes, MN) for a 21-yard strike to tie the game with 9:04 left till halftime. It was the second straight week for a Chambers-to-Young scoring connection.
Sickler would hurt the Vikings again just before half, reeling in a 26-yard Aaron White toss in the back of the endzone with 50 seconds remaining, giving Sickler his fifth catch of the half, with 93 yards and a score under his belt. The Bluehawks took at 14-7 lead to the break.
White would again find Sickler for a score, this time from 18 yards out, to extend the lead to 21-7 with 4:26 of the third quarter remaining. It would be the final play of the game that Dickinson State would have the momentum.
Chambers engineered a scoring drive early in the fourth, finding Faaris Amegankpoe (So., Maple Grove, MN) for a 20-yard gainer, then hitting Jacob Gottenberg (Sr., Pelican Rapids, MN) for 11 more to the Bluehawk three. Justice Bice (Jr., Bonifay, FL) capped the march, and the Vikings closed the gap to 21-13 with 10:48 to play.
Amegankpoe ended the game as the Vikings top gainer, with four grabs for 50 yards, earning Ivy Real Estate Group Player of the Game honors.
The Vikings received the ball twice more, but an errant snap on a fourth-and-one ended their final possession inside Dickinson State territory.
Riley Gerhardt (So., Valley City, ND) played another strong game for the Vikings, recording three quarterback sacks and four tackles for loss. Still, White finished 14-24 for 210 yards after burning the Vikings for 299 yards in their first meeting this season.
The Vikings host Presentation College next Saturday, and wrap up November 12th at Mayville State.