GRAND FORKS, N.D.-- The Jake Landry-Greg Hardin combination is quickly becoming a lethal -- and winning -- formula for the Fighting Sioux combination.
For the third week in a row, the pair hooked up for several explosive plays to lead an offensive onslaught by the Sioux that totaled more than 500 yards of offense in a 49-24 win over Northwestern State this afternoon at the Alerus Center.
"I give them a lot of credit," junior running back Josh Murray said. "They were a big, physical team. They are faster than most teams we have played this year actually and their defensive line was extremely good."
Landry, UND's senior quarterback from Grand Forks, N.D., connected with Hardin, a redshirt freshman wide receiver out of Bellevue, Neb., for three first half scoring strikes that turned an early three-point Sioux deficit into an 18-point halftime lead.
After NSU opened the scoring on a 28-yard field goal midway through the first quarter, Landry found Hardin on UND's first play from scrimmage, hitting him in stride for a picture-perfect 52-yard pass-and-run connection.
The Demons regained the lead on the ensuing possession when Adrian Reese hauled in a 40-yard touchdown pass from tailback Rumeall Morris, but the Sioux again countered with the Landry-Hardin connection in the second quarter. Scrimmaging from the UND 24 to start, Landry found Hardin on a crossing pattern at the sideline, and Hardin turned it up field with no defender in sight to make it a 14-10 lead.
UND extended the lead with another big passing play on the next drive when Landry found a wide-open Chris Anderson (Jr., WR, Duluth, Minn.) down the seam for a 71-yard touchdown.
After a Justin Belotti (Jr., DB, Kenosha, Wis.) interception - the first of his career - in NSU territory late in the half, the Sioux again turned to the quick-strike offense. On the first play of the drive from the 33, Landry heaved the ball into the end zone where Hardin's defender had fallen, and Hardin hauled in his third TD grab of the day and fifth of the season.
That catch once again solidified Hardin's place in the UND annals. He is now tied with Weston Dressler, Jim Kleinsasser, Jeff McElroy, Tim Gelinske, and Tracy Martin for the most single-game TD receptions in a regular season contest and finished just shy of the all-time record four touchdown receptions notched by Jesse Smith in the Nov. 17, 2001 playoff game against Winona State.
"Greg has the ability to turn a throw into a big play," Landry said. "And we have a few other guys who are stepping up and making plays. Chris Anderson showed us how fast he was today and Ryan Dressler had a couple of big catches. Greg is getting the exposure right now, and he definitely deserves it, but there are some other guys around him that are great players as well."
Anderson's 71-yard TD pass in the third quarter not only sealed Northwestern's fate, but it also marked his longest TD reception and the second touchdown of his career. He finished with 75 yards on two catches.
Dressler added 29 yards on four receptions.
In the second quarter, the Sioux took to the ground game and on the second play of the quarter, Murray, a native of Pepin, Wis., scampered 74 yards for a touchdown to make it a 35-10 UND lead.
The Demons responded with a pair of touchdowns late in the third quarter, but a 1-yard Jake Miller (RB, Bismarck, N.D.) score and a 60-yard Murray punt return in the fourth quarter sealed the win.
Landry finished the day 13-for-21 for 300 yards and four touchdowns, leading the Sioux to a season-high 524 yards of total offense. Hardin finished with five catches for 177 yards and three scores.
UND's ground game accounted for 224 yards on the day, led by Murray's 121 (14 carries) and Miller's 49 (13 carries).
The Sioux defense was led by senior linebacker Ross Cochran (Kenosha, Wis.), who finished with seven tackles (all unassisted). He was joined at the top by Kris Ankenbauer (Murphy, Texas) with six stops. Sophomore Ross Brenneman (So., DL, Omaha, Neb.) led with a pair of tackles for a combined 12 yards of loss.
"UND did a very good job and they had a great plan," Northwestern State head coach Bradley Dale Peveto said. "They are a very well-coached football team and a very disciplined football team. They play extremely hard."
NSU finished with 398 yards of total offense, 308 of which came through the air. Paul Harris went 19-for-36 for 247 yards and two scores. Reese caught seven passes for 123 yards while T.C. Henry added three catches for 100 yards.
Next weekend the Fighting Sioux will travel to Vermillion, S.D., as they open the 2010 Great West Conference season against the Coyotes of South Dakota. The Dakota Days kickoff is slated for 2 p.m. at the Dakota Dome.
GAME NOTES: Captains: Jake Landry, Ryan Kasowski, Paul German, Creighton Schroyer ... With 300 yards, Jake Landry is the 25th player in North Dakota history to pass for over 300 yards in a single game. He is 33 yards away from taking a spot on UND's career passing yards top 10 ... Josh Murray's 60-yard punt return for a touchdown is the 25th longest punt/kick return for a score in UND history and the longest return of his career ... North Dakota leads the series against Northwestern State 2-0 since 2009 ... When playing on Sept. 25, UND is 8-3 overall, 5-0 at home, and 3-3 on the road ... With the win over Northwestern State (Sept. 25), head coach Chris Mussman's career record shifted to 14-11, his conference record remained at 3-4, and his record against non-conference moved to 11-7 ... All-time, the Fighting Sioux are 604-360-30 (.60) o8n the gridiron ... The Nov. 13 game at Montana will mark the 1000th football game in UND history.
- Go Sioux -
