Paint Bucket Stays at VCSU, Vikings 24 Jimmies 7

Valley City   (VCSU) — The Valley City State University Vikings took a 24-0 lead and held off the University of Jamestown football team 24-7 Thursday night in the 74th Paint Bucket Game.

Final Score: VCSU 24, Jamestown 7
Records: UJ 0-1, VCSU 1-0
Location: Shelly Ellig Field at Lokken Stadium

HOW IT HAPPENED

First Quarter: After the Jimmies were held to a three-and-out on their opening possession, VCSU went 43 yards on 10 plays but stalled at the UJ 3-yard line. The Vikings settled for a 20-yard Nico Magana field goal to take a 3-0 lead with 6:51 left in the first.

Another three-and-out followed by a 12-yard punt gave the Vikings excellent field possession at the Jimmie 30-yard line. On the first play of the drive, Jalen Pfeifer connected with Jacob Gottenborg on a 30-yard touchdown pass, and Magana’s extra point made it 10-0 VCSU with 3:57 remaining.

VCSU forced a Jimmie punt and took over on the UJ 42 with 1:34 to play in the quarter, but the Jimmies held true and kept the Vikings off the board.

Second Quarter: UJ sustained a six-play, 20-yard drive early in the second, but had to punt for the fourth straight series. The Vikings began their first drive of the quarter with a nine-yard completion from Pfeifer to Benjamin Dumond. Following an incomplete pass, a four-yard run by Joshua McKnight moved the chains. A block in the back penalty pushed the Vikings backwards, and a Colin Kok (SO/Williston, N.D.) sack on third-and-11 resulted in a loss of six yards. Jamestown got the ball back at their own 49 yard line with 7:30 before halftime.

The Jimmies’ next drive lasted just three plays before their fifth punt of the half. A 46-yard pass from Pfeifer to Michael Cornelious on second-and-3 moved VCSU down to the Jimmie 30. Two plays later, a pass for Cornelious was broken up by Rob Anderson (FR/Alexandria, Minn.) in the end zone. Faced with fourth-and-3, the Vikings turned to Justice Bice, and the running back went around right end for a gain of ten. The next two VCSU plays totaled negative-two yards, and the Jimmie defense came up with a turnover as Hershell Jefferson (FR/Pensacola, Fla.) picked off a Pfeifer pass intended for Cornelious to end the Viking drive.

Jamestown turned in its longest drive of the half, covering  63 yards, with the big play coming on a 27-yard pass from Cade Torgerson (JR/Billings, Mont.) to Marcus Giles (JR/Coon Rapids, Minn.). An eight-yard pass to Steve Justice (SO/Henderson, Nev.) and an 11-yard completion to Micah Madyun (FR/Ramsey, Minn.) pushed the Jimmies into the red zone for the first time. On third-and-10, Torgerson was flushed out of the pocket and appeared to have rushing room up the right side, but was tripped up by Sal Avila for just a one-yard gain. Faced with a fourth-and-nine situation and just eight seconds before the half, the Jimmies went for a 33-yard field goal. The kick went wide left, and the half ended 10-0 in favor of VCSU.

Third Quarter: The Vikings started the second half with the ball and were hampered by a personal foul penalty that resulted in a punt. On second-and-11 on the ensuing drive, Torgerson hit Javon Bowie-Monteiro (JR/Sacramento, Calif.) in stride for a 32-yard gain, moving the Jimmies up to the VCSU 49. Jamestown went for it on fourth-and-5, but Torgerson’s pass to Bowie-Monteiro came up a yard short and VCSU took over on downs.

Pfeifer led VCSU to the end zone with 6:24 in the third quarter, completing a 30-yard pass to Cornelious on third-and-9 to extend the lead to 17-0. The quarterback turned in runs of 11 and 10 yards on two separate third downs, and converted another first down on a 23-yard pass to Dumond.

Jamestown marched down the field thanks to a 33-yard Torgerson completion to Isaiah Roebuck (FR/Marana, Ariz.), then a Vikings pass interference and roughing the passer penalty got the Jimmies to the VCSU 10. An illegal snap penalty on third-and-10 pushed the Jimmies back five yards, and on fourth-and-15, Torgerson’s pass intended for Bowie-Monteiro sailed high out of the back of the end zone, giving VCSU the ball on downs.

Fourth Quarter: Pfeifer ended the third quarter with a 35-yard dart to Dumond to put VCSU at midfield, but Jordan Olson (JR/Prior Lake, Minn.) came up with UJ’s second interception of the game, picking off a pass intended for Dumond at the UJ 5 yard line. VCSU responded with an interception of their own as Ashton Raquino tipped a Torgerson pass into the waiting arms of Jerrod Williamson. One play later, Pfeifer found Bice on a 25-yard scoring pass, and the Magana extra point made it 24-0 with 13:03 to play.

The Jimmies got on the board with 7:12 remaining with a defensive touchdown. Jed Rantz (FR/Arroyo Grande, Calif.) stripped Joshua McKnight at the UJ 43, and Olson scooped up the loose ball, going 57 yards to the end zone. The extra point by Noah Vogelpohl (FR/Dayton, Minn.) made it 24-7.

Key Stats: Torgerson finished 20-of-46 passing for 214 yards…Roebuck, Giles, Justice, Madyun, and Frankie Ingraldi (FR/Colorado Springs, Colo.) each caught three passes…Roebuck had 45 yards receiving, followed by Bowie-Monteiro with 36 and Giles with 35…Jamestown was held to -7 yards on 17 carries…Ethan Helton (FR/Wildomar, Calif.) led the defense with eight total tackles, while Kok, Olson, and Anderson all had seven.

Up Next: The Jimmies will have a bye week before opening GPAC conference action September 11 against Mount Marty (S.D.) University in the first game in newly renovated Charlotte and Gordon Hansen Stadium.