Riley Linder turned the corner and his legs just kept pumping.
He did that from every angle Saturday afternoon. Whether it was off tackle or straight up the gut, Mayville State had no answer for Dickinson State’s senior running back.
Linder rushed for 250 yards and a touchdown as the Blue Hawks routed Mayville State 48-14 at the Biesiot Activities Center.
“He just willed himself today and really helped take over the game,” DSU coach Pete Stanton said.
Linder was already off to a good start when he provided a gut punch early through the second quarter.
With Dickinson State sitting at its own 2-yard line following the first of Jaylen Heartwell’s two red-zone interceptions, Linder took a handoff designed to give DSU a little cushion and rambled 91 yards down the Mayville State sideline. The Comets finally caught up to him and he was pushed out of bounds at the 7-yard-line. On the next play, Alec Lovegren scored to put DSU ahead 20-0.
Linder’s lone touchdown came from 7 yards out to open the scoring in the first quarter.
“He is so strong and he’s a little faster than you think he is,” Stanton said. “He just wills himself running the football. He does a great job of powering, driving his legs and good balance.”
The Blue Hawks (3-2) rushed for 434 yards as a team.
Along with Linder’s big day – he also had carries of 39 and 40 yards – Lovegren was a dual-threat out of the backfield. He rushed for 93 yards and two TDs and had 22 yards receiving.
“That was the key for us, and the way our offensive line and (Linder) set the tone,” Stanton said.
The Blue Hawks finished just 4 yards shy of the DSU single-game record for rushing set back in 1981 against North Dakota State College of Science – during the early days of former coach Hank Biesiot and in a much different era of college football.
DSU QB Aaron White was 10 of 23 passing for 97 yards with two interceptions. His lone touchdown pass was to Noah Sickler and it came with 20 seconds left in the first half.
That score put DSU up 27-0 at halftime.
Mayville State got on the board 2 minutes into the third quarter when Kaden Johnson picked off White and returned the interception 85 yards for the touchdown.
Just 34 seconds later the Blue Hawks responded with a 35-yard Lovegren TD run.
All of the Comets’ points came defensively, despite coming in having won three in a row and seemingly in a good offensive rhythm.
Danzele Navy sacked White and forced a fumble deep in DSU territory in the third quarter and recovered White’s fumble in the end zone.
“We were very concerned about them offensively coming in,” Stanton said. “They’ve been piling up the points. They have athletic receivers. We did a good job of keeping those guys in check throughout the whole game. But it all starts up front. We think our front seven is pretty good.”
That proved true later in the third quarter when Mayville State QB Tim Salmon was sacked for a loss and JaQuawhann Booth recovered his fumble and rumbled into the end zone for a touchdown.
The Comets registered just 97 total yards.
“It was one of the strangest third quarters I’ve been around,” Stanton said of all the defensive points.
This was a nonconference game between the two conference opponents, who’ll play again in Mayville later this season.
The Blue Hawks now set their sights on their North Star Athletic Association schedule. And it doesn’t start very easily.
They travel to Madison, S.D., to face Dakota State (2-2) next week and hit the road to Forest City, Iowa, the following week to face Waldorf (4-1).
“We’ve got a couple good long road trips,” Stanton said. “We’re excited with where we’re at. Just playing consistent. We were disappointed early on and thought we had chances in both of those first two games. We didn’t finish the deal. We’ve got to continue to get better and I think we’re doing that.”
First Quarter
DSU–Riley Linder 7 run (Wade James kick), 8:58.
Second Quarter
DSU–James 35 FG, 7:49
DSU–James 42 FG, 13:28
DSU–Lovegren 7 run (James kick), 10:54.
DSU–Noah Sickler 10 pass from Aaron White (James kick), 0:20
Third Quarter
MSU–Kaden Johnson 85 interception return (Braeden Lacomb kick), 13:02
DSU–Lovegren 35 run (James kick), 12:28.
MSU–Danzele Navy fumble recovery (Lacombe kick), 11:13.
DSU–JaQuawhann Booth fumble recovery (James kick), 3:57.
Fourth Quarter
DSU–Bridger Grovom 28 run (James kick), 5:05.
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING: MSU, Mason Ollman 9-30, Cole Dukart 10-17, Isaiah Barbee 8-7, Salmon 8-(-70). DSU, Linder 17-250, Lovegren 12-93, Grovom 4-48, Braden Zuroff 9-35, Braedy Santens 3-6, Jacob Marley 1-3, Darion Brown 2-3, White 1-(-4).
PASSING: MSU, Tim Salmon 11-27-3 113. DSU, White 10-23-2 97.
RECEIVING: MSU, Joshua Portillo 4-57, Javeion Davison 4-33, Cole Dukart 2-15, Darrick Frederick 1-8. DSU, Sickler 2-36, Kaden Kuntz 3-25, Lovegren 4-22, Conor McCarvel 1-14.
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