The UND football team ended their season on a five-game losing streak, dropping their season finale on the road to the Illinois State Redbirds 35-13 Saturday, November 23.
Once 5-2 with high hopes for a playoff bid, the Hawks’ season quickly derailed, with UND finishing in the bottom half of the Missouri Valley Football Conference.
After Sawyer Seidl (Rs. Fr.) returned the opening kick for 68 yards, the Hawks went three-and-out offensively. C.J. Elrichs (So.) was unable to bury the 47-yard field goal, and Illinois State took over.
The Redbirds marched right down the field, going 70 yards in under three minutes to take a 7-0 lead.
UND was able to respond with a scoring drive of its own. The Hawks tied the game at 7-7 when quarterback Simon Romfo (Jr.) connected with receiver Nate DeMontagnac (Jr.) for a 20-yard touchdown. DeMontagnac’s catch would be UND’s sole touchdown of the day.
Illinois State scored another touchdown on the ensuing drive to make it a 14-7 game.
Midway through the second quarter, the UND offense was rolling, getting all the way down to Illinois State’s three-yard line.
Facing a 4th down with three yards separating themselves from a tie ball game, UND elected to kick a field goal. Elrichs buried the chip shot, and the Hawks trailed 14-10.
After the decision to kick the field goal, Illinois State went on a 21-0 run over the next 30 minutes of play, running away with Saturday’s conference bout.
UND turned the ball over twice during the Redbirds’ run, once with a Romfo interception and another with a Seidl fumble.
With eight minutes left in the season, the Hawks were trailing 35-10. UND faced 4th and 16 from the ISU 20-yard line.
UND elected to kick a field goal.
Elrichs made the field goal, making the score 35-13. His kick would be the final scoring play of the Hawks’ season.
UND ends the season with a record of 5-7, going 2-6 in MVFC play.
Romfo completed 11 of his 26 passes for 135 yards, throwing one touchdown and one interception.
Seidl racked up the most yards on the ground for UND, being given five carries and turning in 45 yards.
Isaiah Smith (Sr.) took 11 carries for 31 yards, adding a nine-yard reception as well.
DeMontagnac caught the lone touchdown for UND on Saturday.
In their final games in a UND uniform, Bo Belquist (5th) and Quincy Vaughn (5th) both caught three passes, combining for 78 yards.
Garrett Webber is a Dakota Student Section Editor. He can be reached at [email protected].
