It's good to be back.

The first college football game of the season was played in Valley City on Thursday night, and it marked the return of the Paint Bucket rivalry which took a hiatus last year due to COVID. For Valley City State fans, the game lived up to the expectations.

The VCSU defense dominated the line of scrimmage – holding University of Jamestown to negative rushing yards – and Jalen Pfeifer threw touchdown passes to Jacob Gottenborg, Michael Cornelious and Justice Bice as the Vikings opened the season with a 24-7 win over the Jimmies.

It was the 122nd meeting between the two programs, and the 74th meeting of the Paint Bucket series. Valley City State now leads the all-time series 64-53-5 and leads the Paint Bucket series 43-31.

"Our defense played extremely well," said VCSU head coach Dennis McCulloch. "Ultimately, our front four guys getting pressure created a lot of problems for them and that allowed us to do a lot of different looks coverage wise."

The Vikings limited Jamestown to just 216 yards of total offense, including a loss of seven yards on 17 rushes. Jamestown's only score of the game came on a 57-yard fumble return touchdown in the fourth quarter.

"Anytime they tried to run the ball, there were no opportunities," said McCulloch. "Our inside guys played extremely well. We really didn't give them a lot of light."

The Viking offense wasn't dominant, but it was good enough. Pfeifer passed for touchdowns in the first, third and fourth quarters as the Vikings built a 24-0 lead with 12:54 remaining. VCSU finished with 339 yards of offense, including 266 through the air. The Vikings were hampered by three turnovers and 12 penalties for 140 yards.

VCSU scored on its first two possessions of the game to go ahead 10-0 early. After forcing Jamestown into a three-and-out to start the game, VCSU put together a nearly 7-minute drive that ended with a Nico Magana field goal and a 3-0 lead. The Viking defense followed with another three-and-out, giving the Vikings great field position deep in Jimmie territory. On the first play of the drive, Pfeifer connected with Gottenborg for the first touchdown of the season and a 10-0 lead.

Pfeifer found Cornelious for a 30-yard score in the third quarter – capping a 10-play, 60-yard drive – that made in 17-0. Early in the fourth quarter an interception by Jerrod Williamson set the Vikings up deep in Jimmie territory once again. Pfeifer followed with his third touchdown pass of the night, this one to Justice Bice for a 25-yard score that put the Vikings in control, 24-0.

"We did some really good things on offense, but we also did a lot of things to shoot ourselves in the foot," said McCulloch. "Thats something we have to clean up, but you can see there are some explosive plays in our guys."

Pfeifer finished 20-for-32, passing for 266 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions. Cornelious caught five passes for 96 yards and a score. Benjamin Dumond hauled in seven passes for 85 yards, and Gottenborg had three catches for 45 yards and a score. Bice led the Vikings on the ground with 16 carries for 45 yards while Pfeifer rushed six times for 29 yards.

VCSU's defense employed a balanced attack with seven guys totaling at least four tackles. Marshaun Jones had 1.5 sacks and the Vikings tallied two sacks and six tackles for loss. Dustin Kasowski and Riley Gerhardt each had six tackles, and Jerrod Williamson finished with five tackles and an interception.

Up next: Valley City State continues non-conference play with Sept. 4 game at Concordia College-Moorhead. Kickoff is at 1 p.m.