Blue Hawks drop heartbreaker at Rocky Mountain College in season opener

Sagan Osborne | Dickinson State Sports Marketing and Information Director

BILLINGS, Mont. – Will Madler excelled in his first start at QB for the Blue Hawks, going 24-37 for 251 yards, 3 TD, and an INT, and Noah Sickler hauled in 10 catches for 165 yards and two TD's, but it wasn't quite enough as the #19 Blue Hawks came up just short, 20-19, on the road at Rocky Mountain College (1-0).

After Madler and Sickler connected for a touchdown with less than 10 seconds remaining to make it a one-point game, head coach Pete Stanton elected to go for the two-point conversion and the win. Unfortunately for Dickinson State, Madler's pass sailed high and through the endzone as DSU came up just short in their season opener.

The Blue Hawks came out of the gate rolling, as Madler and Sickler connected for their first touchdown of the day from 40 yards on their seventh play from scrimmage for a 6-0 lead. The PAT was blocked, a play that loomed large in the one-point loss.

After an interception by Jayden Heartwell just two plays later gave DSU the ball right back, the Blue Hawk offense got right back to work. A ten-play drive was capped off with a 14-yard touchdown reception by TE Galen Brantley III as the Blue Hawks took a commanding 13-0 lead less than seven minutes into the game.

After a stop got the ball back to DSU, the Blue Hawks looked poised to open the lead up even more as a 36-yard rush by WR Kaden Kuntz got them to near midfield. Two plays late, however, Madler tried to throw a deep ball with a defender around his ankles and the pass sailed over its intended receiver into the hands of the RMC defense for an interception.

The ensuing Battlin' Bears possession resulted in a booming 43-yard field goal to cut the DSU lead to ten. From that point on, the RMC defense was up to the task. Dickinson State did not threaten to score again until late in the fourth quarter.

A pair of touchdowns and another field goal gave Rocky Mountain a 20-13 advantage before a 14-play, 65-yard drive, set up the last second chance for the Blue Hawks.

"Our guys battled hard," said Stanton via text message. "We were bogged down in the second quarter with some miscues in all 3 phases that hurt us. I'm proud of the way our guys put together a couple drives at the end. I was proud of our effort."

Braden Zuroff led the DSU rushing attack with 9 carries for 49 yards. Heartwell, Brock Jones, and Riley O'Donnell each had six tackles for the Blue Hawk defense, with O'Donnell leading the team with five solo tackles.

Dickinson State (0-1) will now turn their attention to next week as they prepare to open North Star Athletic Association play with a home matchup against Mayville State (0-1) at the Biesiot Activities Center. Kickoff will be at 1 pm MDT.