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CITY, N.D. (NewsDakota.com) It was a display of offense in Sioux City, Iowa on Saturday night when the Nation’s number one team, Morningside College, hosted Valley City State University, but when the fourth quarter came to an end, it was the Mustangs who claimed a 56-28 victory.

Despite the loss, the whispers inside Mustang Stadium were not about how good the home team looked, or about the team’s new running back, Brandon Wegher, who rushed for 162 yards. The topic of conversation was about the outstanding night had by Vikings running back, Derek Elliott, who ran past Mustangs defenders for 267 rushing yards.

Elliott’s performance was the first time in 33 games that the Mustangs allowed over 100-yards rushing by a single back. Previously ,the most yards Morningside had ever given up to a player on the ground was 245 yards;  that mark set by South Dakota State’s Josh Ranek in 1998. Elliot rushed for 258 yards before the third quarter ended, eclipsing the previous record. 

Even with the strong performance from their senior running back, the Vikings could not keep up with the fast paced offense of the Mustangs. Morningside got on the board first when Ryan Kasdorf found Joel McCabe on a two yard out. The Vikings answered when Elliot turned the ball to the outside and cut up the sideline for a 23 yard touchdown run, tying the game at seven.  The Mustangs would score again before the end of the first quarter, when Kasdorf found his tight end, Austin Klett, over the middle for a score.

With the Vikings failing to score on their next possession, the Mustangs would capitalize. With running back Wegher leading the drive across midfield, it would be Jon Halvorson would carry the ball into the end zone for the score. Just 44 seconds later, the Vikings would answer when Elliot took the ball at his own 23, and went 77 yards for his second rushing touchdown of the half. The two sides would trade scores once more with Wegher scouring for the mustangs, and the Vikings answering it when Kurtis Walls found Ceric Chappell over the middle on a 31 yard pass. After a missed extra point, the Vikings would trail by just eight going into the second half of play.

In the second half the Mustangs took over, once again. Wegher would score from the one yard line. Although the Walls to Chappell connection would add another touchdown for the Vikings, it was too much to keep up with the Mustangs, who tallied three more scores.

The Mustangs were lead on the ground by Wegher who finished the night with 162 yards and two touchdowns.  Kasdorf finished the day 24 of 31 for 252 yards and three touchdowns in the air. He also rushed for 41 yards. His Vikings counterpart, Walls, finished with 150 yards passing and two touchdowns.

The Vikings return to Valley City on September 14th when they host  Dakota State at 6pm. Hear the game on 1490AM starting with the Investment Centers of America Pre-Game Show at 5:30pm.

Game Summary:

MOR      14           14           14           14           56

VCSU     7             13            0              8           28

Scoring Summary:

1st Quarter

MOR – McCabe: 2 yard run

                Decker – EP: good

VCSU – Elliott: 23 yard run

                Cortez -EP: good

MOR – Klett: 20 yard pass

                Decker – EP: good

2nd Quarter

MOR – Halvorson: 7 yard run

                Decker – EP: good

VCSU – Elliot: 77 yard run 

                Cortez – EP: good

MOR – Wegher: 1 yard run

                Decker – EP: good

VCSU – Chappell: 31 yard pass

                Lum – Conversation: failed

3rd Quarter

MOR – Wegher: 1 yard run

                Decker – EP: good

MOR – Halvorson: 5 yard run

                Decker – EP: good

4th Quarter

VCSU – Chappell: 17 yardpass

                Elliot – Conversion: good

MOR – Gaedke: 2 yard run

                Decker – EP: good

MOR – Gaedke: 20 yard pass

                Decker – EP: good

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