Oct. 6, 2007
Final Stats
FARGO,< b="">FARGO, N.D. -- Quarterback Steve Walker threw for 228 yards and a touchdown on Saturday while Tyler Roehl rushed for three touchdowns in the first half as No. 2 North Dakota State overcame an early 7-0 deficit with 21 straight points on its way to a 35-16 Great West Football Conference win over UC Davis before 19,011 fans at the Fargodome.
The Aggies lost their second straight game and are 2-4 overall while the Bison - whose last home loss came to UC Davis 20-14 in 2005 - have won 10 straight at the Fargodome and are 5-0 overall. NDSU is ranked No. 2 in the Football Championships Subdivision Coaches poll and are No. 3 by the media and sports information directors in The Sports Network poll.
UC Davis Matt Engle came on in relief of starting quarterback Tim Plough, who left the game in the first quarter with an injured ankle, and threw for 222 yards. Engle completed 21 of 32 passes with no interceptions. Plough was one of two starters for UC Davis who left the game with injuries in the first half with defensive tackle John Faletoese also injuring an ankle and not returning. Additionally, cornerback Marcus North left with a knee injury and did not return.
Brandon Tucker rushed 21 times for 54 yards and caught seven passes for 31 more while junior Brandon Rice had five grabs for 93 yards. Tucker scored on a short touchdown pass for the Aggies' first score while backup quarterback Daniel Alfaro dove in for UC Davis' other touchdown.
Walker connected on 13 of 17 passes, throwing a 25-yard touchdown pass to Jordan Schultenover in third quarter. Roehl rushed 14 times for 75 yards, scoring on a two-yard run late in the first quarter that tied the game at 7-7, then giving the Bison the lead for good on a 16-yard score with 36 seconds left in the period. He added a three-yard touchdown run with 4:22 before half, helping the Bison take a 28-10 lead at the break.
NDSU scored on four consecutive possessions in the first half with Pete Blincoe crossing in from four yards early in the second quarter for the Bison's other score.
The Bison's surge came after UC Davis took an early lead for the second consecutive week. A sack of Walker by defensive end James Amos less than five minutes into the game resulted in a fumble that was recovered by the Aggies' Travis Dulli at the NDSU 29. UC Davis scored nine players later from the 2 when Tucker took a short pass from Plough, bounced off a hit by Bison cornerback David Earl and then held the ball across the goal line as he was falling down on a second effort, picking up the TD.
Engle came on for Plough late in the first quarter, driving the Aggies 63 yards on 11 plays in the second quarter for a 32-yard field goal by Emmanuel Benjamin that made it 21-10. Trailing 28-10, the Aggies got seven completions from Engle to five different receivers to move inside NDSU's 10-yard line but an illegal procedure on a short touchdown pass to Brandon Rice and a false start resulted in a 35-yard field goal attempt by Benjamin with two seconds left that missed to the right.
Walker's touchdown pass to Schultenover on NDSU's first drive of the second half made it 35-10 but that would be the the Bison's last score of the game. Kymm Snowden intercepted Walker in the end zone later in the third quarter while Walker's fumble at the Aggies' 17 in the fourth gave the ball to UC Davis with 10:04 to go. The Bison punted on their last possession, their only punt of the game.
Engle helped lead UC Davis to its last score, finding Rice on a big 43-yard pass down the middle, hitting Bakari Grant for 12 more yards later in the drive and then giving the ball to Tucker for two runs totalling 15 yards that put the ball at the NDSU 8. Engle then scrambled to the one but had to leave after the play with leg cramps. Alfaro then came in and picked up the score with 6:42 to play.
Head coach Bob Biggs was pleased with Engle's play.
"We were prepared for Matt Engle to play," said Biggs. "We put in a package for him and it ended up paying off as it turned out. He was able to run some option today which was good and I thought he managed the team very well."
Linebacker Tyler Pringle finished with a career-high 12 tackles for the Aggies while linebacker Chris Buck had eight. Amos posted a pair of tackles-for-losses, including a sack, and forced a fumble. UC Davis' three takeaways pushed its season total to four after gaining their only previous one against Portland State on Sept. 8.
"I wasn't real pleaed with how we played in the first half, I just thought we gave up too many easy scores," said Biggs. "But I thought we battled really hard in the second half and I was proud of the effort."
John Majeski had a 70-yard kickoff return for NDSU, setting up its first score. UC Davis had 347 yards of total offense while NDSU posted 413.
UC Davis played without starting running back Joe Trombetta who missed the game with an ankle injury.
UC Davis will return to Aggie Stadium next Saturday for its second straight GWFC game, hosting No. 24 Cal Poly in the "Battle for the Golden Horseshoe" at 1:30. The game is already nearing sellout status.
