VALLEY CITY, N.D. -- Back-to-back touchdown drives by the Valley City State University Vikings in the third quarter helped swing the momentum as the University of Jamestown football team lost 23-15 Thursday evening in the 76th Paint Bucket game.
The Jimmies got on the board just under six minutes left in the first quarter. A 53-yard touchdown pass from Nick Martinez to Isaiah Roebuck followed by Gage Solano's two-point conversion run capped off a five play, 99-yard drive that made it 8-0.
VCSU threatened early in the second quarter, as quarterback Avery Thorsgard connected with William Pfahl on a pass down to the UJ 7-yard line. Parker Luthy forced Pfahl to fumble and Xander Jarosh recovered, giving the Jimmies a first down deep in their own territory.
With 57 seconds left in the half, Thorsgard threw a 20-yard strike to Austin Young for the first Viking touchdown. The Andrew Nielsen extra point made it 8-7 going into halftime.
VCSU opened the second half with the ball on their own 35-yard line and took just 3:30 to find the end zone. Justice Bice rumbled in from 12 yards out for a 13-8 Viking lead after a missed extra point.
On Jamestown's next possession, Martinez was intercepted on third down by Jahidi West. West took the ball down to the Jimmie 20-yard line, and one play later, Thorsgard tossed his second scoring pass of the game, this one to Trent Finney, and the lead increased to 20-8 with 9:52 left in the third.
The UJ defense made a key fourth down stop just under two minutes into the final quarter. Ishmael Halll stopped Justin Cruz one yard shy of converting a 4th and 11 situation, and the Jimmies took over on their own 18-yard line with 13:15 left.
Martinez found Ryan Collins for a 20-yard gain to get Jamestown near midfield, then scrambled for 15 more yards on the next play to get into VCSU territory. A pass interfernce penalty on the Vikings gifted UJ 15 more yards, and three plays later, Carlos Julian bolted 21 yards into the end zone to bring the Jimmies within 20-15 after Aanon Peterson's extra point.
Nielsen hit a 31-yard field goal at the 8:05 mark to push VCSU's lead to 23-15, still keeping Jamestown within a touchdown and a two-point conversion. Martinez, who was making his first collegiate start, had carries of 10, 11, and 13 yards on the ensuing drive to get the Jimmies into VCSU territory. However, the Vikings came up with two sacks in the next three plays, including a six-yard loss on fourth down that essentially sealed the win.
Martinez carried 18 times for a game-high 91 yards and completed 8-of-24 passes for 126 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. Eight different Jimmies caught a pass with Roebuck's 53-yard gain the largest of the game for UJ.
Luthy, Mason Parker, Caleb Ritter, and Paul Vandal all had five tackles on defense. Vandal was credited with 2.5 tackles for loss, totalling 11.5 yards.
Jamestown had a 335-332 edge in total offense, including a 209-142 advantage in rushing yards.
The Jimmies begin Great Plains Athletic Conference play on Saturday, September 2, when they travel to Midland (Neb.) for a 1 PM kickoff.
