Special Teams Come Up Big, No. 19 Hawks Down Coyotes, 28-19

GRAND FORKS, N.D. – North Dakota (7-3, 5-2 MVFC) defeated South Dakota (3-7, 2-5 MVFC), 28-19, inside the Alerus Center on Saturday afternoon. In the game, Malachi McNeal came up with a blocked punt right before intermission that gave UND momentum and led to a 14-3 lead on the scoreboard at the break. The Coyotes picked off the Hawks with just over two minutes to go before intermission and looked to be in control with a 13-7 lead.

Four plays later, USD went to punt from their own 22 yard-line when Malachi McNeal broke through the line and blocked the punt and Nate DeMontagnac recovered it at the USD 2. One play later, Bo Belquist caught a two-yard touchdown pass from Tommy Schuster to put the Hawks up 14-7 going into halftime. In the third quarter, North Dakota would go up 21-13 on the first drive coming out of intermission, scoring on a three-yard pass from Schuster to Belquist for the second time of the afternoon.

The Hawks would extend their lead to 28-13 on an 11-yard screen pass from Schuster to Isaiah Smith with 1:50 left in the third quarter. The Coyotes managed to trim the lead down to 28-19 less than three minutes into the final stanza, scoring on a five-yard pass from Aidan Bouman to Carter Bell. On the extra point, C.J. Siegel rushed in and blocked the kick to keep it a two-score game at 28-19 with 12:37 remaining in the game. In the fourth quarter, North Dakota took control of the game, picking up three first downs in the quarter and eating up 9:59 minutes of possession. 11/14/22, 9:39 AM Special Teams Come Up Big, No. 19 Hawks Down Coyotes, 28-19 - University of North Dakota Athletics https://fightinghawks.com/news/2022/11/12/football-special-teams-come-up-big-no-19-hawks-down-coyotes-28-19.aspx?print=true 2/2 Back-to-back sacks from Aaron Cooper and Ben McNaboe in the final moments would seal the deal and allow North Dakota to win 28-19. UND racked up 351 yards of offense in the game, picking up 223 yards through the air and 128 yards on the ground. USD finished with 248 yards offensively, passing for 151 yards and rushing for 97 yards.

The Fighting Hawks held the ball for over 36 minutes (36:30) in the contest. Schuster went 24-for-28 passing for 223 yards and three touchdowns. He gave up one interception and was not sacked in the game. Belquist hauled in a game-high seven receptions for 92 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Red Wilson was the next most popular receiver for UND, piling up 55 yards on five receptions. Isaiah Smith had the other receiving touchdown, scoring on the 11-yard screen play in the third quarter. Tyler Hoosman led the Hawks on the ground with 100 yards on 23 touches. Smith added 21 yards on four carries. Wyatt Pedigo paced the defense with nine tackles, seven of them being solo.

Devon Krzanowski was second in takedowns for UND with eight tackles. Jayson Coley finished with five tackles. McNaboe and Cooper had all the sacks for UND, with McNaboe getting two sacks for 22 yards and Cooper adding a sack for 11 yards. Prior to the blocked punt before intermission, South Dakota held a 13-7 edge on the scoreboard. The first touchdown for the Yotes came with 9:51 left in the first quarter, when Bouman found Bell for a four-yard score. The ensuing extra point landed wide left. North Dakota got on the board late in the first half, when Quincy Vaughn punched in a two-yard QB sneak to give the Hawks a 7-6 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Bowman tossed his second touchdown pass with 10:33 left before intermission, finding Wesley Eliodor for the 16-yard completion. The Coyotes led 13-7 at that point and would not lead again after the Fighting Hawks went up 14-13 at intermission following the blocked punt. Postgame Notes North Dakota is now 63-31-5 all-time in the series vs. South Dakota. The Fighting Hawks have now won 15 straight in the series over the Coyotes in Grand Forks. UND has now blocked four punts this season, a mark which ranks No. 3 nationally.

Tyler Hoosman piled up 100 yards rushing, good for his fifth 100-yard game of his career. He now has 810 yards rushing as a Fighting Hawk, moving him up to No. 9 on the UND Division I record book. With two touchdown grabs, Bo Belquist now comes in at No. 4 on UND’s Division I list for career touchdowns with 14. UND has either had the lead or a chance to take the lead in the fourth quarter in 19 of its last 21 games. NoDak has won the time of possession battle in eight games this season and won the T.O.P. possession against South Dakota, holding the ball for 36:30 minutes of clock.