VALLEY CITY, N.D. – Dickinson State dropped a Frontier Conference East Division game Saturday afternoon, falling 29-21 to Valley City State at Lokken Stadium.
The Blue Hawks (2-6, 0-4 Frontier East) held a 21-20 lead late in the third quarter following a 39-yard touchdown connection from Marcus Sanders to Gage Gilbert. However, Valley City State (5-3, 2-2 Frontier East) scored the game's final nine points to pull ahead for the win.
"It was the same story as the past four weeks for us," head coach Pete Stanton said. "We just aren't doing enough things well to win college football games. We haven't done the fundamental things very well for a while in all three phases. We will keep working at it."
Dickinson State opened the scoring midway through the second quarter when Ty Dassinger capped a short 31-yard drive with a 13-yard rushing touchdown. The Vikings answered less than a minute later, and after a second touchdown drive, led 14-7.
The Blue Hawks tied the game at 14-14 before halftime on a 10-yard touchdown pass from Sanders to Gilbert, finishing an eight-play, 75-yard drive.
After Valley City State went back in front with a third-quarter touchdown pass, Dickinson State responded with a 12-play, 87-yard drive that ended in Gilbert's second touchdown grab of the day.
But the Blue Hawks were shut out in the fourth quarter, while Valley City regained the lead on a 35-yard field goal with 7:36 remaining. A five-yard touchdown run by Devyne Pearson with 2:03 left extended the deficit to two possessions. Dickinson State's final drive ended on downs.
Sanders completed 35 of 51 passes for 319 yards and two touchdowns. Gilbert led all receivers with 10 catches for 109 yards and two scores. Semaj Clark added six receptions for 63 yards, and Dassinger finished with 32 yards and a touchdown on the ground.
Dylan Dahlgren recorded seven tackles and a sack to lead the Blue Hawk defense. Nathaniel Jilek added an interception early in the fourth quarter.
Dickinson State totaled 376 yards of offense to Valley City's 354 and had a slight edge in time of possession. However, the Blue Hawks converted just 3-of-12 third downs and 2-of-5 fourth downs, while Valley City State went 4-for-4 in red zone opportunities.
