– Vikings Football Wins Saturday Versus Mayville State

Game at Fargodome

VCSU 48 Mayville State University 40

Fargo (VCSU) – Valley City State gained 403 rushing yards and 539 yards of offense Saturday as the Vikings won a shootout in the season finale against Mayville State.

The Vikings rushed for 321 yards in the first half as they built a 34-6 lead late in the second quarter. VCSU did just enough in the second half, holding off Mayville State down the stretch for an exciting 48-40 victory.

The teams combined for 12 touchdowns and 1,080 yards of offense during the game inside the Fargodome. Seven of the touchdowns scored came from more than 30 yards away.

Valley City State ends it season with a 5-5 overall record and a 4-2 mark in conference play. The Vikings went 5-2 over their last seven games and finish second in the NSAA conference standings. Mayville State finishes the season 3-8 overall and 0-6 in conference play.

The Vikings scored early and often with big plays in the first half Saturday. Quarterback Avery Thorsgard started the scoring with a 57-yard touchdown run less than 90 seconds into the game. Thorsgard added a 34-yard rushing touchdown later in the quarter to make it 12-3. In the second quarter, Justice Bice scored from 45 yards out, and then Taylor Simmons took it to the house from 73 yards away. The Vikings capped their first-half onslaught with a 31-yard TD pass from Thorsgard to Dominic Sotomayor.

Thorsgard hit Faaris Amegankpoe for an 18-yard touchdown in the third quarter and then found William Pfahl for a 17-yard scored early in the fourth quarter. Pfahl’s touchdown gave the Vikings a 48-27 lead. Mayville State trimmed the lead to 48-40 with 1:52 remaining, but VCSU’s defense was able to force a fumble in the final seconds to secure the victory.

Valley City State had three players rush for more than 100 yards as Thorsgard picked up 170 on the ground and both Simmons and Bice had 113 rushing yards. The 403 rushing yards is the third most in school history, dating back to the 2000 season. (Single-game records are only available back to 2000.)

Thorsgard, making his first start since suffering an injury in the second game of the season, had himself a day at quarterback. He accounted for five total touchdown, going 9-for-11 passing for 136 yards and three TDs. On the ground, he gained 170 yards and two touchdowns on 16 carries.

While the Vikings relied heavily on the run, Mayville State was pass-heavy. Comet quarterback Tim Salmon went 32-for-46 passing for 563 yards and four scores. He was also sacked six times as the Vikings held Mayville to -22 yards rushing. Mayville’s Reece Smith had nine catches for 270 yards and a touchdown, and Javeion Davison hauled in nine passes for 180 yards and three TDs. The Comets finished with 541 yards of total offense.

Riley Gerhardt totaled six tackles and tied his career-high and the VCSU single-game record with three sacks. Georgia Mageo, TaQuez Chatman and Georgie Mageo all had one sack each. Jahidi West had a team-high seven tackles, forced a fumble and had two tackles for loss. Dustin Kasowski and LaShad Smith each had five tackles and Kasowski recovered a fumble.

Up next: Valley City State finishes the season with a 5-5 overall record and a 4-2 mark in conference play.