FARGO, ND – The Wagner College football team battled powerful North Dakota St. (NDSU) on even terms early as the score was tied 14-14 in the second quarter before the Bison reeled off 31 consecutive points bridging the first and second halves en route to a 59-28 victory in front of a raucous crowd of 18,128 at the Fargodome. 

With the loss, Wagner falls to 1-2 on the season while the Bison improved to 1-2.
Wagner, which entered the game averaging a Northeast Conference (NEC) best 41.5 points per game, managed to score four touchdowns vs. the Bison. 

One major bright spot for the Seahawks was the continued fine play of true freshman RB Dominique Williams (Bridgton, NJ/ Milford), who rushed for 131 yards on 21 carries, including a long run of 38 yards and a 12-yard second quarter TD scamper that tied the game at 14-14. This effort comes on the heels of a seven-carry, 114-yard effort in last week's 41-10 win over SUNY-Maritime. 

In addition to traveling more than 1,500 miles, the Seahawks were facing a perennial upper echelon FCS program that plays out of the Missouri Valley Conference and held down the No. 1 ranking in the FCS Coaches Top 25 for 10 weeks over the past two seasons. 

North Dakota St. opened the game's scoring with a quick seven-play, 90-yard drive capped by a 15-yard TD pass from QB Nick Mertens to WR D.J. McNorton to make it 7-0. 

With the Bison up 7-0. Mertens was intercepted in the left flat by DE Quintin Anderson(Roschester, NY/ Penfield), who returned it 53 yards up the left sideline to the NDSU eight-yard line but a personal foul penalty negated the runback as Wagner began the drive at its own 35-yard line. 

Seahawk true freshman QB Nick Doscher (Staten Island, NY/ Monsignor Farrell) then took over for starting QB Tyler Newberry (Germantown, MD/ Mercersburg Prep) and executed a sharp three-play, 65-yard TD drive. Doscher hit junior WR Justin Matthews (Hillside, NJ/ Hillside) on a six-yard gain which was followed by a Williams 38-yard run that set up a first down at the Bison 21-yard line. On the next play, Doscher rolled out to his this left and threw across his body, hitting WR Lon Woods (St. Petersburg, FL/ J.P. Taravella) on a 21-yard TD strike to tie the game at 7-7. 

After a long kickoff return set up the Bison at the Seahawk 26-yard line, NDSU went up 14-7 on a one-yard TD run by Pat Paschall that capped a four-play drive. 

Wagner countered with an impressive drive as Doscher led Wagner on a nine-play, 74-yard march that ended with an impressive 12-yard TD run by Williams, who dashed untouched off the right side to tie the game at 14-14. 

After NDSU ran off those 31 consecutive points, Wagner got back on the board when junior DB Stefen Gage (Syracuse, NY/ Henninger), recovered a fumbled punt in the end zone for his first career touchdown. Gage, a preseason All-Northeast Conference selection by Phil Steele's Magazine, was seeing his first action of the season after missing the Seahawks' first two games due to injury. 

Junior RB Jeremy Martinez (Brookhaven, NY/Bellport) rounded out the scoring for Wagner with a five-yard TD run in the fourth quarter. 

Doscher completed 7-of-8 passes for 88 yards. Senior DB Jorel Joseph (Fairfax Station, VA/ Bishop Ireton) was the Seahawks' leading tackler with seven. 

NDSU, which held a 531-277 edge in total yards was led by the rushing of RB Pat Paschall who gained 167 yards on just 10 carries, aided by a 91-yard TD run. Mertens was 12-of-21 passing for 182 yards. 

The Seahawks are next in action on Sat., September 26 when Wagner returns to Grymes Hill to host Saint Francis (PA) as they open NEC play vs. the Red Flash in a 1:00 pm kickoff. 

FINAL STATS