University of North Dakota Fighting Hawks vs the Iowa State Cyclones at Jack Trice Stadium in Ames, Iowa on Saturday, August 31, 2024. By Russell Hons
Russell Hons
13
North Dakota UND 5-7 , 2-6
35
Winner Illinois St. ILS 9-3 , 6-2
North Dakota UND
5-7 , 2-6
13
Final
35
Illinois St. ILS
9-3 , 6-2
Winner
Score By Quarters
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th F
UND North Dakota 7 3 0 3 13
ILS Illinois St. 14 0 14 7 35

Game Recap: Football | | Tyler Wells, FightingHawks.com

No. 14/13 Illinois State defeats North Dakota, 35-13

NORMAL, Ill. – No. 14/13 Illinois State (9-3, 6-2 MVFC) defeated North Dakota, 35-13, at Hancock Stadium on Saturday afternoon. The loss puts UND on its first five-game losing skid since 1986.

After trailing 14-10 at intermission, the Fighting Hawks (5-7, 2-6 MVFC) looked to make a statement on its first drive after the break and had three consecutive rushes from Sawyer Seidl. He picked up 42 yards on the three rushes, with most of the yards coming after contact. On Seidl's third rush, he picked up 13 yards and was dragging defenders before ISU's Keondre Jackson punched out the football and recovered it to end the UND drive. Nine plays later, Wenkers Wright scored his second rushing touchdown of the afternoon, this time on an 18-yard run to extend the Redbird lead to 21-10 midway through the third stanza.

In the closing moments of the third quarter, Tommy Rittenhouse found Mitch Bartol for a five-yard touchdown pass and then added a 13-yard touchdown run from Seth Glatz early in the fourth quarter to extend the lead to 35-10. C.J. Elrichs scored the final points of the game with a 37-yard field goal to bring the tally to 35-13.

In the game, ISU racked up 420 yards of offense, highlighted by 224 yards through the air. Rittenhouse was 21-for-33 passing for 187 yards and a touchdown. Xavier Loyd was his favorite target with eight grabs for 121 yards and a score. Wright led the backfield with 21 touches for 118 yards and a pair of rushing touchdowns.

Comparatively, UND had 226 yards of total offense with 135 yards through the air and 131 yards on the ground. Simon Romfo finished the game 11-for-26 passing for 135 yards and a touchdown and also picked up 24 yards rushing. Seidl paced the backfield with 45 yards on five attempts, while adding 120 yards on kick returns. Belquist was UND's top receiver with three catches for 42 yards.

At intermission, North Dakota trailed 14-10. After UND's opening drive ended with a missed field goal, ISU went 70 yards over seven plays to take the early 7-0 lead off a 30-yard double-reverse pass from Eddie Kasper to Loyd. Midway through the opening quarter, the Fighting Hawks responded with a Romfo 20-yard touchdown strike to a wide-open Nate DeMontagnac to knot the game up at 7-7. With 3:52 left in the opening quarter, Wright put the Redbirds on top with a 10-yard rushing touchdown. The final score of the half came with 7:45 to go before the break when Elrichs connected on a 20-yard field goal to trim the deficit to 14-10.

In the opening 30 minutes, UND had 161 yards of offense, led by 88 yards through the air. ISU accumulated 183 yards of offense with 112 yards passing and 71 yards rushing. Both teams turned the ball over once in the half. Josh Navratil had a strip-sack that was recovered by Craig Orlando with 3:13 left in the half and then Paul Omodia got the Redbirds the ball back with an interception four plays later.

Postgame Notes
  • North Dakota now leads the all-time series 3-1 and is 2-1 in the MVFC version of the series.
  • NoDak is on its first five-game winless skid since the 1986 season.
  • The Fighting Hawks will begin the 2025 season looking for its first road win since a 45-31 victory at Murray State on Nov. 4, 2023.
  • Josh Navratil recorded a strip-sack and now leads North Dakota with three forced fumbles this season.
  • Wyatt Pedigo spearheaded the NoDak defense with 15 tackles (10 solo) and a tackle-for-loss.
  • The Redbirds ended the game with a +1.0 turnover margin.
  • ISU ate up 34:16 minutes of possession in the game.
  • Bo Belquist finishes his career just two touchdown grabs shy of breaking UND's Division I record in career touchdown receptions. Belquist pulled in 30 touchdown catches in his career.
How It Happened
First Quarter
10:19 – ISU | Xavier Loyd scores on a 30-yard pass from Eddie Kasper. (Ian Wagner kick). 7 plays, 70 yards, 2:47.
7:02 – UND | Nate DeMontagnac scores on a 20-yard pass from Simon Romfo. (C.J. Elrichs kick). 6 plays, 55 yards, 3:09.
3:52 – ISU | Wenkers Wright scores on a 10-yard rush. (Wagner kick). 8 plays, 60 yards, 3:04.
Second Quarter
7:45 – UND | C.J. Elrichs connects on a 20-yard field goal. 12 plays, 82 yards, 7:15.
Third Quarter
6:58 – ISU | Wright scores on an 18-yard rush. (Wagner kick). 9 plays, 54 yards, 3:14.
0:58 – ISU | Mitch Bartol scores on a 5-yard pass from Tommy Rittenhouse. (Wagner kick). 10 plays, 66 yards, 3:57.
Fourth Quarter
10:11 – ISU | Seth Glatz scores on a 13-yard rush. (Wagner kick). 10 plays, 71 yards, 4:00.
8:00 – UND | Elrichs connects on a 37-yard field goal. 7 plays, 48 yards, 2:04.

For more information on North Dakota football, follow on social media @UNDfootball or visit FightingHawks.com.
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