It wasn’t a thing of beauty but it definitely ended well.
We were a bit leery about a potential letdown this week being UND just came off two big games at home. It’s hard for any human being to keep up the same energy all the time. Football players are no different. Heck, the fans were not nearly the same as they were vs Montana or Idaho State. Call it the downside of having three home games in a row. A smaller crowd (8500), smaller tailgating and less zest led to a slow start for the home team.
Luckily for the UND faithful, this team has some moxie to them. They came out of the halftime locker room and took San Diego behind the woodshed for 30 straight minutes. The end result was a 41-24 victory that left them 3-1 on the season and feeling good.
The Hawks had a horrific first quarter. I wasn’t even sure I had the correct game on. The black pants with green jerseys looked off, the coverage was off, and the offense was lethargic. Elrichs even missed a chip shot field goal (when we should’ve gone for it on 4th and 2). UND had 21 yards in first quarter.
To their credit, UND seemed to flip a switch and became a different team in the second quarter. Coaches often say “you can’t just flip a switch..”. Well, in this case the Hawks did. Suddenly the coverage was sound, pressure began to get to QB Grant Sergent, and the offense got in a rhythm.
There were some coverage gaffes early that should not have happened but young safeties are just that. WR Ja’seem Reed for San Diego was too much early on, as well. That kid is good. He had 11 catches for 103 yards and 1 TD on the day.
Josh Navratil is having an All-American type year. He is abusing tackles and creating havoc every game. Navratil had a sack, forced fumble, and fumble recovery in the game. Not to be overshadowed, Wyatt Pedigo was an animal once again this week. If you were watching the game you couldn’t help but notice him, as he was everywhere again and is truly the heart and soul of the defense.
Navratil was named the MVFC Defensive Player of the Week for his efforts.
Safety Tyler Erkman got his first career interception! Always a memorable play for a young DB. He stepped in front of the Sergent pass early in the game and made a nice catch on the ball.
Corner Devin Hembry added another interception to his resume and is playing really well at corner. He has impressive instincts and ball skills.
The pass rush was super aggressive and fun to watch. The Hawks only had one sack but notched 10 quarterback hurries. San Diego’s passing game began to regress as the timing was thrown off.
Simon Romfo was only 5-13 for 159 yards on the day but made the five count. He hit Bo Belquist on a 69 yard TD early in the third quarter and then hit Nate Demontagnac shortly after for a 38 yard gain. Then, he hooked up with Belquist again on a stalk-n-go for a 41 yard TD that was very well designed and executed. Obviously I am not going to sit here and say I love 5-13. But, it’s a work in progress and is going to take time.
UND ran all three running backs the exact same – literally. 13 carries each for Ziebarth, Seidl, and Smith. Each got a touchdown, as well.
UND’s final drive was 16 plays and 75 yards. It burned 9:47 off the clock and get this: all 16 plays were runs. That is amazing.
Speaking of Seidl – his 70 yard touchdown run where he ran around the end of the Torero defense and scampered untouched to the end zone was quite possibly the most important touchdown UND will have this season. There was ZERO juice in this Alerus Center before that run. UND was getting picked apart by the USD offense and it did not look good. Down 14-3, Seidl single-handedly ignited the entire team and they never looked back. That kid is electric.
The Hawks only ran 59 plays in this game. They were averaging 74 coming in. But, when you hit a couple deep shots it is going to reduce your play count.
UND ran the ball 46 times for 267 yards. Just churning out rushing yards week after week. The second half domination of the clock (21:00 top 9:00) was a key to the turn around.
This was the letdown we were worried about and UND still won by 17. I fully expect an amped up Hawks team this weekend at Homecoming. Murray State is coming to town to open the MVFC slate and it will be a fun weekend, once again, in the Forks.