FOREST CITY, IOWA – The Valley City State football team rallied from a 24-point second half deficit on Saturday, completing a stunning comeback in a 28-24 victory at Waldorf University.
 
The Vikings managed just 78 yards of offense and gave up 24 first-half points as they trailed 24-0 at halftime, but things changed dramatically in the second half. VCSU's defense gave up only 21 net yards in the second half, and the Vikings scored touchdowns on all four of their possessions.
 
Backup quarterback Noah Chambers led the Vikings on four straight scoring drives, rushing for two touchdowns himself and finding Justice Bice for a pair of passing touchdowns. Trailing 24-21 with 2:05 remaining, the Vikings faced fourth-and-goal from inside the 1-yard line and decided to go for the win. Chambers found the endzone on a quarterback sneak as VCSU completed the comeback and took a 28-24 lead.
 
The Viking defense sealed the win with Paco Baltazar intercepting a pass at the VCSU 13-yard line in the final seconds. In the second half, VCSU's defense forced the Warriors into three three-and-out possessions, keeping the momentum for VCSU's hot offense. Waldorf's first four second-half possessions resulted in a net of negative 21 yards.

"This was the greatest comeback in my time at VCSU," said longtime VCSU head coach Dennis McCulloch. "Our guys did a great job of staying together and believing that we could find a way to come back. Someone asked me what adjustments we made at halftime, and defensively our guys said they felt like they were in good position but just missing tackles which created big plays. It was huge to come out after the half and get a stop. Then the offense scored and we just gained confidence from that point. It was great team win."
 
After a quiet first half, the Vikings found their offensive groove in the second half behind the play of backup quarterback Noah Chambers, who entered late in the second quarter. Chambers finished the game 9-for-13 passing for 139 yards and two touchdowns. Chambers also rushed for 63 yards and two scores.
 
Running back Justice Bice finished with 227 all-purpose yards, including 113 on the ground and 114 through the air. That included touchdown catches of 42 yards and 34 yards that pulled VCSU to within 24-21 early in the fourth quarter. After the defense forced another Waldorf punt, the Vikings began the game-winning drive on their own 25-yard line.
 
That drive would span 15 plays and more than 8 minutes on the clock as VCSU picked up three 3rd downs and then finished the drive with a 4^th down conversion on Chambers' game-winning QB sneak.
 
Valley City State is now 4-2 overall and 3-1 in conference play. Waldorf drops to 3-3 overall and 2-2 in conference play. The Vikings have a bye next week and then start the second half of conference play by hosting Dakota State on Oct. 21.
 
Jahidi West had 14 tackles and 1.5 TFL to lead VCSU's defense. Both Georgia Mageo and Riley Gerhardt had a sack, and Baltazar sealed the win with an interception.
 
Up next: Valley City State has a bye next week before hosting Dakota State on Oct. 21.