Blue Hawks sink Vikings

VALLEY CITY, ND - The Dickinson State football team picked up its first win of the season with a 35-10 victory against Valley City State (0-3, 0-0) on Saturday afternoon. The win moves the Blue Hawks to 1-2 (0-0 NSAA) on the season.

Saturday's contest was not a conference game, new to the schedule this season, but was a good test for the Blue Hawks to see where they stood against one of the tougher teams in the North Star Athletic Association. They handled the test with relative ease, on the road, against a Viking team that was receiving votes in the preseason national poll.

The Blue Hawks got on the board first thanks to a 12-play 69 yard opening drive. On a 3rd down and goal from the VCSU 2-yard line, Riley Linder took the handoff from QB Aaron White into the endzone for a quick 7-0 lead, after the extra point. The Vikings responded with a long touchdown drive of their own on their first possesion to tie the score at 7-7. The game had the makings of a shootout early, but the DSU defense was up to the task.

On the Blue Hawks second possession, they again marched down the field, this time 65 yards on 11 plays, and Linder powered in again for a 14-7 Blue Hawk lead. VCSU continued the scoring ways on their next drive, but were held to just a field goal, leaving DSU in the lead 14-10.

After that, it was all Dickinson State. White connected with WR Conor McCarvel for two touchdown passes, and another to RB Alec Lovegren to put the Blue Hawks up 35-10 with 2:49 left in the third quarter. The fourth quarter was full of penalties, but no scores, as the final whistle blew with the Blue Hawks still leading by 25.

White threw for 299 yards, 3 touchdowns and 1 interception in his best game of the season, while McCarvel collected 11 catches for 132 yards and 2 touchdowns. Linder led the Blue Hawk rushing attack powering for 45 yards on 12 carries and two touchdowns.

JaQuawhann Booth gathered 2 sacks for the DSU defense, and Krew Mathern and Matt Anderson combined for another, giving the Blue Hawks three on the day. Jayden Heartwell continued to play well, gathering 7 tackles, including 1 for a loss, in the win.

WHATS NEXT

The Blue Hawks return home next week for another non-conference game against an NSAA foe. This time DSU will take on Mayville State University on September 24th at the BAC. Kickoff will be at 1:00 PM MT.