(KNOX) -The No.10 ranked UND Football team is 1-0 to begin the season, after beating Long Island University 42-21. The Fighting Hawks led 42-0 at half time, and pulled their starters by the third quarter.
Quarterback Jerry Kaminski only played in the first half; where he went 17 for 21, with 232 passing yards and three touchdown passes. He says Thursday’s game was a good warm up.
Wide Receiver Caleb Goodloe had a team leading 118 receiving yards, with 5 catches, that included a 28 yard touchdown catch. After dropping a wide open pass on the first throw of the game, he would make up for it with a nifty move on the left sideline for the touchdown catch. Goodloe caught the ball and shifted past the defender as he was on his way into the endzone. He says that play had been drawn up for a while.
Goodloe also says that Thursday’s performance is just a starting point for how he and the offense will continue to develop.
Goodloe caught one of Kaminski’s three touchdowns. Wide Receiver Korey Tai had a 14 yard touchdown catch, and Tight End Nathan Hromadka had a touchdown catch of five yards. Running Backs Charles Langama and Matt Lawson combined for three touchdowns and 97 rushing yards.
UND led 42-0 at halftime. Their defense recorded a forced fumble, an interception, and held LIU to 36 yards of offense. LIU scored all their points in the second half when UND’s reserves came into play. LIU finished with 255 offensive yards, 13 first downs, 7 points off turnovers and three touchdown scores. Along with only having 36 offensive yards in the first half, LIU only had two first downs throughout the first two quarters.
Head Coach Eric Schmitt says it was a tale of two halves.
Schmitt also says that the defense brought a lot of intensity right away, and enjoyed seeing what they brought altogether. At the same time, he thins more depth has to be developed.
Nickel Johnnie Wiltshire recorded the first interception of the season. After being one of a handful of players seeing a fifth yar of eligibility and a player who is currently playing because of a temporary restraining regarding the Wisne v. NCAA case. Schmitt says that Wiltshire has been more appreciative of the game.
The Hawks will next play on September 5th. They will host St.Thomas MN, who is also 1-0 to start the season. St.Thomas beat Winona State on Thursday 15-9. Schimtt believes the next week and a half will be a good amount of time to reset and get ready for the next opponent.
UND finished the game with 465 offensive yards, 25 first downs, and they ended up scoring 14 points off turnovers. They had five touchdowns, and Kicker Luke Silvernale went 4/5 with extra point attempts. Silvernale also missed a 37 yard field goal attempt.
This is the first time ever these two teams met, and UND has now won its 19th straight home opener at the Division 1 level. This is also the first time since 2023 the Fighting Hawks are 1-0 to start a season.
1-0 UND will next play on September 5th at 3pm when they host St.Thomas at the Alerus Center.
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