Vikings Football Rallies for 21-14 Win at Waldorf
(VCSU) Forest City, Iowa– Valley City State rallied from a 14-7 halftime deficit to pick up a tough road victory in North Star Athletic Association football action.
The Vikings shut out Waldorf University in the second half and scored touchdowns in both the third and fourth quarters to secure a 2114 come-from-behind victory this weekend.
It was the second time this season that the Vikings edged the Warriors by a touchdown, handing Waldorf both of its losses. VCSU is now 7-2 overall and 5-2 in the North Star Athletic Association. Waldorf University drops to 6-2 overall and 4-2 in conference play.
Saturday's win was also the 150th career victory for VCSU head coach Dennis McCulloch. He is the all-time wins leader in VCSU football history and ranks sixth among active NAIA coaches. Assistant head coach Gregg Horner and linebackers coach Dave Rausch have been with the Viking coaching staff for all 150 victories.
Scoring Summary Waldorf University scored first on Saturday as quarterback Jordan Cooper hit Zach Morel for a 5-yard touchdown and a 7-0 lead just seven minutes into the game. Valley City State answered back with an 86yard touchdown drive later in the half. Justice Bice punched it in with a 4-yard touchdown, capping the 13-play drive and tying the game early in the second quarter.
Waldorf would regain the lead with a 47-yard touchdown rush by Cooper, taking a 14-7 lead into halftime.
The second half belonged to the Vikings. VCSU's offense put together scoring drives of 85 yards and 77 yards to take the lead, and the Viking defense allowed just 100 yards in the second half as they shut out Waldorf.
VCSU's third-quarter scoring drive covered 85 yards over 14 plays and was finished off by an 8-yard touchdown pass from Jalen Pfeifer to Michael Cornelious. The second scoring drive covered 77 yards in 10 plays and was capped by Pfeifer finding Jacob Gottenborg for a 6-yard touchdown. The extra point by Nico Magana gave the Vikings a 21-14 lead with 12:09 remaining.
The Warriors moved into Viking territory with their last-gasp effort to tie the game, but VCSU linebacker Jahidi West forced a fumble at the Viking 35-yard line with 20 seconds remaining. Dustin Kasowski recovered the fumble for
VCSU and the Vikings were able to run out the clock on the road victory.
Stats Summary
The Vikings forced three turnovers during the game. Along with West's late forced fumble, Georgie Mageo forced and recovered a fumble on a kickoff and Anthony Russell intercepted a pass.
The Vikings outgained the Warriors 355287 in total offense, and VCSU turned the ball over just once. West totaled 10 tackles to lead VCSU's defense, while Kasowski had eight tackles and Sal Avila finished with seven tackles and one for loss. Riley Gerhardt totaled seven tackles, a sack and two tackles for loss, and Jerrod Williamson added six tackles and a tackle for loss.
Pfeifer completed 17 out of 26 passes for 193 yards and two touchdowns. Bice totaled 119 yards rushing and a touchdown on 23 carries. Benjamin Dumond caught seven passes for 71 yards, and Bice had four catches for 56 yards. Jorun Hamre and Faaris Amegankpoe both had two catches, and Cornelious and Gottenborg each had one catch for a touchdown.
Up Next
The Vikings will close out the 2021 season at home next weekend, hosting Dakota State University at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 6.