FARGO, N.D.–The North Dakota State University football team concluded its fall camp schedule Saturday, Aug. 22, with a closed practice at Dacotah Field. The defense came up big plays to hold a slight edge in the controlled practice that featured different situations on offense, defense and special teams.
Defensive pressure came in a variety of ways. Four sacks were recorded by linebacker Matt Kittelson, free safety Daniel Eaves, defensive end Ricky Hagen and nose guard Yuen Taufete’e, while defensive end Scott Stoczynski had a tackle for loss. Eaves forced a fumble recovered by nose guard Mike Fairbairn.
Meanwhile, defensive end Jared Hines had a pass breakup and strong safety Cyrus Lemon stopped a drive with a pass breakup on a fourth down play.
Defensive back Kevin Jackson recovered a fumble, while freshman linebacker Brandon Jemison blocked a field goal attempt to highlight special teams play.
Three quarterbacks combined to complete 10 of 18 passes to eight different for 98 yards. Senior Nick Mertens completed 5-of-8 passes for 42 yards. Wide receivers Gary Williams and Victor Schuring each caught two passes, while junior Titus Mack made a 24-yard reception.
The offense did produce 16 first downs as the running game had seven different ball carriers for 34 attempts and 213 yards overall. Freshman Sam Ojuri rushed nine times for 81 yards, while fellow freshman Mike Sigers had seven carries for 72 yards.
NDSU Head Football Coach Craig Bohl Post Practice Quotes
“We have made a great deal of progress through the course of fall camp. We had some spirited competition in practice today. It will probably be the one of the final days of live activity.
“There was some pretty robust hitting going on out there. I thought a lot of guys were giving great effort. We had some big plays made on both sides of the football. We’ll watch the tape and make some final decisions going into full scale work for Iowa State.”