The Viking football team opened the conference season with a convincing 34-10 win at Dakota State on Saturday night.
Valley City State opened the game with a 14-0 lead in the first quarter, led 17-10 at halftime and then put the game away by outscoring the Trojans 17-0 in the second half.
The Viking defense harassed Trojan quarterback Justin Summers all night, taking him down for eight sacks, including 2 1/2 by Sam Cooke. The defense also picked off Summers once, recovered two Trojan fumbles and tallied 14 tackles for loss. Freshman linebacker Nick McBeain finished with 19 total tackles (4 solo, 15 assisted).
Jawuan Pugh and Cooke each had nine tackles, while Dalton Locke, Isaiah Osorio and Ethen Preston had eight tackles each.
On offense, VCSU had its most balanced attack of the season, racking up 163 rushing yards to go with 428 passing yards. Viking quarterback Kurtis Walls completed 20 of 30 passes for 428 yards and two touchdowns. He set a new VCSU single-game record with the 428 yards, breaking the old school passing record of 425 yards held by Jason Beilke.
Senior receiver Demondre Boler had a big game, catching 10 passes for 165 yards and a touchdown. Antoine Griffin caught four passes for 147 yards and Zach Johnson had two catches for 79 yards and a touchdown.
In the rushing game, VCSU used a balanced attack behind its offensive line. Ian Keller carried the ball 19 times for 75 yards and a touchdown. Trevor Goerts also had a touchdown, carrying the ball 17 times for 66 yards.
The Vikings made a statement early, taking the opening kickoff and driving 78 yards for a touchdown. The drive lasted 13 plays and ended with a 2-yard touchdown run by Keller. The Vikings next touchdown came in a flash, less than 3 minutes later. On the second play of their second drive, Walls hit Johnson for a 76-yard touchdown and a 14-0 lead.
Walls hit Boler for a 21-yard touchdown early in the third quarter, and Goerts completed the scoring with a 12-yard run late in the third quarter. Senior kicker Thomas Cortes hit field goals in the second and third quarters.
Dakota State drops to 2-1 overall and 1-1 in conference play.
Up next: VCSU (2-1, 1-0 NSAA) travels to Dickinson State on Saturday, Sept. 20 for a non-conference game. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. MST in Dickinson.
