Miscues and Penalties Lead To Loss

By Damon Helgevold

Miscues and mistakes hold Waldorf (1-3) from picking up the win vs. a tough Dakota State team on Saturday. Waldorf accumulated 12 penalties and 114 total penalty yards to give them the 36-14 loss to now ranked 21 Dakota State.

“Sloppy, sloppy, sloppy,” Head Coach Kent Anderson said after the game, “We shot ourselves in the foot and couldn’t get back to where we were.”

Waldorf time and time again in the early portions of this game couldn’t get anything going offensively due to penalties. The Warrior defense was solid all first half holding the most explosive player in the North Star Conference to only 144 yards of passing. Jacob Giles, quarterback of Dakota State, was the National Offensive Player of the Week a week ago and Waldorf defense led by Wisely Jean and Dubem Awuzie held Giles in check in the first half.

”The defense was getting stops and 3 and outs and holding them when they needed it.” Trainer/Coach Dom Woodard said.

Hilton Joseph and Maliek Stephens were the lone scorers for the Warriors Saturday. Stephens scored after carrying the ball close to 20 times before find the end zone. Joseph again ran in a touchdown making it 4 for 4 in his last 4 scoring plays on the ground. Waldorf ran for 200 yards between Stephens, Joseph and Darryel Bethune. Joseph also threw for 158 yards and had 2 interceptions.

“Offense couldn’t get going especially when we are always going backwards. For the most part the defense looked real good but we can’t hurt ourselves with stupid mental mistakes that turn into penalties.” Anderson said.

Waldorf looks to clean up their act as they make the long travel to North Dakota to take on the Valley City State Vikings. The Vikings are a powerhouse in the North Star Conference and Waldorf is looking to avenge that loss from a season ago this time around. Kickoff at 1pm from Valley City State.