Trojans Fall to Valley City State, 41-31

The Trojans took on their old DAC-10 Rival, Valley City State this weekend. The Trojans battled back and forth with the Vikings all game. Late in the 3rd quarter and early in the 4th, Valley scored 17 unanswered points. The Trojans dropped another one at home with a score of 41-31, dropping the Trojans’ record to 0-4.

In the first quarter, the Trojans struggled to get any offense going. The defense played well early on. The Trojans then capitalized on a blocked punt by Craig Hertz. Brandon Large hit Stacey Berg to tie the game at 7. The Trojans got another stop on defense and the offense drove down and kicked a field goal to put them up by three.

The defense kept playing well as they got the ball back for the offense, where Large hit Berg on 65-yard touchdown to grab a 17-7 lead. The Vikings went no huddle and used 9 plays on 81 yards to score and put them down by three, 17-14.

The Trojans fumbled on their own 35-yard line and Valley scored taking the lead at 21-17. The Vikings also hit a field goal right before the half to extend their lead to 24-17 with seven seconds before halftime.

Josh Licht blocked another punt to set up a 17-yard screen pass to Wes Dauz, which tied the game up at 24. Following that scoring drive, the Vikings went on a 17-0 scoring drive to put this game out of reach for the Trojans.

Large was 19-for-32 with 215 yards and threw three touchdowns for the Trojans. Berg had eight receptions for 120 yards and recorded two touchdowns. Bobby Tisch added three receptions for 36 yards. Dauz recorded four receptions for 31 yards and a touchdown. Niesen rushed 24 times for 84 yards with a touchdown.

Eric Liles had nine tackles for the Trojans. Preston Powell added eight tackles. Craig Hertz and Licht each recorded a half of a quarterback sack. Hertz and Dylan VandeGarde each had seven tackles.

The Trojans have a tough game next week as they travel to Orange City, Iowa to take on Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) contender Northwestern College. Kickoff is set for 1pm.