Football 9/24/2011 10:11:00 PM UND Athletics Media Relations

Sioux score early and often in Potato Bowl romp

GRAND FORKS, N.D. - A 23-point first quarter outburst would be all North Dakota needed to peel off its ninth straight victory in the 46th annual Potato Bowl USA Saturday against Black Hills State. The Fighting Sioux would go on to post a 53-19 triumph over the visiting Yellow Jackets as they racked up 337 rushing yards and six ground scores in front of 8,545 fans at the Alerus Center.

UND senior linebacker Johnnie Daniels, Jr. (Miami, Fla.) provided the first points of the night thanks to a 28-yard fumble return on the opening play from scrimmage. It was the first fumble return for a touchdown by the Sioux since 2007 and first defensive score for UND this season.

The next six touchdowns by UND all came on the ground as sophomore Jake Miller (Bismarck, N.D.) established a new career high for the second straight game with 181 rushing yards. The Sioux ran the ball 53 times in the victory opposed to just 15 pass attempts as the ground game was efficient from the start.

"As a coach you want to be perfect and at times we were sloppy, but anytime you put up 53 points on the scoreboard, that is not easy to do. Especially running the amount of times we did," UND head coach Chris Mussman said. "I think we just have the confidence right now in our ability to run the football and that is huge."

True freshman Jer Garman (Marion, Iowa) rushed 16 times for 93 yards and had the first two rushing touchdowns of his UND career. Redshirt freshman running back Adam Shaugabay (Warroad, Minn.) and senior quarterback Brent Goska (Wisconsin Rapids, Wis.) provided the final rushing scores late in the contest. Shaugabay's touchdown run was also the first of his career.

Miller's two touchdowns give him five over the last two games as he scored on runs of 19 and five yards. His five-yard touchdown run in the second quarter put UND ahead 30-0 with 1:31 left on the clock.

The Sioux defense appeared poised to go into the locker room without allowing any points as they forced their fifth three-and-out of the opening half, but the Yellow Jackets pounced on a loose ball after the punt was misplayed by junior Erik Mersereau (Port Washington, Wis.).

BHSU quickly took advantage of the second Sioux turnover of the half, posting its first tally three plays later as quarterback Ward Anderson connected with Ryan Fagerstrom on a 26-yard scoring play with just over a half-minute to play in the half.

Junior nose guard Devin Benjamin (Minneapolis, Minn.) negated the first scoring opportunity for the visitors when he batted away a 29-yard attempt by Devin Rounds earlier in the second quarter. The block was Benjamin's second of the season.

Garman and Shaugabay each scored in the third quarter to increase the home team's advantage to 44-7. Garman scored his second touchdown of the game from three yards out, while Shaugabay got in from 19 yards out on just his second career carry.

The Yellow Jackets managed to score a pair of touchdowns late in the fourth quarter, but the game was well out of reach at that point. Anderson scored on a run from one-yard out, but the point-after-attempt was blocked by Cordero Finley (Kenosha, Wis.), who scooped up the loose ball, returning it for a two-point conversion for the Sioux.

Those two points made it a 46-13 contest before Goska put the Sioux up by 40 with his first touchdown rush of the season.

Sophomore quarterback Joey Bradley (Issaquah, Wash.) was efficient when called on to pass, completing 10 of 15 passes for 107 yards. Six of those completions went to classmate R.J. McGill (Phoenix, Ariz.) for 67 yards. The six catches were a new career high for McGill.

Sophomore Chavon Mackey (Jacksonville, Fla.) led the UND defense with eight tackles, including a career high seven solo stops. The Sioux allowed only 12 first downs and 265 yards of total offense in the contest.

GAME NOTES
Game captains were seniors Dan Hendrickson, Catlin Solum, Mitch Kudrna, Johnnie Daniels and Connor McKendry ... The victory in the 46th annual Potato Bowl USA was the ninth straight for the Sioux in the contest and improved their overall mark to 35-11 ... More than 50 players from the 2001 Division II National Championship team were in attendance as that squad was inducted in the UND Athletics Hall of Fame in a ceremony prior to the game ... Daniels returned a fumble 28 yards for a touchdown on the opening defensive play of the game ... It was the first fumble return for a touchdown since 2007 when Curtis Dublanko took a fumble back five yards for a score against St. Cloud State (Nov. 3) ... With six rushing scores on the season, Jake Miller has doubled his touchdown output from his freshman season through four games ... Freshman Jer Garman capped the first-quarter scoring with his first collegiate touchdown on a two-yard run ... With a pair of blocked kicks, UND brought its season total in that category to five ... Junior Devin Benjamin (FG) and sophomore Cordero Finley (PAT) each registered their second of the season ... Sophomore R.J. McGill hauled in a career high six catches for 67 yards in the contest.