Trojans Lose Final Game of the Season 33-34

This weekend was the final game (and senior day) for the Trojan football team. The Trojans were looking to get back-to-back wins after they edged out Jamestown in last weekend’s double overtime thriller. The Trojans took on the Comets from Mayville State (ND).

The turnover battle was definitely the difference in this game, with DSU committing six and the Comets none. The Trojans rallied back and scored 27 unanswered answered points but fell short on a missed PAT with 12 seconds left. The Trojans ended this season with a 34-33 loss and went 2-9 on the season.

The first half started off with an interception, which the comets quickly capitalized off of to grab an 8-0 lead. Brandon Large answered right back hitting his cousin, Carl Curtis, over the middle for a touchdown, trailing the Comets by one point after the extra point. The rest of the first half was riddled with fumbles and interceptions. The Comets led at halftime 27-7.

In the third quarter, the offense struggled again to put it in the end zone and the Comets extended their lead to 34-7.

The offense finally erupted in the fourth quarter taking advantage of the defensive stops and the great field position set up by special teams. Things started going the Trojans way when the Comes committed a key roughing the kicker penalty on a field goal attempt. This kept the drive alive and the Trojans scored to make the score 34-14.

The following drive by the Comets was a three-and-out and a terrible kick by the punter set up another one play touchdown from Large to Curtis again, cutting the lead to 34-20.

Once the offense got the ball back they went into their no-huddle offense and used six plays to go 64 yards to make it a one possession game on a touchdown run by running back John Niesen. The defense came up with another huge stop, forcing the Comets to punt the ball and giving it to the offense with about four minutes left in the game.

The Trojan offense was firing on all cylinders, using 14 plays to drive 84 yards and score to put them down by one. The first attempt at the PAT was blocked and returned by the Comets but was called back on an offside penalty on Mayville. The next kick was barley missed to the right, leaving the Trojans trailing by one point.

After the kick a Comet player penalized their kickoff return team 30 yards by committing two personal foul penalties and getting ejected from the game. Dakota State attempted the onside kick but it was unsuccessful. The Trojans lost this heartbreaker 34-33.

Saturday’s game was the final career collegiate football game for 11 DSU seniors: Stacey Berg, Curtis, Wes Dauz, Marshall Doeden, Hertz, Large, Liles, Niesen, Connor Ruppert, Blake Schlagel, and Dax Thompson.

Featured photo: While grabbing a guy’s facemask is illegal, defensive back Matt Groff demonstrates here that it makes for a good photo. Photo by Tiffany Sommer.