VALLEY CITY, ND (NewsDalota.com, photo courtesy of VCSUVikings.com)  A quick Viking start turned into a grind, but Valley City State found a win.

Justice Bice finished with 175 all-purpose yards, including 132 on the ground, and Riley Gerhardt found his way into the record books again, as the Vikings topped Dakota State 21-14 at Lokken Stadium and Shelly Ellig Field Saturday.

Bice scored the deciding touchdown on a 28-yard dash in the third quarter, and grabbed a leaping 31-yard catch on the Vikings opening drive, converting a fourth-and-six, to set up the games first score.

Gerhardt recorded a quarterback sack, his 10th of rhe season, reaching 35.5 for his career, which is the new career record at Valley City State.  He broke the career record in tackles for loss earlier this year.

Noah Chambers was efficient, finishing 14-24 for 142 yards in his first start of the year.

While the Vikings won, they left some plays on the field in the form of dropped passes in critical situations, a factor in keeping the game close.

“We see flashes of how good our offense can be, but we need to execute it,” said Viking head coach Dennis McCulloch.  “We felt like we could have done some things to put this one away earlier.”

McCulloch noted the finish, as the Vikings converted key first downs to run the clock out, killing over four minutes to end the game.

“That is a statement for our offense, to not have to put the defense back on the field was a real positive for the team,” McCulloch said.

Valley City State improved to 5-2 overall, 4-1 in North Star Athletic Association play.  They face Mayvillr State in their next game, at Mayville, October 28th.