FOREST CITY, IOWA – The Waldorf University football team scored touchdowns on its first three drives Saturday afternoon, marching to an early 21-7 lead and handing Valley City State its first conference loss of the season. The Vikings were unable to recover from the early onslaught as they fell 37-17 on the road.
Valley City State drops to 3-2 overall and 1-1 in the North Star Athletic Association. Waldorf University improves to 3-2 overall and 1-1 in the NSAA.
The Warriors started fast on Saturday en route to the victory. The Warriors scored first with a 12-play, 75-yard drive, and then added a 9-play, 93-yard drive for a 14-0 lead after the first quarter. The Vikings put together their own big drive, cutting the deficit to 14-7 on a Louis Quinones 2-yard touchdown run that capped an 11-play, 80-yard march. The Warriors answered right back though, going 67 yards for another first-half touchdown and a 21-7 lead.
Waldorf broke the game wide open in the third quarter, taking advantage of a VCSU fumble and short punt to put together two quick touchdown drives. The Warriors scored both within two minutes of each other, building a 37-7 lead. The Vikings tacked on 10 points in the fourth quarter, including a 33-yard field goal by Landon Arredondo and 16-yard touchdown pass from Jalen Pfeifer to Jake Peterson.
Waldorf finished with 390 yards of total offense, including 268 through the air. Valley City State totaled 290 yards of offense, including 197 passing and 93 rushing.
VCSU quarterback Jalen Pfeifer finished the game 16-for-30 for 197 yards and a touchdown. Jake Peterson caught five passes for 68 yards and a touchdown. Louis Quinones scored a touchdown and gained 34 yards on seven carries. Joshua McKnight picked up 55 rushing yards on 19 carries and also had two catches for 56 yards. Matthew Krizan finished with four catches for 23 yards.
Brandon Elton, Arron Martin and Sal Avila all had seven tackles each to lead the Viking defensive effort.
Waldorf did most of its damage through the air as quarterback Hilton Joseph went 23-for-27 for 254 yards and four touchdowns. Waldorf receiver Ryan Martinez had a monster game with 11 catches for 152 yards and three touchdowns.
Up next: Valley City State is back on the road next Saturday, traveling to Presentation College for a 7 p.m. night game.