This week: North Dakota is looking to extend its Division I win-streak to three straight as it hosts Wisconsin-LaCrosse in its third and final game of the season opening home stand. The Fighting Sioux and the Eagles will start things off at 1:07 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 13 at the Alerus Center. Saturday's game is the 43rd Annual Potato Bowl Football Game. The Sioux are 31-11 all-time in the Potato Bowl and have won their last five games.
Media information: Saturday's game can be heard on 96.1 FM (“TheFox”) in Grand Forks and on stations across the Fighting Sioux Radio Network. Dan Hammer calls the play-by-play with former Grand Forks Central coach Mike Berg as his color analyst. Former UND defensive back Kelly Howe provides sideline reports. An audio/video webcast and live stats are also available on http://www.fightingsioux.com.
gameday promotions: First 2,500 fans through the gate receive a Fighting Sioux rally towel. As a reminder, Operation Enduring Friendship will continue throughout the season. All military personnel can purchase a single-game ticket for $5 (up to three dependents/ID). Also, all kids who attended a UND Football Camp can still redeem their free-ticket voucher for any home game, excluding Homecoming.
On the Fighting Sioux: North Dakota upped its record to 2-0 after defeating former North Central Conference (NCC) opponent St. Cloud State, 31-17, at home. For the second game in a row, senior quarterback Danny Freund (Kenosh, Wis.) connected with senior receiver Brady Trenbeath (Cavalier, N.D.) for two touchdowns.
The Huskies took a 3-0 lead off of a 23-yard field goal, but the lead was short-lived at Freund found Jake Caufield on an 11-yard pass. After Ross Cochran (Kenosha, Wis.) forced an SCSU fumble, sophomore kicker Branden Hellevang (Fargo, N.D.) knocked in a 46-yard field goal to give the home team a 10-3 advantage.
In the third quarter, tight end Blair Grover (Mequon, Wis.) jumped on a loose ball in the end zone to put the Sioux ahead, 24-32.
SCSU would score one more on a 5-yard run late in the fourth, but it wasn't enough as UND won its 27th victory over St. Cloud State.
The series with UW-L: This marks the first meeting between North Dakota and Wisconsin-LaCrosse.
On the eagles: Picked to finish fourth in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) after finishing 5-4 overall, 3-4 in the conference, Wisconsin-LaCrosse opened up the 2008 season with a heartbreaking, 24-23 loss to Hardin-Simmons University (Texas).
UW-L took a 23-21 lead with 3:49 left on the clock, but with :02 left in the game, Matt Fields punched in a 25-yard field goal to give the Cowboys the win.
After the Eagles took a commanding 21-0 lead, Hardin-Simmons scored 21 unanswered points to tie the game at 21-21 just five minutes into the fourth quarter. UW-L made it 23-21 with a safety.
UW-L finished with 303 yards of offense, including 194 rushing and 109 passing. Eric Donoval set career-highs in rushing attempts (23), yards (166) and touchdowns (3). Reid Oldenburg added 33 yards on nine attempts. Griffin Moe finished 15-of-23 for 109 yards with two interceptions. He was sacked twice. Donoval led the Eagles with six catches for 26 yards while Travis Bordeau finished with four receptions for 29 yards.
Along with Moe and Donoval, key returners for the Eagles are Brett Nagan, Joe Troia, and Drew Keifer.
UW-L head coach Larry Terry: Larry Terry is in his ninth season as head coach of the Eagles. He has led UW-L to three Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) titles (2002, 2003, 2004) and guided the Eagles to four appearances in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III Playoffs in his first eight years.
Terry has been selected the WIAC Coach of the Year three times (2002, 2003, 2004).
Terry coached Ripon College to a 25-29-1 record - including a conference championship - in six seasons during the mid-80s. With his 54-29 (.651) mark at UW-L, Terry enters the 2008 campaign with a 79-58-1 (.576) career record in 14 years. Along with the head coaching stint at Ripon, he also served as offensive line coach at John Carroll University for three seasons and spent one season at Bowling Green State University as a graduate assistant.
Since Terry joined the Eagles' staff as offensive coordinator in 1988, UW-L has compiled a 170-54 (.759) record, won 11 WIAC titles, and made four national championship game appearances, winning two.
BREAK on through to the other side: The Fighting Sioux introduced themselves to the Football Championship Subdivision with a 40-14 victory over the visiting Texas A&M-Kingsville Javelinas. With its 31-17 victory over former North Central Conference (NCC) foe St. Cloud State, North Dakota remains as the only undefeated program in the Great West Conference (GWC).
The Sioux will face their first GWC opponent on Oct. 25 when they travel to UC Davis.
Old fashioned, hard-nosed football: On Saturday, the University of North Dakota and the city of Grand Forks will celebrate the 43rd Annual Potato Bowl Football game.
The Potato Bowl USA was created in 1965 by then UND Athletic Director Leonard R. “Len” Marti, head football Coach Marv “Whitey” Helling, assistant football coach Jerry Olson and sports information director Lee Bohnet. The first Potato Bowl USA was played in 1966, when the Fighting Sioux shut out Idaho State 41-0 in a battle for pride among potato growing regions.
North Dakota is 31-11 in Potato Bowl USA history.
