The UND football team overcame a shaky first-half outing against the San Diego Toreros this past Saturday to win their third consecutive game with a final score of 41-24.
Saturday was the first time that the two schools had ever met on the gridiron, with 8,491 in attendance at the Alerus Center.
San Diego received the opening kick, and after picking up a first down, the Toreros faced a 3rd and 11 around midfield. That was when Tyler Erkman (Rs. Fr.) intercepted a Torero pass, and with a 27-yard return, the Hawks were set up inside San Diego’s 30-yard line.
However, UND’s offense stalled out in the redzone, and the home team had to settle for a field goal.
Coming in as 28-point underdogs, the Toreros were looking to avoid proving the oddsmakers right. San Diego would do just that, marching down the field on a scoring drive capped off by a wide-open wheel route for a touchdown to take a 7-3 lead.
Following a disappointing end to its first drive, UND went three-and-out, giving the ball right back to a humming San Diego offense.
San Diego would keep the ball rolling, going on a 12-play, 88-yard touchdown drive, which featured not one and not two, but three third-down conversions. Ja’seem Reed caught a pass up the seam to give the visitors a 14-3 lead.
Finding themselves in an unexpected struggle, UND’s offense needed to answer with a sustained drive of its own. The Hawks would not get a sustained drive, instead Sawyer Seidl (Rs. Fr.) broke off a 70-yard touchdown run down the sideline to bring it back to a one-score game.
The Hawks’ defense made San Diego punt for the first time on the ensuing drive, forcing a three-and-out.
UND was rolling down the field, getting just outside the redzone. On 3rd and 6, the Hawks handed the ball to Gaven Ziebarth (Jr.), who was only able to pick up four yards. From the 17-yard line, C.J. Elrichs (So.) missed his first field goal of the season, sending it wide left.
Lucky for Elrichs, the Hawks forced another three-and-out to avoid turning one mistake into two, giving the ball back to its offense.
On the Hawks first play, Isaiah Smith (Sr.) broke through the middle of the line and was picking up steam. As Smith was being brought down, a Torero defender was able to punch the ball loose. UND was able to recover the ball.
With the Hawks flying a little too close to the turnover sun, Simon Romfo (Jr.) threw an interception on the next play. Romfo’s pass was tipped by his own receiver, and a San Diego corner was able to haul it in.
UND’s defense, clearly in rhythm, forced its third straight three-and-out, and the Toreros went into the half with a 14-10 lead.
On the first drive of the second half, Romfo threw his second interception of the day, which set San Diego up at midfield.
The Hawks continued to stonewall the Torero offense, but Aidan Lehman was able to bang home a 54-yard field goal to give San Diego a 17-10 lead.
It was do-or-die time for the Hawks’ offense. On the first play of the crucial drive, Romfo perfectly hit Bo Belquist (5th) in stride for a 69-yard touchdown pass to tie it up at 17.
UND forced yet another three-and-out, and the Hawks were in position to take back control of the game. Thanks to Nate DeMontagnac (Jr.), UND would do just that. The third-year wideout fought through pass-interference to bring in a circus catch, setting the Hawks up in a goal-to-go situation.
Ziebarth punched it in to give the Hawks its first lead since the first quarter with a score of 24-17.
On the ensuing Torero drive, Devin Hembry (5th) continued to make a name for himself. A week after his 92-yard pick six, the Oklahoma native created a turnover, intercepting a pass in his second consecutive game.
With firm control of the game, Romfo found his favorite target yet again. Belquist caught his third touchdown pass of the season, giving the Hawks a 31-17 lead.
After Josh Navratil (Gr.) recovered a Torero fumble, Elrichs made up for his previous miss, burying a 31-yard field goal to make it a three-score game.
San Diego was able to march down the field and score its first touchdown since early on, cutting UND’s lead to ten.
The Hawks would not let the Toreros back into Saturday’s game, going on a 16-play, 75-yard scoring drive polished off with a touchdown run from Smith. Most importantly, the methodical drive took nearly ten minutes off the clock, eliminating any Torero hope.
UND defeated San Diego 41-24. With the win, the Hawks moved to 3-1 on the season.
Romfo completed five of his 13 passes for 159 yards, throwing two touchdowns and two interceptions.
Seidl, Smith, and Ziebarth each got 13 carries on Saturday, with all three scoring a touchdown. Seidl led the Hawks in production, racking up 123 yards.
Belquist hauled in three catches for 116 yards, averaging a daunting 38.7 yards per reception. Belquist added two touchdowns for the home team.
UND will begin the MVFC gauntlet next Saturday, hosting the Murray State Racers (1-2) in the Hawks’ homecoming game at 1 p.m.
Garrett Webber is a Dakota Student Section Editor. He can be reached at [email protected].
