A 73-yard touchdown return of a blocked field goal by Youngstown State late in the second quarter had North Dakota State on the ropes Saturday afternoon. But Bison quarterback Jose Mohler came to the rescue.
The freshman drove his team
65 yards in just 3 plays and his
21-yard touchdown pass to Warren Holloway with 46 seconds remaining tied the game 21-21 at halftime.
Mohler started the drive with a
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32-yard run to the Penguin 35, essentially stopping the momentum of Lenny Wicks' touchdown return. The Bison reached the 4-yard line on the drive and had a first down.
But the Penguins held forcing a
27-yard field goal by senior kicker John Obarski. It was stuffed up the middle by Torrance Nicholson and what looked to be a sure NDSU lead turned into deflating deficit.
The NDSU sideline was silent; so were the 14,301 fans inside the dome that ultimately ended in a 39-35 Youngstown win.
"We had to get back in the game," Mohler said. "They were going to get the ball back to start the second half and the offense needed to score. We did it."
But Mohler didn't let YSU's lead reach halftime. He followed his long run with a 12-yard quarterback draw.
That set up the touchdown to Holloway, who grabbed it over the middle for the first touchdown reception of his career.
Paschall in battle
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for FCS rushing title
Bison senior running back Pat Paschall will have to wait to see if he'll win the Division I Football Championship Subdivision rushing title. He came into Saturday with a slim lead over David Sinsi of Monmouth University (N.J.) and Deji Karim of Southern Illinois.
It appears it's Karim's to win or lose since playoffs count in the NCAA statistics and SIU will be one of 16 teams named to the post-season field today. Paschall had 140 against the Penguins, but Karim ripped off 155 Saturday in a win over Southeast Missouri State.
"I appreciate what Pat brings to the table," said NDSU head coach Craig Bohl. "He grew as a person and a leader."
Sinsi is out of the race after getting just 62 yards in 20 carries against Robert Morris.
Injury to punter forces Bison
to switch placekickers
NDSU already lost two kickers to injury this year, although Obarski returned the last two games. So why not the punter?
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That's what happened when punter John Prelvitz hurt his back against the Penguins. It not only made a starting punter of backup running back Matt Voigtlander, but it caused another switch in kickers.
"It caused a chain reaction," Bohl said.
Prelvitz was the holder for Obarski, so his departure meant NDSU had to go to its backup holder - Obarski. Ryan Jastram was the kicker in the second half.
"It's been a very unusual year from an injury standpoint," Bohl said.
Voigtlander, by the way, got a nice roll for 41 yards on his only punt.
Etc. etc. etc.
Paschall's 140 yards passed three players on Saturday and moved him into eighth place on the NDSU all-time rushing list with 2,528 yards. He needed 23 to get by Doug Lloyd, 85 to surpass Kevin Feeney and 125 to supplant Tyler Roehl. ... Bison defensive tackle Matt Gratzek had a career high nine tackles and led the Bison against YSU. He had half of NDSU's three quarterback sacks.
Readers can reach Forum reporter
Jeff Kolpack at (701) 241-5546
