Blue Hawks weather storm to hammer Waldorf on the road

FOREST CITY, IOWA – On a rain-soaked afternoon in Forest City, Dickinson State overcame a four-hour weather delay and took down North Star Athletic Association rival Waldorf University, 41-14, on Saturday.

Braden Zuroff got the Blue Hawk offense going early, taking the hand off on the first play from scrimmage for 21 yards. After an incomplete pass, Zuroff rattled off consecutive runs of 12, 13, 8, and 7 yards to get inside the WU 10-yard line. Quarterback Will Madler took care of the rest, with an 8-yard carry and a 1-yard touchdown run on the next two plays to put DSU up 7-0 early.

A fantastic day by the Blue Hawk defense started early as well, as Tel Lunde recovered a fumble from WU's Jatoviay Hill in DSU territory.

A 44-yard run from Madler on the next Dickinson State possession put the Blue Hawks in position to pad their lead but were forced to settle for a Chase Miller field goal, going up 10-0. Another field goal from Miller made it 13-0 DSU early in the second quarter.

Another Zuroff rushing touchdown and a one-yard touchdown pass from Madler to Noah Sickler gave Dickinson State a 27-0 lead heading into the half.

Any momentum the Blue Hawks may have generated in the first half, however, was surely lessened when lightning in the area caused a 4 hour and 15-minute weather delay at halftime.

A long return by Waldorf started the second half and the Warriors cashed in with their first touchdown of the game four plays later to make it 27-7. The game was clearly affected by the rain, as both sides struggled to hold on to the ball in the second half, but a pair of rushing touchdowns from Zuroff put the game out of reach as Dickinson State pulled away for good.

Zuroff rushed for 185 yards and three touchdowns on 30 carries, putting himself in a great position to pick up his second North Star Athletic Association Offensive Player of the Week award in a few days. Madler had an efficient day throwing the ball in bad weather, going 17-26 for 176 yards and a touchdown to go with his rushing score in the first half.

Sickler led the receiving corps with seven catches for 75 yards and a touchdown, while Chase Miller was perfect again going 5/5 on extra points and 2/2 on field goals.

The Blue Hawk defense turned in another solid performance, gathering four sacks, seven tackles for loss, an interception, and a forced fumble.

Overall, the Blue Hawks gained 539 yards of total offense, including 361 on the ground, while holding Waldorf to just 228.

"We played an outstanding first half in all phases of the game," said head coach Pete Stanton. "Our guys stayed patient during the half with the long wait and the weather, but it certainly took us awhile to get going in the second half. We eventually got it going again and it was a huge day offensively running the ball so big credit goes to our offensive line. It was a great road win for us."