North Dakota
ACU Football: North Dakota State rallies past Abilene Christian in Round 2 of FCS Playoffs
The Abilene Christian Wildcats hit the road for the second round of the FCS Playoffs and thrived early on in one of the nation’s toughest road environments.
The Wildcats quickly pounced on NDSU to seize a 14-point lead by the early second quarter, but the Bison rallied behind senior quarterback Cam Miller.
Miller and the Bison scored 31 unanswered points, as No. 2 North Dakota State cemented its comeback with a 51-31 win over Abilene Christian in the second round of the FCS Playoffs on Saturday afternoon at the Fargodome in Fargo, North Dakota.
The Bison (11-2) advance to the quarterfinals with the victory — their 15th consecutive quarterfinals appearance — where they will host No. 7 Mercer. NDSU also improved to 36-1 all-time in home playoff games.
The Wildcats (9-5) seized the momentum during the first quarter when they stopped North Dakota State in the red zone and held NDSU to a field goal on the opening drive of the game.
Led by quarterback Maverick McIvor, who was sidelined for ACU’s 24-0 first-round playoff victory against Northern Arizona, Abilene Christian rattled off back-to-back touchdown drives to end the first quarter ahead 14-3.
But the Wildcats struggled to hold onto the ball, coughing up a fumble on a strip sack on the opening drive of the second half and tossing two costly fourth-quarter interceptions.
Miller and North Dakota State’s offense couldn’t be stopped in the second half either.
The Bison scored touchdowns on four straight possessions from the end of the second quarter to the end of the third. Miller completed 20 of 29 passes for 274 yards, three touchdowns and an interception.
McIvor threw for 153 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions on 20-of-32 passing for Abilene Christian. Senior running back Sam Hicks led the Wildcats with 153 yards rushing and two touchdowns on 16 carries.
Game-changing plays
ACU jumped ahead early thanks to its success on pivotal plays.
The Wildcats converted two of three critical third-down situations during their opening drive and hit on a fourth-and-short attempt, too, which allowed McIvor to find JJ Henry for a 13-yard touchdown pass.
On the first play of ACU’s next possession, Harris found a hole and took off down the sideline for a 90-yard touchdown run to end the first quarter.
Abilene Christian padded its lead again when junior defensive end Kaghen Roach picked off a screen pass — his first career interception — that set up Ritse Vaes’ 29-yard field goal to put ACU ahead 17-3 with 10:35 left in the second quarter.
North Dakota State’s Jackson Williams returned the ensuing kickoff 100 yards to ignite an explosive 31-0 run for NDSU.
The Bison offense found the end zone for the only time in the first half when Miller connected with RaJa Nelson for a 6-yard touchdown pass to enter the half with a 20-17 lead over Abilene Christian.
North Dakota State scored touchdowns on each of their third-quarter drives. The Bison stripped and recovered a fumble when they sacked McIvor to start the third quarter and later scored on a 1-yard touchdown run by Miller.
Miller threw 30- and 36-yard touchdown passes on NDSU’s next two possessions to give the Bison a 41-24 advantage by the start of the fourth quarter.
The Wildcats fought to claw their way back into the game late with back-to-back second-half touchdown drives that cut North Dakota State’s lead to 41-31 with 11:11 remaining.
The Bison, however, picked off two passes during the final four minutes and sealed their victory with a 31-yard interception return touchdown by Logan Kopp with 3:25 left.
They said it
Abilene Christian head football coach Keith Patterson: “It was about what we expected. We knew it was going to be a hard-fought game that was going to go for 60 minutes. … If you had told me before the game that we’d hold them to 100 yards rushing, I thought it’d probably be a different game. But at the end of the day, we just made too many mistakes to be able to win against an opponent like North Dakota State with the history and tradition they have. They’re a challenge to stop offensively. You had to load the box to stop the run, but then you create problems for yourself on the back end. Hats off to them, they made plays when they had to.”
Abilene Christian quarterback Maverick McIvor: “I knew we weren’t going to change. We like to throw the ball a lot. And anytime you throw the ball a lot and you turn the ball over three times, I think it’s really hard to win, especially on a team like that of that high of a caliber. We knew that it was going to be a hard-fought battle and anytime we turn over the ball three times, it’s going to be really, really hard to win.”
Up next
Abilene Christian wraps up a historic 2024 campaign with Saturday’s loss.
After nearly knocking off Texas Tech in overtime on the road in its season opener, ACU won nine games — a new program record at the Division I level — and finished the year with a 4-2 record against ranked FCS opponents.
The Wildcats won the United Athletic Conference championship, their first conference title since 2010 and the program’s first since moving to DI, and clinched a berth and the No. 15 national seed in the playoffs for the first time in school history.
Abilene Christian dominated its playoff debut with a 24-0 shutout of Northern Arizona in Abilene. The Wildcats will return to action when ACU kicks off the 2025 season on the road against Tulsa on Aug. 30, 2025.
