FARGO, N.D.--Sophomore wide receiver Alex Belquist caught a pair of touchdown passes, sophomore defensive back Nick Schommer intercepted a pair and broke up two others and sophomore wide receiver Jamar Champ returned a kickoff for a TD as the Green defeated the Gold 28-20 in the North Dakota State Outback Steakhouse Spring Football Game on Saturday, April 22, before a crowd of 1,776 at the Fargodome.
North Dakota State's first offense played against the first defense, while the second offense went against second defense during the final day of the 2006 Bison spring football practices. The scrimmage featured 549 yards of total offense, but the defense combined to force five turnovers on five interceptions.
"The spring was a very competitive one. We're definitely more athletic with more speed and quickness. It was certainly great to get some of our injured players back," said North Dakota State head football coach Craig Bohl, who enters his fourth season with a 23-10 record.
"Overall, we're really pleased. There are some things we can certainly improve on, but I think we're making progress as a football team."
Champ claimed the game's most exciting play, racing 86 yards for a touchdown on a kickoff in the first half. He returned four kickoffs for 148 yards.
The Green trailed 10-7 at halftime but quickly regained the lead just 1:18 into the second half when redshirt freshman quarterback Nick Mertens connected with Belquist on the first ot two third quarter scoring passes. Mertens threaded the needle to Belquist between a pair of defenders for a 68-yard TD. Belquist caught four passes for 124 yards.
The second scoring play between the Mertens and Belquist covered 35 yards and put the Green ahead 21-10 with 4:52 left. It was set up by Schommer's first interception, which he returned 27 yards. Mertens completed 4-of-11 passes for 137 yards, two TDs and an interception.
The Gold trimmed the deficit to 21-13 on a 30-yard field goal by redshirt freshman John Obarski, but the Green responded with an eight-play, 52-yard drive behind redshirt freshman quarterback Mitch Brecke. Junior halfback Symeon Cabell covered 37 of the 52 yards on the ground. Junior wide receiver John Majeski caught a 5-yard touchdown pass from Brecke to cap the scoring.
Cabell finished an impressive spring practice with 90 yards and a touchdown on 24 carries to finish as the game's top rusher. Brecke completed 9 of 15 passes for 100 yards. Majeski caught four passes for 49 yards.
Sophomore quarterback Ryan Parsons and the Gold offense engineered the game's best scoring march, an exhausting drive that covered 75 yards on 15 plays and lasted 5:24. The Gold converted three fourth down plays during the drive with senior halfback Kyle Steffes taking care of two short yardage bursts and Parsons scrambling six yards for the other. Steffes ended the game with 67 yards on 18 carries.
Parsons found junior wide receiver Nick Jackson open in the right corner of the end zone on a 17-yard TD strike. That scoring play was setup by a Parsons 25-yard completion to redshirt freshman Jordan Schultenover. Parsons completed 12 of 34 passes for 162 yards, a TD and three interceptions against the first defense.
The Gold had one more chance late in the game, but Schommer made a nifty pick on the right sideline to end the threat with 26 seconds remaining.
The Green defense was led by senior linebacker Brett Itterman 's 11 tackles, while junior linebacker Joe Mays and sophomore Ramon Humber both added eight stops. Defensive back Craig Dahl recorded an interception and a pass breakup, while brother and defensive end Brian Dahl was credited with seven tackles including a pair of sacks.
Sophomore linebacker Mike Brower and redshirt freshman Tyler Henry each had 11 tackles for the Gold defense. Henry recorded 3.5 tackles for loss, while Brower and junior linebacker Tommy Ray both were credited with an interceptions.
Doing the punting for both teams, junior Mike Dragosavich turned in a solid day's work. The returning All-American punter punted seven times for an average of 47.9 yards per attempt including three inside the 20 and a pair over 50 yards. Obarski, who had two field goals (26, 30 yards) and sophomore Kyle Wilcox were perfect on five extra-point attempts.
