It certainly wasn't easy, but the winning streak continues on. The Valley City State football team won it's sixth straight game Saturday, holding off Dickinson State for a hard-fought 22-17 victory at Shelly Ellig Field in Valley City.
After trailing 17-13 at halftime, the Vikings held Dickinson State scoreless in the second half, rallying past the Blue Hawks for a conference victory on VCSU's Senior Day. Valley City State's winning streak is now at six games as the No. 22-ranked Vikings improve to 7-1 overall and 4-0 in conference play.
Dickinson State drops to 3-4 overall and 1-1 in conference play.
The Vikings struck first and fast as quarterback Kurtis Walls found Antoine Griffin for an 86-yard touchdown with 11:13 remaining in the first half, capping off a 98-yard drive. Walls again found Griffin early in the second quarter for a 5-yard fade to the corner, giving the Vikings a 13-0 lead after the point after was no good. Griffin finished the day with 15 catches, which set a new single-game reception record at VCSU, breaking the old mark of 14 held by Chauncey Calhoun. Those 15 catches went for 162 yards and two touchdowns.
After the Vikings went up 13-0, it was all Blue Hawks the rest of the second quarter. Dickinson used a potent rushing attack to complete touchdown drives of 76 and 75 yards. Jesse Carney's 39-yard touchdown run made it 13-7 with 10:11 remaining in the first half. A 28-yard field goal by Josh Born cut the Viking lead to 13-10, and then quarterback Kayler Ray rushed one in from 2-yards out to give Dickinson a 17-13 lead heading into halftime.
It was all Vikings in the second half. VCSU received to start the half and marched 70 yards on 12 plays, capping off the go-ahead touchdown drive with a 12-yard pass from Walls to Zach Johnson. The point after attempt was no good, leaving the Vikings with a slim 19-17 margin.
It was a defensive struggle from there on out, with the Vikings finally breaking through again early in the fourth quarter. After a 10-play, 58-yard drive, Viking kicker Thomas Cortes nailed a 30-yard field goal to give the Vikings a 5-point cushion at 22-17. The Viking defense then made three stops in the final 10 minutes, preserving the 22-17 victory.
VCSU's offense received the ball on a punt with 4:39 remaining and proceeded to pick up four first downs, milking about 4 minutes off the clock. Dickinson forced a punt with 46 seconds remaining, but the VCSU defense held off Dickinson's desperation passes in the final seconds.
Senior running back Ian Keller was a workhouse on the Vikings' final drive, carrying the ball six times for 39 yards to help run down the clock. He finished with 118 yards on 24 carries.
Quarterback Kurtis Walls completed 25 of 37 passes for 266 yards and three touchdowns. He also had two interceptions.
After allowing 149 rushing yards and 233 total yards in the first half, the Viking defense limited Dickinson to just 55 rushing yards and 94 total yards in the second half. VCSU out-gained Dickinson 414-327 in total yards. Dickinson led the rushing yards, 204-146, while the Vikings led the passing yards, 268-123.
Linebacker Nick McBeain led the Viking defense with 14 tackles and a sack. Ethen Preston had eight tackles and Pathen Asuncion added seven. Dalton Locked tallied seven tackles and a sack, while Darius Graves had six tackles and two sacks. Steven Wright had five tackles and recorded VCSU's only interception of the day.
Dickinson State won the turnover battle, 2-1. Dickinson's Jesse Carney rushed for 126 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries. Myren Moore added 68 yards on 13 carries. Quarterback Kayler Ray completed just 8 of 24 passes for 123 yards. Alex Huitzil led the Blue Hawk defense with 15 tackles and an interception.
Up next: Valley City State has a bye next week before playing at Mayville State on Saturday, Nov. 1. Dickinson hosts Mayville State on Saturday, Oct. 25.
