GRAND FORKS — UND routed Idaho State 52-28 on Saturday in the Potato Bowl at the Alerus Center to improve to 2-1 on the season.

Here are five things you might’ve missed during the game.

UND’s starting outside linebacker, Josh Navratil, is off to a hot start in 2024.

The senior had three tackles, 1.0 tackles for loss and three quarterback hurries against Idaho State.

On the season, Navratil has 4.0 tackles for loss, 2.0 sacks and four quarterback hurries.

In the last seven games of 2023, Navratil had 1.0 sack and 1.0 tackles for loss. His only quarterback hurry during 2023 was in Week 1 in a blowout win over Drake.

“Very dynamic and great pass-rush moves,” UND coach Bubba Schweigert said of his outside linebackers. “We played a smaller lineup because of what we were going to see. It was a really good job by our defensive staff to scheme that up.”

UND employed a look of two defensive linemen and five defensive backs for much of the game.

Idaho State played four quarterbacks in its season opener against Oregon State, settling on Kobe Tracy, a transfer from Utah Tech, as the starter moving forward.

However, the quarterback competition may be reconsidered after Week 3 against UND.

Tracy was 6-for-18 for 72 yards.

Hunter Hays entered with the game already in hand, finishing 18-for-23 for 206 yards and four touchdowns. He was also the Bengals’ best rushing attack, by far. He had 66 of the team’s 92 rushing yards.

When Tracy appeared to be slow to shake off a hit in the first quarter, the Bengals curiously brought on redshirt freshman quarterback Jackson Sharman, who was picked off by Devin Hembry, who returned it 92 yards for a touchdown.

Nobody on UND’s roster does more with late-game playing time than running back Donovan Hunt.

The junior transfer from Jackson State ran three times for 48 yards, including a 23-yard touchdown run, against Idaho State.

A year ago against Drake, Hunt played late in the blowout. He had a 7-yard touchdown run and a 58-yard touchdown run against the Bulldogs.

For the first time all season, UND safety Cole Davis was able to play.

The junior from Marengo, Ill., was active against the Bengals. He finished with seven tackles.

Davis didn’t practice all of fall camp but was expected to be a starter in the secondary. UND has played with starters Tyler Erkman and Jett Sutton.

Backup safety Jonnie Wiltshire also has played increasingly the past two games. He finished with six tackles and a forced fumble against Idaho State.

UND played a cleaner game than Idaho State, as penalties were 13 to 1 in favor of the Fighting Hawks.

UND’s lone penalty was a 15-yard roughing the passer penalty on Wyatt Pedigo in the first quarter.

Idaho State was flagged for 85 yards of penalties including a number of motion penalties, due to the Alerus Center crowd and the fact Idaho State was playing with a backup center after the starter was injured on the first play of the game last week.

GRAND FORKS — UND killed the negative narratives Saturday at the Potato Bowl.

Could UND stop a trend of slow starts? Could it put together a passing game? Could it avoid struggling against Idaho State? Could it stop fumbling program momentum after big wins?

How’s 38-zip for an answer?

The No. 10 Fighting Hawks scored the game’s first 38 points and blasted Idaho State 52-28 in the Potato Bowl on Saturday in the Alerus Center in front of 10,685.

Last Saturday, UND upset then-No. 4 Montana thanks to 20 unanswered second-half points. But last season, when UND beat North Dakota State, the Hawks turned around and were shutout the following week in a blowout loss at Northern Iowa.

“I thought we handled it really well,” UND wide receiver Bo Belquist said of avoiding a Montana game hangover. “We flushed the game early in the week and didn’t even talk about it. I felt like our preparation was a lot better.”

UND finished with more points than the program has ever scored against a Big Sky Conference opponent.

On UND’s second offensive drive, the Hawks went on what’s becoming a 2024 staple. UND went 80 yards on 16 plays across more than six minutes, punching in a Gaven Ziebarth 1-yard touchdown run to make it 7-0.

As Idaho State marched down the field to answer, UND’s defense struck at the perfect time.

Playing with backup quarterback Jackson Sharman after starter Kobe Tracy was shaken up following a roughing the passer call two plays earlier on UND linebacker Wyatt Pedigo, Sharman threw a wobbly out route toward the sideline. Hawks corner Devin Hembry jumped the route and returned the interception 92 yards for a 14-0 lead.

“The quarterback pulled the pin and my eyes snapped to the receiver,” Hembry said. “We prepared well throughout the week. We took what we did in practice and applied it to the game.”

Hembry’s return for a touchdown was UND’s first of the season and first since Ted Mullin had a pick-six last season.

“I’m really proud of (Hembry),” UND coach Bubba Schweigert said. “He’s really worked hard in practice to become a better player each and every day. I’m really pleased with his effort.”

UND continued to turn defensive efforts into offense in the first half. Outside linebackers Lance Rucker and Riley Gerhardt both had strip sacks of Tracy deep in ISU territory to give the Hawks short fields on offense.

The Hawks led 38-7 at halftime as Tracy was just 6-for-18 passing for 72 yards.

UND’s offense was forced to move through the air, a stark change from the first two weeks of the season. The Hawks had just 45 rushing yards at halftime and 175 passing yards.

With the Bengals’ defense crowding the line of scrimmage, UND was dared to throw. Simon Romfo, in his third career start, finished 25-for-38 for 287 yards with two touchdowns and one interception.

Romfo, a junior from Calvin, N.D., rode the short passing game, powered by Bo Belquist’s career-high 165 yards on eight catches.

“I kind of anticipated the receivers having a bigger role today,” Belquist said. “Especially after the last two weeks after we ran the ball really well, we figured they would load the box up.”

UND’s run game found more room in the second half, finishing with 38 carries for 155 yards. Four running backs (Ziebarth, Isaiah Smith, Sawyer Seidl and Donovan Hunt) scored on touchdown runs.

The Hawks improved to 27-3 in the Alerus Center in the last 30 games.

“I think you have to take what the defense is going to give you,” Schweigert said. “They made it tough to run. After our first two weeks, you have to be able to counter that. We got a couple deep (passes) to Bo and that got us rolling and gave us a lot of confidence.”

The Hawks continue their four-game homestand next weekend against San Diego at the Alerus Center.

Officer Eli Kistemann was honored as the Idaho Falls Police Department MVP by the Greater Idaho Falls Police Foundation Thursday afternoon. | Jordan Wood, EastIdahoNews.com

IDAHO FALLS — Officer Eli Kistemann was honored as the Idaho Falls Police Department MVP by the Greater Idaho Falls Police Foundation Thursday afternoon.

Kistemann has been a police officer for around five years and works night shift with the department.

“Officer Kistemann has been a shining example of proactive police work during the last few months. His efforts lead to 24 arrests in
June alone,” the nomination said. “Officer Kistemann is committed to finding those in our community that would do it harm and consistently removes unwanted elements like drugs and criminal activity from our city.”

Kistemann was one of five law enforcement officers from the Idaho Falls region honored during the awards ceremony at Melaleuca. MVP awards were presented to an Idaho Falls Police officer, Bonneville County Sheriff’s deputy, and Idaho State Police trooper. A Law Enforcement Officer of the Year award was also presented, along with a Valor Award.

RELATED | Jail sergeant honored for helping inmates continue education and overcome addictions

Family members, colleagues, elected representatives and friends honored the officers for their work as videos were shown featuring interviews with each recipient and their supervisors.

EastIdahoNews.com will share each of the videos over the next five days beginning today. You can watch the entire awards ceremony here.