-UND Athletics/VERMILLION, S.D. – No. 8/10 North Dakota (6-3, 4-1 MVFC) fell, 26-21, to South Dakota (6-4, 4-2 MVFC) inside the DakotaDome on Saturday afternoon. The Fighting Hawks turned the ball over three times in the loss and the Coyotes finished +3.0 turnover margin.
Despite trailing 26-7 midway through the third quarter, UND scored a pair of touchdowns in the final 18 minutes to trim the deficit to 26-21. With 2:48 left in the third quarter, Jerry Kaminski ran in untouched from 11 yards out to cut the lead to 26-14 with 2:48 left in the third quarter. With just over 12 minutes left in the game, Sawyer Seidl ran up the gut and outran a pack of defenders to score on a 41-yard scamper to bring the tally to 26-21.
The Fighting Hawks had a pair of chances to get the lead in the final stanza but turned the ball over on downs on both possessions. Its most promising chance came midway through the final quarter when the Hawks went 11 plays for 62 yards, but the drive ended on downs at the USD 27.
Kaminski finished the day 16-for-30 passing for 177 yards while also surrendering two interceptions. B.J. Fleming and Korey Tai shared the team-lead with five receptions apiece. Fleming had 59 yards receiving and a long of 37 yards, while Tai put down 44 yards on his catches.
Seidl registered 102 yards rushing on 16 attempts and a pair of scores. It was his fourth-straight 100-yard game. Kaminski also contributed 67 yards on the ground.
UND trailed 16-7 at intermission. The Coyotes made it down to the UND 1 on their first possession but were stopped on fourth down. Four plays later, the Coyotes blocked the Hawk punt to take the early 2-0 lead with 3:38 left in the opening quarter.
South Dakota increased its lead to 9-0 in the first five seconds of the second quarter with a one-yard rushing touchdown from L.J. Phillips Jr. The Fighting Hawks responded less than four minutes later when Sawyer Seidl capped an eight-play, 75-yard drive with a six-yard rushing touchdown. On that play, the Fighting Hawk offensive line pushed the pile ahead and Seidl emerged in the end-zone. In the final moments of the half, Aidan Bouman connected with Larenzo Fenner for a 43-yard pass after UND’s second thrown interception of the game to make it 16-7 at the break.
In the opening 30 minutes, South Dakota controlled the clock with over 18 minutes of possession. The Coyotes also picked off the Fighting Hawks twice to be +2.0 in turnover margin at that point. North Dakota had 175 yards in the half on 28 plays, while South Dakota accumulated 198 yards on 35 plays.
South Dakota’s Will Leyland extended the Coyote lead to 19-7 towards the start of the third quarter with a 36-yard field goal. On the following Fighting Hawk possession, UND made it down to the USD 20 before a fumble, which was returned by Dejuan Lewis for an 80-yard touchdown. The Fighting Hawks were able to close the gap to 26-21 early in the fourth quarter but were unable to overcome the early deficit.
North Dakota will host No. 1/1 North Dakota State this Saturday. Kickoff between the Fighting Hawks and Bison is set for 1 p.m. The game will be KFGO with a noon pregame show with Jack Michaels on play by play.
Comments