GRAND FORKS — In a back and forth battle, the University of North Dakota held off a fourth-quarter run from No. 24 ranked Sam Houston State, defeating the Bearkats 27-23 in NCAA Division I FCS play at the Alerus Center on Saturday.
On North Dakota's second possession of the game, wide receiver Garett Maag caught a four-yard touchdown pass from Andrew Zimmerman to give the Fighting Hawks a 7-0 lead. UND added on to the lead after running back Brock Boltmann took off for a 56-yard score with 2 minutes, 43 seconds left in the first quarter.
SHSU responded in the second quarter with a pair of touchdowns from Eric Schmid, who rushed for a five-yard score, and completed a 10-yard pass to Dee Bowens. The game was tied at 14 at the half.
UND added 13 points from a five-yard James Johannesson run and a Travis Toivonen eight-yard reception from Tommy Schuster, who was brought in at quarterback for Zimmerman in the first quarter as UND led 27-14 after three.
After a touchdown and safety from SHSU cut the lead to five, the Bearkats marched down to the UND 10-yard line when Eric Schmid fumbled, as UND's Jalen Morrison recovered, sealing the win.
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Fighting Hawks QB Tommy Shuster completed 17 passes for 165 yards with one touchdown and one interception, while Noah Wanzek caught nine passes for 109 yards.
North Dakota (2-1) will travel to Cheney, Wash., to take on Eastern Washington (1-2) at 4:05 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 28.
