
In a battle of two of the top five teams in the country for NJCAA Division III, North Dakota State College of Science jumped out to a big lead and held on for a 33-23 home win on Saturday.
The Wildcats led 26-2 at one point in the opening half with touchdowns from the offense, defense and special teams. Reggie Morrow got the party started with a 35-yard scoop and score to start the scoring for NDSCS.
After a snap that was sailed into the back of the end zone gave the Vikings two points, the Wildcat offense put six on the board with a 67-yard touchdown pass from Graedyn Buell to Marselio Mendez. Just over two minutes later in the game, Mendez struck again with a 64-yard punt return to the house.
Buell went in for a pair of short rushing scores to make it a 33-9 game at the half.
Itasca outscored NDSCS 14-0 in the second half, falling short of making it a one-score game.
The 4-0 Wildcats are home again at 2 p.m. Saturday against Vermillion Community College.