The Gold topped the Green 14-3 as North Dakota State University completed its spring football workouts with the annual intrasquad scrimmage played Saturday, April 26, before an estimated crowd of 2,500 in the Fargodome. The Bison open the 2008 season at 7 p.m. August 28 against Austin Peay.
After the teams played to a scoreless first quarter, junior Nick Mertens (East Grand Forks, Minn.) directed the Gold first team offense on a seven-play, 80-yard drive to open the second quarter. Running back Tyler Roehl scored from seven yards out to cap the impressive march. Roehl had 40 yards on seven carries.
Mertens completed 3 of 5 passes for 77 yards during the scoring drive including a 51-yard hookup with senior wide receiver Kole Heckendorf. He also connected with junior Jordan Schultenover and senior Alex Belquist to overcome a sack by Green nose guard Michael Fairbairn.
The Green cut the deficit to 7-3 with 1:57 left in the second quarter on John Obarski 's 39-yard field goal. That capped an eight-play, 68 yard drive directed by junior quarterback Mitch Brecke. The drive was highlighted by Brecke's 40-yard pass to wide reciever Gary Williams and a 14-yard run by junior running back Pat Paschall.
Williams, a sophomore from Humble, Texas, didn't have long to rest. He took the ensuing kickoff 86 yards for a touchdown for the Gold and extended the lead to 14-3 with 1:41 left before the intermission. That closed out the scoring and the remainder of the spring game was played with a continuous clock as the defenses stiffened.
Mertens, who completed passes to six different receivers, finished 14 of 24 for 212 yards. Mertens led the Gold on a long drive to run out the clock in the fourth quarter. Belquist caught four passes for 33 yards, while Heckendorf made three receptions for 96 yards and Schultenover had three for 54.
The Green offense was held back by an alert Gold defense led by the play of redshirt freshman linebacker Josh Hazley-Freeman, who made six tackles inlcuding 2.5 tackles for loss, a fumble recovery and one sack. Sophomore safety Cyrus Lemon led the Gold with seven tackles including one forced fumble, while junior cornerback Courtney Mitchell had a pair of pass breakups.
Anderson, a sophomore from Cavalier, N.D., led the Green defense with four tackles, an interception and a pass breakup. Senior defensive end Joe Lardinois and Fairbairn each came up with a sack.
Sophomore John Previltz did the punting for both teams, averaging 37.7 yards per punt with a pair marked inside the 20. Obarski hit his only field goal and both extra point tries.
The Green held a four-minute advantage in time of possession and 12-10 edge in first downs. The Gold had 265 yards in total offense compared to 243 for the Green. Paschall had nine carries for 67 yards, while redshirt freshman Matt Voigtlander finished with 44 yards on eight attempts. Brecke completed 10 of 21 passes for 128 yards. His favorite target was 6-7 redshirt freshman Matt Veldman, who had four receptions for 54 yards.
