GRAND FORKS, N.D. – In a game where No. 9/10 UND (5-2, 2-1 MVFC) never trailed, North Dakota upended Northern Iowa (2-5, 0-3 MVFC), 31-7, inside the Alerus Center on Saturday afternoon. The Fighting Hawks rushed for 267 yards in the win, while holding the Panthers to just 36 yards on the ground.
North Dakota held a 14-7 edge on the scoreboard with eight seconds left before intermission and faced 2nd and goal from the UNI 1 with no timeouts. Quincy Vaughn was in the shotgun and looked to be momentarily stopped by three Panthers before powering ahead for the score to push the lead to 21-7 at intermission. Vaughn’s touchdown capped a 15-play, 74-yard drive.
In the fourth quarter, NoDak scored in the form of a Gaven Ziebarth 40-yard touchdown run and a C.J. Elrichs 47-yard field goal to bring the final tally to 31-7. On Ziebarth’s run, Simon Romfo had a block at the UND 29 that sprang Ziebarth’s run for the score. Elrich’s 47-yarder was a career-long and was set up by a Jy Martin interception.
In the game, North Dakota accumulated 386 yards of offense over 75 plays, while Northern Iowa had 214 yards of offense on 44 plays. UND also won the time of possession battle by a 37:08-22:52 margin.
Romfo went 14-for-24 passing for 107 yards and a touchdown. Bo Belquist hauled in six catches for 72 yards and a score, with all of his receptions coming in the first half alone. Ziebarth paced the backfield with 14 rushes for 83 yards and a touchdown.
Prior to Vaughn’s touchdown, North Dakota led 14-7. The Fighting Hawks scored first and led 7-0 with 5:34 left in the opening quarter after an Isaiah Smith three-yard rush concluded a 16-play, 77-yard drive that consumed 9:22 minutes of clock. The Panthers evened up the score at 7-7 with 7:19 to go before intermission before Belquist put UND back on top at 14-7 with a 34-yard reception from Romfo. Ziebarth played a large role in the touchdown, picking up a blitz that allowed Romfo to connect with Belquist.
In the opening half, NoDak had 255 yards of offense with 149 yards rushing and 106 yards passing. Northern Iowa accumulated only 105 yards of offense, with just eight of those yards coming on the ground. UND had 22:57 minutes of possession in the opening half.
North Dakota will visit Youngstown State on Saturday. The game will air on Midco Sports and will be carried on the Fighting Hawks Radio Network.
