GRAND FORKS, N.D. - The University of North Dakota football team scored 21 points off a trio of Stony Brook turnovers as the Fighting Sioux defeated the Seawolves, 31-24, in the 44th annual Potato Bowl USA at the Alerus Center on Saturday.
With its seventh-consecutive win, North Dakota is now 33-11 all-time in Potato Bowl USA games since 1966. The Fighting Sioux have out-scored their opponents 1,170-619.
The Sioux offense woke up in the second half after a sluggish start to help register the second-straight home win (3-2, 1-0 GWC). However, it was the Sioux defense that actually propelled the team to a 14-7 advantage at the half.
The biggest of the three turnovers for the Sioux came in the final minute of the first half when defensive back Dominique Hawkins (So., Plymouth, Minn.) returned an interception 35 yards for a touchdown.
"Dominique's interception was a big play for us," UND head coach Chris Mussman said. "We didn't play well in the first half, but all it takes sometimes is one big play.
"That really gave us some momentum going into halftime and our offense responded with a nice score on the first possession of the second half to settle us down."
Before Hawkins' dramatic play, Stony Brook opened the scoring in the first quarter when Matt Brevi ran a screen pass in from nine yards out. That would be the lone score of the opening 30 minutes of play for Stony Brook, despite gaining 183 yards of total offense in the first half.
While the Seawolves offense was churning out yardage, its defense was equal to the task, holding the Sioux to just 67 yards of offense. Those efforts still led to a deficit as UND managed to take the lead into the locker room.
With its offense sputtering, UND's defense came up with a pair of big plays to vault the Sioux into the lead. The home team turned two Michael Clouter interceptions into what proved to be 14 much-needed points.
Defensive back Joel Schwenzfeier (Jr., Hallock, Minn.) corralled the first one and returned it to the Stony Brook 22-yard line. Schwenzfeier's fourth interception of the season set the Sioux offense up with its best field position of the game late in the first quarter.
UND quickly took advantage, using just four plays from there to tie the game up at 7-7 on a two-yard rushing score by running back Jarrel Davis (Jr., Miami, Fla.) early in the second quarter.
The Seawolves had a chance to take the lead on the ensuing possession, but a 42-yard field goal attempt by Wesley Skiffington went wide right.
After the team's swapped punts, Clouter's second mishap of the game, proved even more costly late in the half as Hawkins returned it 35 yards to give the Sioux their first lead of the game at 14-7 with just 37 seconds remaining in the half.
The Sioux offense apparently used the 15-minute break at halftime to regroup as sophomore Jake Landry (QB, Grand Forks, N.D.) led the team on an eight-play, 75-yard touchdown drive on its first possession of the second half. Landry had 185 of his 225 passing yards in the second half as the offense had 242 yards after the break.
Landry capped the drive by connecting with wide receiver Ismael Bamba (So., Montreal, Quebec) on a 21-yard scoring strike to put the Sioux ahead 21-7. Bamba finished with his third-consecutive 100-yard receiving game, hauling in seven passes for 118 yards.
Clouter and the Seawolf offense responded though with a seven-play, 72-yard drive of its own to cut the deficit back to a touchdown. Edwin Gowins galloped from 32 yards out to find the endzone for Stony Brook.
After blocking a 52-yard field goal attempt by Brandon Hellevang (Sr., Fargo, N.D.), the Seawolves were marching down the field for an apparent tying score before the Sioux defense forced its third turnover of the game.
Defensive back Tyson Heiser (Sr., Waunakee, Wis.) recovered the fumble by Seawolf running back Conte Cuttino and for the third time in the game, the Sioux turned the miscue into a touchdown. Heiser also led the Sioux with a career-high six solo tackles.
Landry capped a six-play, 82-yard drive with a one-yard touchdown plunge to push the Sioux lead to 28-14.
The visitors would not give in as Stony Brook once again answered the Sioux touchdown with one of its own. Clouter found Donald Porter from six yards to cut the Seawolf deficit in half at 28-21.
That would be as close as the Seawolves would get as the teams exchanged field goals in the final eight minutes to cap the scoring at 31-24.
UND iced the game by running out the final 3:05 of the contest after a roughing the passer call on third down extended the drive. Davis had a career-long, 46-yard rush to put the Sioux in Stony Brook territory. Davis finished with 15 rushes for 61 yards and a touchdown.
UND will play its third-straight game at the Alerus Center next Saturday when the Sioux play host to Sioux Falls. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.
GAME NOTES: North Dakota has now faced seven different teams for the first time under head coach Chris Mussman and are 3-4 in those games. The team is also 7-4 in non-conference games under Mussman ... All-time, UND is 597-355-30. Just three wins away from 600 ... When playing on Oct. 10, the Fighting Sioux hold a 11-3 record. With his seven points on the evening, Brandon Hellevang moved into fourth place on the both the UND regular-season and overall career scoring list. He now sits with 248 points in the regular-season and 278 points overall ...
- Go Sioux -