Second Round – FCS Playoffs
North Dakota State 51, Abilene Christian 31
Abilene Christian 14 3 7 7
North Dakota State 3 17 21 10
SCORING SUMMARY
1st Quarter
NDSU – Griffin Crosa 21-yard field goal GOOD; 8:52
ACU – Maverick McIvor 13-yard touchdown pass to JJ Henry (Ritse Vaes kick GOOD); 2:45
ACU – Sam Hicks 90-yard touchdown run (Ritse Vaes kick GOOD); 0:00
2nd Quarter
ACU – Ritse Vaes 29-yard field goal GOOD; 10:35
NDSU – Jackson Williams 100-yard touchdown kickoff return (Griffin Crosa kick GOOD); 10:24
NDSU – Griffin Crosa 37-yard field goal GOOD; 5:58
NDSU – Cam Miller 6-yard touchdown pass to RaJa Nelson (Griffin Crosa kick GOOD); 0:21
3rd Quarter
NDSU – Cam Miller 1-yard touchdown run (Griffin Crosa kick GOOD); 10:38
NDSU – Cam Miller 30-yard touchdown pass to TK Marshall (Griffin Crosa kick GOOD); 6:08
ACU – Sam Hicks 3-yard touchdown run (Ritse Vaes kick GOOD); 3:23
NDSU – Cam Miller 36-yard touchdown pass to Bryce Lance (Griffin Crosa kick GOOD); 0:40
4th Quarter
ACU – Rovaughn Banks, Jr. 2-yard touchdown run (Ritse Vaes kick GOOD); 11:11
NDSU – Griffin Crosa 24-yard field goal GOOD; 3:34
NDSU – Logan Kopp 31-yard interception return (Griffin Crosa kick GOOD); 3:25
WASHINGTON — The North Dakota Department of Emergency Services has been recognized for its wildfire prevention efforts with a national Bronze Smokey Bear Award.
“These awardees demonstrate what fire prevention looks like in action,” said U.S. Forest Service Deputy Chief Sarah Fisher. “Their efforts protect lives, support firefighters and make a real difference in communities across the country.”
May is Wildfire Awareness Month, and with North Dakota experiencing another active spring wildfire season, each fire prevented is one that local responders don’t have to put out, underscoring the importance of each individual’s responsibility to work and recreate safely outdoors. The award to the N.D. Department of Emergency Services (NDDES) recognizes its efforts in communicating just that.
The communications team is led by Strategic Communications Chief Alison Vetter and is supported by Autonomous Systems and Communications Specialist Clint Fleckenstein.
According to information from the Forest Service, the team’s creative products are visually appealing, engaging and effective. The “Learn Before You Burn” tagline urges North Dakotans to visit the interactive N.D. Fire Declarations and Burn Restrictions map to learn their local restrictions, fire danger and red flag warnings before burning or recreating outdoors. Vetter and Fleckenstein consistently take initiative to address fire prevention issues proactively and go above and beyond to become the best possible storytellers of wildfire prevention messaging.
Alison Vetter
Their statewide efforts identify unique and effective avenues to communicate these important public safety topics, addressing top human-caused fire causes like open burning and equipment use through reels, interviews, Gas Station TV, visits with local students, and GoodHealthTV kiosks found in local health units, schools and other public buildings.
During the historic October 2024 wildfires, NDDES mobilized the Joint Information Center, responding to the elevated need for education, prevention and response to determine messaging needs in real time. This included topics like publicizing daily fire danger, sharing resources for affected landowners, advocating for defensible space and safety tips, and messaging ways to minimize fire risk when harvesting, hunting, or enjoying the outdoors. Alison and her team worked over the winter of 2024-2025 to identify prevention efforts and causes, and crafted effective communications strategies to reduce wildfire occurrence, which proved necessary into an active spring 2025 fire season as well. After the devastation of the October 2024 wildfires, they created a documentary to highlight the value and appreciation for those who responded to the call and showcase the unique way North Dakota communities show up for one another in crisis.
The 2026 Smokey Bear Awards will be presented at the National Association of State Foresters’ annual meeting in Lexington, Kentucky, in September.
North Dakota
Armstrong directs flags at half-staff Thursday in observance of Peace Officers Memorial Day
BISMARCK, N.D. – Gov. Kelly Armstrong has directed all government agencies to fly the United States and North Dakota flags at half-staff on Thursday, May 14, and encourages North Dakotans to do the same at their homes and businesses, in observance of national Peace Officers Memorial Day.
The governor’s directive is in accordance with a proclamation issued by President Donald Trump, who also proclaimed May 10-16 as national Police Week.
Armstrong will join North Dakota Attorney General Drew Wrigley and Supreme Court Chief Justice Lisa Fair McEvers in delivering remarks during a North Dakota Peace Officers Memorial Service at 7 p.m. Thursday in Memorial Hall of the State Capitol. North Dakota’s 69 fallen peace officers will be remembered and honored during the service, and the Capitol windows will be lit to display a “Thin Blue Line” as a mark of respect for all law enforcement officers, past and present.
MINOT, N.D. (KMOT) – Todd Cresap, who has served as a North Dakota district judge since 2009, announced he will retire in July.
Cresap wrote a letter to Gov. Kelly Armstrong, R-ND, he would retire effective July 17.
In the letter, Cresap said he had ‘mixed emotions’ over the decision, calling it an ‘honor’ to serve, but said it was time for someone ‘with a new perspective’ to serve.
A Valley City native, Cresap studied at Minot State University and the University of North Dakota.
Then-Gov. John Hoeven appointed Cresap to fill a judgeship in the Northwest Judicial District in 2009 that was created by the legislature. He served in that district until 2014, when it was split into Northwest and North Central.
Voters elected Cresap to the bench in 2012, 2016, and 2022. He served as a lawyer in private practice before his appointment as judge.
Armstrong can appoint a replacement to fill Cresap’s remaining term from a nominating committee’s list, ask the committee for new candidates, or call a special election.
The North Central District covers Ward, Mountrail, and Burke Counties.
Copyright 2026 KFYR. All rights reserved.
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