After kicking off 90 minutes later than scheduled due to heavy rain and storms earlier in the day, the Vikings needed less than 16 minutes of play to decide their game at Presentation College. A pair of defensive touchdowns and a record-setting day by quarterback Jalen Pfeifer carried the Vikings to a 44-10 victory over the Saints.
Martin Jones returned an interception 75 yards for a touchdown, and Ashton Raquino returned a fumble 35 yards for a score as VCSU built a 28-0 lead just 12 seconds into the second quarter. The Vikings would coast from there, remaining undefeated on the season with the 34-point victory.
Quarterback Jalen Pfeifer became the new all-time passing leader in VCSU history on Saturday, surpassing the record of 8,675 career yards held by Kurtis Walls. Pfeifer broke the record in the third quarter and finished the game with 8,809 career passing yards. Pfeifer also became the all-time leader in total touchdowns responsible for – having a hand in four more scores Saturday. He has now accounted for 92 total touchdowns (74 Passing and 18 rushing) in his career, breaking the old record of 88 set by Kurtis Walls.
The Vikings started the scoring on their first drive of the game as Pfeifer rushed for a 14-yard touchdown with 10:10 left in the first quarter. On the Saints' next possession, Jones intercepted a pass at the VCSU 25-yard line and returned it for a 75-yard touchdown and a 14-0 lead. After the VCSU defense forced a punt, Pfeifer hit Justice Bice for a 53-yard touchdown and the Vikings had a 21-0 lead after the first quarter.
On the first play of the second quarter, Marshaun Jones sacked the quarterback and forced a fumble that Ashton Raquino picked up and returned 35 yards for a touchdown. VCSU's defense would add a safety later in the quarter on a Presentation College punt, and the Vikings took a 30-3 lead into the locker room.
The Vikings tacked on two more scores in the second half as Pfeifer connected with Benjamin Dumond (27 yards) and Jorun Hamre (29 yards) for touchdowns.
Pfeifer went 20-for-33 in the game, racking up 295 passing yards and three scores. Dumond hauled in eight passes for 114 yards and a touchdown. Michael Cornelious had five catches for 56 yards as eight different Vikings hauled in passes. Justice Bice rushed 12 times for 45 yards to go along with his 53-yard touchdown catch. Nico Magana was 6-for-6 on PAT kicks.
Riley Gerhardt totaled eight tackles and two sacks to lead VCSU's defensive effort. Marshaun Jones had five tackles, a sack and two tackles for loss, and Dustin Kasowski finished with six total tackles and a sack. Martin Jones, Paco Baltazar and Jerrod Williamson each had an interception for the Vikings, who finished with four total takeaways. VCSU's defense allowed 292 total yards.
The No. 17-ranked Vikings remain undefeated and are now 6-0 overall and 4-0 in the North Star Athletic Association. Presentation College drops to 0-7 overall and 0-4 in the NSAA.
Up next: Valley City State (6-0) travels to Madison, S.D., for a 4 p.m. game against Dakota State on Saturday, Oct. 16.
