Running game carries Blue Hawks over Mayville State

MAYVILLE, N.D. – Dickinson State picked up their sixth consecutive victory after a 21-0 run turned a close game into a blowout as the Blue Hawk defeated Mayville State, 49-20, on Saturday.

Mayville State jumped out to an early lead, getting a field goal on their opening possession to make it 3-0, but Dickinson State answered back immediately, going 80 yards in 7 plays to take a 7-0 lead. Will Madler found Kaden Kuntz for a two-yard touchdown catch to put DSU in front.

Darion Brown gave the Blue Hawks the lead just over two minutes later, scoring his first of three touchdowns on the day with an 11-yard run. The teams headed into the second quarter with DSU leading 14-3 after the Blue Hawks forced another MSU punt.

A fumble by DSU on their next possession gave the Comets prime field possession and they capitalized in just two plays, scoring on a 27-yard pass to get back within 4, 14-10.

DSU again had an answer, scoring on a 9-play, 48-yard drive when Braden Zuroff ran it home from two yards, but again MSU had a big play answer, scoring on a 68-yard pass to get within a score again.

From that point on, however, it was all Dickinson State, as Zuroff ran in another score from three yards out, and Madler found Nathan Schumacher on a six-yard touchdown pass as the Blue Hawks went into the half up 35-17.

The Comets were only able to tack on a field goal in the second half, as Darion Brown scored two more times in the third quarter, including on a 48-yard run, for the last two Blue Hawk scores.

Brown officially finished with 91 yards on nine carries and three touchdowns, but the Blue Hawks expect him to finish over 100 yards when stat corrections are made over the weekend. Zuroff also rushed for over 100 yards, coming in at 111 on 12 carries with two touchdowns, as DSU continued to run the ball well.

On the defensive side, the Blue Hawks gathered four sacks with Krew Mathern getting in on 1.5 again extending his school record. DSU totaled 12 tackles for loss on the day as they held the Comets to just 32 yards on the ground.

"It was a good road win for the guys," said head coach Pete Stanton. "Mayville played a great first half and their QB and receivers gave us some problems. Our offense did a great job of getting some scores before halftime and we responded well. We continue to run the ball well and have been stringing some nice drives together."

Dickinson State will have a rare second bye-week next weekend due to the five-team NSAA schedule before returning home to face Waldorf on October 28.