A trio of fourth-quarter turnovers by the Valley City State football team proved to be the difference Saturday afternoon at Lokken Stadium.

Dakota State scored 22 unanswered points in the fourth quarter – all coming off Viking turnovers – to score a come-from-behind 31-17 victory in NSAA football action.

Valley City State, which led 17-9 in the fourth quarter, drops to 1-4 overall this season and is now 0-1 in the North Star Athletic Association. Dakota State improves to 3-3 overall and 1-1 in conference play.

Leading 10-9 entering the fourth quarter, Valley City State extended its lead to 17-9 after quarterback Noah Chambers hit receiver Austin Young for a 22-yard touchdown with 13:23 remaining.

Valley City State's defense followed with a stop on Dakota State's next drive, but that's when things went south for the Vikings. Taylor Simmons fumbled the punt return and Dakota State recovered at VCSU's 7-yard line. Tyce Ortman raced in for a touchdown on the very next play and Darrion Conrad ran in the 2-point conversion to tie the game at 17-17 with 8:22 remaining.

A blocking penalty backed the Vikings up to their own 6-yard line after the kickoff, and then Chambers fumbled at the 1-yard line on the next play. Devonte Murphy recovered it for Dakota State and one play later quarterback Zach Brooks scored on a QB sneak. Noah Karwacki added the PAT kick and the Trojans had a 24-17 lead – scoring 15 points in less than 20 seconds on the game clock. 

The Vikings drove deep into Dakota State territory on their next drive, but on a 3rd-and-6 play Chambers' pass was picked off by Mason Lloyd. Lloyd returned it to the Vikings 40-yard line and then Dakota State put the game out of reach when Brooks scored the game's final touchdown on a 1-yard keeper with 1:06 remaining.

1ST HALF
The teams traded field goals early in the game, playing to a 3-3 tie after Noah Karwacki hit a 27-yarder for Dakota State in the first quarter and Rodrigo Castaneda made a 36-yarder for the Vikings early in the second quarter. On the ensuing kickoff, VCSU's Riley Gerhardt forced a fumble and Shayden Luna recovered it to set the Vikings up with a short field at the 30-yard line. Six plays later, Taylor Simmons rushed for a 4-yard touchdown and a 10-3 Viking lead.

Dakota State answered on the very next drive, going 73 yards in nine plays. Brooks capped off the drive with a 21-yard touchdown pass to Cole Sylliaasen. The PAT kick was wide left though, leaving the Vikings with a 10-9 lead they would take into the second half.

INDIVIDUAL STATS
Riley Gerhardt had a huge game defensively for the Vikings, totaling 18 tackles, 2.5 sacks and a forced fumble that led to a Viking touchdown. Vance Dumas was in on nine tackles, and both Dustin Kasowski and Ashton Raquino had seven tackles and one tackle for loss.

Chambers finished 13-for-21 passing for 134 yards, one touchdown and one interception. He also rushed 16 times for 45 yards. Justice Bice had 12 carries for 56 yards, while Simmons had 6 carries for 33 yards and a touchdown. Dominic Sotomayor caught four passes for 43 yards, and Austin Young had three catches for 33 yards and a touchdown.

For Dakota State, Brooks was 9-for-16 passing for 176 yards and a touchdown. He also rushed for two short touchdowns. Tyce Ortman had 17 carries for 70 yards and a score. Derek Siemonsma caught two passes for 61 yards. JJ Beck led the Trojan defense with nine tackles, and Gustavo Bonilla had eight tackles.

TEAM STATS
Valley City State finished with 268 yards of offense, including 134 passing and 134 rushing. Dakota State had 278 total yards – 176 of which came through the air.

VCSU turned the ball over three times compared to just once by Dakota State. All four turnovers in the game eventually led to touchdowns.

UP NEXT
Valley City State hosts Iowa Wesleyan on Saturday, Oct. 15, at 1 p.m. Dakota State hosts Presentation College on Oct. 15 at 4 p.m.