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
North Dakota
Found guilty of manslaughter: Dickinson man to spend only about four and a half more years in prison
DICKINSON — A 70-year-old Dickinson man
charged with murder in 2024
was sentenced on Tuesday to 15 years in prison after the charges against him were dropped to manslaughter. According to court documents, he will only be in custody for about four and a half more years.
Nine years were suspended from Jeffrey Powell’s sentence along with 532 days or about one and a half years for time already served.
Barring future developments, Powell will be incarcerated at the North Dakota Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation for
the death of 59-year-old Christopher Volney Ische
for about four and a half more years.
That’s just months more than the four-year minimum sentence, according to the Stark County State’s Attorney Amanda Engelstad.
The initial incident happened on July 3, 2024. Police said the shooting, which resulted in Ische’s death, happened around 7 p.m. in a residential neighborhood in Dickinson after a verbal altercation. Police also said Powell had stayed on the scene of the shooting and talked with officers.
At the time of Powell’s arrest, police said they presumed Ische’s death was an isolated incident. He has been held at Southwest Multi-County Correctional Center (SWMCCC) since the incident with a $2 million bond.
Powell
was initially charged with a Class AA felony
, which could carry a maximum sentence of life in prison. On Tuesday, Dec. 16, Powell was found guilty of manslaughter of an adult victim, which is a Class B felony.
Powell pleaded guilty to the manslaughter charge.
Engelstad said to The Press that the difference in charges was based on evidence presented in the trial and was an “appropriate resolution.”
Different sentencing rules applied to Powell, however, because of how North Dakota law interprets the use of a firearm in cases like this.
During the trial, the court found that Powell was a dangerous special offender pursuant to NDCC 12.1-32-09. This portion of North Dakota law allows the court to sentence above normal charges. In Powell’s case, a class B felony typically carries a maximum sentence of 10 years. With the dangerous special offender finding, the sentence can be a maximum of 20 years.
Engelstad said the State had argued for a sentence of 20 years.
“I’m disappointed in the outcome,” said Engelstad.
Additional terms of Powell’s sentence include five years’ supervised probation, along with no contact with the family of the deceased for the same length of time.
If Powell does not violate these terms, his probation will end in 2035. He is scheduled to be released from custody June 23, 2030.
A total of $775 in fees for Powell’s case, including criminal administration, facility admin and victim witness fees, were waived. He may be required to pay restitution. The State’s Attorney’s office has 60 days from the date of judgment to file an affidavit of restitution.
The view through a North Dakota Highway Patrol squad’s windshield. (Facebook)
(FOX 9) – Blizzard warnings are in for parts of both North and South Dakota, creating hazardous conditions for drivers on Thursday morning.
Blizzard warning in effect
What we know:
In North Dakota, the blizzard warning covers most of the northern two-thirds of the state, stretching into northwest Minnesota.
In South Dakota, the blizzard warning only covers three counties in the far northeast part of the state, including Day, Marshall, and Robert counties.
The National Weather Service is only forecasting between one and four inches of snow in North Dakota and two inches of snow in South Dakota, but whipping winds up to 70 miles per hour will greatly reduce visibility and cause damage to trees and power lines.
READ MORE: White-out conditions reported in NW Minnesota
What they’re seeing:
North Dakota Highway Patrol shared photos showing the blizzard conditions along Interstate 94 just east of Bismark. In the photos, it appears you can only see a few feet past the front bumper of the squad.
Another post shows snow whipping in the high winds in Grand Forks County. Troopers are urging residents to stay home in North Dakota if they are able.
Travel restrictions in place
Big picture view:
A travel alert is in effect for western parts of North Dakota while no travel is advised for central and eastern parts of the state. Troopers have restricted oversized loads from roads in the northwest and northeast regions of the state as of 5:30 a.m. and empty or light-loaded high-profile vehicles due to the high winds and icy conditions.
In South Dakota, officials warn that there are reports of multiple downed powerlines and trees blocking roadways. No travel is advised in Day and Marshall counties.
The Source: This story uses information from the North Dakota Highway Patrol and the National Weather Service.
FARGO, N.D. (Valley News Live) – A 24-year-old suspect wanted on fraud charges in Florida was arrested in Bismarck following a multi-state investigation into alleged economic crimes targeting St. Lucie County, Florida residents in 2024.
Kylen Running Hawk was arrested on Tuesday, Dec. 16, by Bismarck authorities working with the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office. Running Hawk is being held at the Burleigh County Jail pending extradition to Florida.
Running Hawk faces three charges under Florida law:
- Fraud/swindle: Defrauding to obtain property valued at less than $20,000
- Fraud/impersonation: Use or possession of another person’s identification without consent
- Grand theft: Property valued at $750 or more but less than $5,000
Detective Cpl. Redler coordinated the cross-state apprehension, according to the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office.
The investigation remains ongoing.
Copyright 2025 KVLY. All rights reserved.
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