SCOTT THROLSON Bismarck Tribune
Big plays kept Dickinson Trinity in early on. A few big late plays helped the Titans escape Miller Field with a big road win.
In a battle of two Class B-ranked teams from the 4-to-11-man region, No. 3-ranked Dickinson Trinity rallied in the fourth quarter to beat No. 5 Shiloh Christian 49-35 on Friday night.
“This one lived up to the hype,” Titans coach John Odermann said. “They have a great football team. Coach (Funnon) Barker had a great game plan for us on the defensive side of the ball. They really controlled our offense for a good three and a half quarters.
“Our special teams and our defense kept us in the game. These are two phases of the game that have been really great for us all year and they have gone well for us. It doesn’t look like it’s on the scoreboard, but they had a great time for us tonight.
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In a game that went back and forth all night, Trinity held a slim one-point halftime lead thanks to three big plays.
Dickinson Trinity’s first TD came on a gimmick play as running back Gage Glaser took a throw, headed out, stopped and threw a 62-yard strike to Jake Shobe .
Luke Shobe returned a 61-yard interception to pay for Trinity’s second score.
Shiloh Christian quarterback Joey Desir threw two 8-yard touchdown passes – one to Isaac Emmel and one to Darrick Even – and ran for a 2-yard score that put the Skyhawks up 20-14 with 4:04 to go in the first half.
At the ensuing kickoff, Jake Shobe found a crease and a bit of daylight on the sideline and knocked him back 90 yards. The Titans led 21-20 at intermission.
“Give all the credit to Trinity,” Barker said. “They made everything difficult for us today. They are as advertised. We gave up too many easy things. You can’t let them score twice in defense and special teams and expect to win a ball game.
Each team scored in the third quarter – with Shiloh’s Carter Seifert scoring on a 54-yard interception return and Ty Dassinger winning from 1 yard for Trinity.
Trinity found an attacking rhythm in the second half.
“We knew we had to put something in place in the running game… but this is one of those games that you’re happy to have at the start of the season. And you’re happy to come out with a win in this one,” Odermann said. It’s a gut-checking game. It was a tight game until the last minute of the game when we were able to recover that fumble.
“Our kids, they didn’t let go. They didn’t put their heads down. They just played hard the whole game. That’s what we’ve seen all year and hopefully for the rest of the game. ‘year.
Shiloh Christian took the lead early in the fourth quarter as Desir connected with Michael Fagerland on a 44-yard touchdown pass and Fagerland ran into the two-point conversion to take a 35-28 lead with 11: 44 to go.
The Skyhawks had the ball in Trinity territory with a chance to add the lead before Desir was sacked fourth-and-sixth of the Titans 34.
“We had a chance there,” Barker said. “We got the ball back in a good position on the pitch. If we put one on the board there, that might be enough, but you have to give them credit.
Trinity capped a 12-play, 71-yard drive with a 6-yard run from Jace Kovash, who swept away from a tackle attempt and into the end zone to tie it at 35-35 with 5:31 left .
Both defenses played well at times despite the attacking fireworks. Each team scored on a pick of 6, Shiloh forced five Titans turnovers and Trinity had four takeaways.
“It was really a story of mistakes on both sides,” Barker said. “They made mistakes and gave us easy ones and vice versa. In the end, they made more plays than us and that’s why they won.
Shiloh had the ball in Trinity territory at 43 before Desir was sacked and the ball went loose. Trinity recovered in midfield with 1:27 remaining in a draw. Two plays later, Kovash connected with Jake Shobe, who broke a tackle and sprinted 49 yards for the TD go-ahead with 1:09 remaining.
Two plays – and 19 seconds later – Desir was under heavy pressure looking for a receiver on the field and was sacked. The ball broke loose and several players had a chance to get it before Trinity linebacker Cole Kadrmas caught it and headed into the end zone for an insurance TD with 42 seconds left.
Shiloh Christian had 388 total yards on offense. Michael Fagerland rushed for 92 yards and caught five passes for 106 yards. Desir completed 16 of 31 passes for 228 yards and rushed for 71 yards.
Trinity rushed 23 times for 63 yards but Kovash completed 13 of 28 passes for 201 yards. Jake Shoe had five catches for 147 yards.
“When you look at our team and this game tonight, it’s really about execution,” Barker said. “We made a lot of mistakes, a lot of mental mistakes. When you make a lot of little mistakes, they add up as the game goes on. We have to clean up some things.
Shiloh Christian (3-1, 1-1 Region 4) will host Bowman County on Friday, September 16. Trinity (4-0, 2-0 Region 4) will host Heart River next week.
