VALLEY CITY – The Viking defense came up with a game-clinching stop Saturday as the Valley City State football team pulled off a thrilling 24-21 double-overtime victory over Mayville State.
 
With the Viking offense facing a 4th-and-3 in the first half of double overtime, VCSU head coach Dennis McCulloch made the decision to kick a field goal and rely on his defense. The decision paid off. Freshman kicker Andrew Nielsen calmly drilled the go-ahead 24-yard field, and then VCSU’s defense sealed the victory by stonewalling the Comets inside the 10-yard line.
 
In a driving rain, VCSU’s Riley Gerhardt batted down a pass on 3rd-and-3 from the 7-yard line. Facing 4th-and-3, Mayville elected to go for it. VCSU linebacker Malachi Torres cut off Daniel Nevil’s rush near the sideline, forcing Nevil into a wild throw that fell incomplete and set off a Viking celebration.

Valley City State improves to 3-1 overall this season and is now 2-0 in conference play. Mayville State drops to 0-5 overall and 0-3 in the conference.
 
For much of the first half, Mayville State held a lead. The Comets scored first to go up 7-0 and took a 14-7 lead into the locker room at halftime after Mason Ollman scored on a 28-yard rush late in the half. The Vikings shut out Mayville in the second half and the offense put together a 12-play, 65-yard drive in the third quarter, tying the game at 14-14 on a 1-yard touchdown run by quarterback Avery Thorsgard.
 
Neither team could score the rest of the way, sending the game to overtime. Both teams scored touchdowns in the first overtime. The Comets struck first with a 2-yard run by Daniel Nevil, and then Thorsgard answered with a 10-yard scramble into the endzone. Nielsen drilled the pressure-packed extra point to force double overtime, setting up the exciting finish.
 
The Comets finished with 358 total yards, including 194 on the ground. Valley City State rushed for 209 yards and had 265 yards of total offense.
 
“Mayville had a great game plan coming in,” said VCSU head coach Dennis McCulloch. “They were able to establish the run and did that all day against us. I was very impressed with what they did against us today.”
 
The Vikings had their own rushing success relying heavily on the legs of quarterback Avery Thorsgard. He carried the ball 23 times for 133 yards and two touchdowns. Justice Bice racked up 63 yards on 15 carries. Ka’Ua Nishigaya had one carry that he turned into a 13-yard touchdown run for VCSU’s first score of the game in the second quarter. Thorsgard went 8-for-18 passing for just 56 yards as VCSU’s offense did just enough to pull out the Homecoming win.
 
“We have to play better,” said McCulloch. “We’re not going to win a conference championship playing at this level. We have the 2 best teams in our conference coming up next, and we have to play better.”
 
Mayville State had a pair of running backs top 100 yards as Nevil rushed for 102 yards and a score and Ollman had 100 yards and a score. Quarterback Tim Salmon was 18-for-23 passing for 147 yards and a TD. Javeion Davison had four catches for 53 yards and a score.
 
While the Comets totaled 358 yards of total offense, the Viking defense came up with big plays to keep points off the board. With the game tied at 14-14 in the fourth quarter, freshman cornerback Emanuel Spiyee made a diving interception in the end zone to squash a Comet scoring threat. Linebacker Jahidi West also made his 14th career interception, which ties him for 4th all-time in Viking history.
 
Riley Gerhardt and West were all over the field, combining for 39 tackles in the game. Gerhardt had a hand in 20 stops and tallied a sack and two tackles for loss. West totaled 19 tackles and 1.5 TFL, and Levi Olson had 10 stops.
 
Up next: Valley City State (3-1, 2-0 NSAA) hosts conference favorite Dickinson State on Saturday, Sept. 30. Kickoff is at 3 p.m. from VCSU’s Lokken Stadium. Mayville State hosts Dakota State on Sept. 30.