MADISON, SD – For a third straight game, the University of Jamestown’s defense played to a high level. But again, mistakes by the Jimmie offense and special teams led to a loss.
Dakota State scored twice on defensive touchdowns Saturday in a 16-6 win over UJ in the NSAA opener for both teams at Brian Kern Family Stadium.
A bad snap in the last seconds of the first quarter led to a 10-yard fumble return touchdown by strong safety Kaden Eng and Dakota State (3-0, 1-0 NSAA) led 7-0 after one quarter.
The next drive for Jamestown (0-3, 0-1) ended with a lost fumble. Gage Solano had caught a pass from John Grann to convert a 3rd down, but then lost the ball to DSU’s Deveon Moses.
UJ had an even better chance in the last minute of the first half. With the ball at the Dakota State 7, Moses intercepted a pass in the end zone. The Trojans maintained their 7-0 lead at halftime.
Jamestown missed another big chance to tie the game in the third quarter. With a drive that took nearly eight minutes off the clock, Grann completed passes to convert third and fourth downs. The Jimmies drove to DSU’s 1, but after Gavin Blomdahl and Colton Schneider were held to no gain, Grann threw an incompletion to Ethan Hoffman. DSU still led 7-0 after three quarters.
In the fourth, UJ finally took advantage of a slumping DSU offense. Joey Cole was intercepted by the Jimmies’ Tanner Chaffee, whose 30-yard runback set up Jamestown at the Dakota State 7. Three plays later, Grann hit Hoffman in the right corner of the end zone for a touchdown to bring the Jimmies within 7-6. But Aanon Peterson’s extra point was then blocked by Caleb Dwyer and run back 97 yards by Eng for a two-point conversion and Dakota State led 9-6 with 11:43 remaining.
Five punts followed and Jamestown was at their 38 with 3:12 left when Moses had his second interception, this one for a 60-yard touchdown to secure the win for the Trojans.
Grann was 23-of-49 for 230 yards and two interceptions. Hoffman and Dawson Schmidt each had four catches.
Tyce Ortman rushed for 84 yards for Dakota State, who won despite garnering only 182 yards of offense.
Amazingly, the Jimmies have allowed only two offensive touchdowns, yet are 0-3 because their opponents have four defensive touchdowns, a special teams touchdown, and the 2-point runback in this game.
The home opener for Jamestown will include the homecoming celebration Saturday against Mayville State at Rollie Greeno Field at Charlotte and Gordon Hansen Stadium. Coverage will begin at 1:30 PM on The Voice of the Jimmies, Jamestown 107.1.
| UJ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 6 |
| Dakota St | 7 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 16 |
FIRST QUARTER
Dakota St – Kaden Eng 10-yard TD fumble return 0:12 (Carson Sauceda XP) – 7-0 Dakota St
FOURTH QUARTER
UJ – John Grann 8-yard TD pass to Ethan Hoffman 11:50 (XP blocked) – 7-6 Dakota St – 3 plays, 7 yds, 1:39
Dakota St – Eng 97-yard runback of blocked XP for 2-point conversion 11:50 – 9-6 Dakota St
Dakota St – Deveon Moses 60-yard TD interception return 2:50 (Sauceda XP) – 16-6 Dakota St
Individual Statistics
RUSHING
UJ – Colton Schneider 7-20, Grann 9-19, Gavin Blomdahl 3-5, Carlos Julian 3-4, Nick Martinez 1-(-21)
Dakota St – Tyce Ortman 25-84, Preston Iverson 7-22, Joey Cole 9-17, Tray Hettick 4-(-9)
PASSING
UJ – Grann 23-49-230-1 TD-2 INT
Dakota St – Hettick 3-6-38, Cole 5-12-30-1 INT
RECEIVING
UJ – Dawson Schmidt 4-56, Isaiah Roebuck 3-37, Erastus Antsino 3-37, Gage Solano 2-30, Hoffman 4-29-1 TD, Julian 2-13, Caleb Powell 1-9, Cody Pellaton 1-6, Lukasz Andrews 2-5, Schneider 1-4
Dakota St – JerQon Conners 2-27, Austin Lake 2-27, Melek Ford 2-7, AJ Siemsen 1-6, Tysen Grinde 1-1
| UJ | Dakota St | |
| First Downs | 14 | 10 |
| Rushing | 23-27 | 45-114 |
| Passing | 230 | 68 |
| Total Yds | 257 | 182 |
| Att/Comp/Int | 23/49/2 | 8/18/1 |
| Punts/avg | 7/38.0 | 8/34.5 |
| Fumbles/lost | 3/2 | 0/0 |
| Penalties/Yds | 3/34 | 4/43 |
| Time of possession | 25:54 | 34:06 |