Turnovers key as Blue Hawks take down Dakota State on the road

MADISON, SD – Dickinson State (5-1, 4-0) continued their North Star Athletic Association dominance with a 38-21 victory over Dakota State University (4-2, 2-2) in Madison, South Dakota. DSU forced 6 turnovers on the day, getting 5 interceptions and fumble recovery to keep control of the game.

“It was a great road win for our guys,” DSU head coach Pete Stanton said. “We made enough plays in all three phases to keep us separated. Six takeaways on defense was big for us. Our guys are looking forward to the Homecoming Game against Mayville State next week.”

Dickinson State started strong with a 43-yard field goal by

Chase Miller

, capping a 13-play drive. Shortly after, quarterback

Will Madler

connected with

Semaj Clark

for a 23-yard touchdown pass, putting the Blue Hawks up 10-0.

Dakota State quickly responded with an 11-yard touchdown pass from AJ Donovan to Austin Lake, closing the gap to 10-7.

However, the Blue Hawks extended their lead at the end of the first quarter when

Jayden Heartwell

intercepted Donovan and returned it 26 yards for a touchdown.

In the second quarter, Dakota State’s Melek Ford caught an 18-yard pass from Donovan to make it 17-14, but Dickinson State answered with another touchdown pass from Madler to Clark, sending the Blue Hawks into halftime with a 24-14 lead.

In the third quarter, Dickinson State extended their lead with a 7-yard rushing touchdown by

Braden Zuroff

. The Trojans attempted a comeback in the fourth, as Tyce Ortman’s 2-yard run narrowed the score to 31-21. However, the Blue Hawks sealed the game late with a 4-yard touchdown pass from Madler to

Gage Gilbert

.

Madler threw for 174 yards, completing 14 of 29 passes with 3 touchdowns and 2 interceptions in the win.

Semaj Clark

had an outstanding game, recording 7 catches for 121 yards and two touchdowns. Heartwell led the defense for Dickinson State, intercepting 2 passes and returning 1 for a touchdown.

Matt Anderson

had an interception, along with a sack, while

Riley Waters

and

Jack Hartman

both added interceptions as well.

Ryan Racht

collected the only fumble recovery for the Blue Hawks but Anderson and

Johnnie McClusky, Jr.

each forced a fumble in the game.

To watch the game live, please visit the YouTube page at

www.youtube.com/watch?v=eeFytcW4XZQ

and live-stats can be followed at

www.dsubluehawks.com/sports/fball/2024-25/boxscores/20240829_xhhr.xml

while radio enthusiasts can join North Dakota Broadcast Hall of Famer Rod Kleinjan on the airwaves at 1230 am and/or

www.kdix.com

for the play-by-play.

For more information about DSU football, please keep reading The Dickinson Press and/or visit their website at

https://www.dsubluehawks.com/sports/fball/index

.

Our newsroom occasionally reports stories under a byline of “staff.” Often, the “staff” byline is used when rewriting basic news briefs that originate from official sources, such as a city press release about a road closure, and which require little or no reporting. At times, this byline is used when a news story includes numerous authors or when the story is formed by aggregating previously reported news from various sources. If outside sources are used, it is noted within the story.