ABERDEEN, S.D. – The University of Sioux Falls Football Team (2-2, 2-2 NSIC) had a two-game winning streak come to an end in a 41-10 road Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference loss to Northern State (3-1, 3-1 NSIC) on Saturday.

While the Cougars gained 442 yards in total offense on 82 plays, they had three turnovers, including the first two interceptions of the season. With the win, NSU ended a four-game losing streak to USF as the Wolves defeated USF for the first time in USF's NCAA DII era. USF is now 35-11 all-time in the NSIC on the road with a 14-4 road mark against the NSIC North Division opponents. 

"Kudos to Northern State on the win. They played really well, and we made too many mistakes," said USF Head Football Coach Jon Anderson, whose team dropped to 2-2 on the season with a date against city rival Augustana next Saturday at 1 pm on homecoming at Bob Young Field. "At this point, the key for us is to make some stops. There were some critical plays that hurt us, and we must find a way to get those corrected. I think the key for us is to rebound and get to work," he said.   

NSU led from start to finish as they opened a 21-0 lead after the first quarter and led, 31-3, at halftime. Both teams put up a touchdown in the third quarter with NSU adding a fourth quarter field goal for the 41-10 final score.

The Cougars, which ranks second in the league in offense, finished with 442 yards in total offense with a season-high 276 through the air and 166 on the ground. Interestingly, USF had the advantage in categories like first downs, 24-21; rushing yards, 166-110 and time of possession, 33:14-to-26:46. However, NSU had 62 plays for 489 yards in total offense or 7.89 per play, well above the 4.7 yards per play USF had averaged giving up coming into the game.

NSU was led by senior quarterback Hunter Trautman, who completed 26-of-35 passes for 375 yards with three TDs. The Wolves had two receivers over 100 yards including Jimmy Kepouros with five catches for 144 yards and a TD while senior Dakota Larson had eight receptions for 103 yards and a TD. 

USF redshirt freshman quarterback Adam Mullen completed 20-of-39 passes for a career-best 276 yards but had two interceptions. USF's receiving corps was led by Ty Smith with two catches for 75 yards as he passed 1,000 (1,024) career yards in receiving. Also, for USF, Dominic Pegley had three catches for 69 yards and Darrion Conrad added two for 27.

Thuro Reisdorfer, the NSIC leading rusher, had 75 yards on 17 carries as he moved into 17^th all-time at USF with 1,761 yards (Trey Erickson, 2004-07, 1,755 yards on 252 carries). Reisdorfer now has 509 yards rushing in four games on 69 carries or 7.4 per rush and five TDs. In his first appearance this year, sophomore Ja'Tai Jenkins had six carries for 62 yards with a TD. Jacqueze Lockett added 21 yards on six carries and Landon Freeman had 10 carries for 22 yards.

On defense, senior defensive back Dorian Fedrick was one of six USF players with four tackles as he added a TFL. Sophomore defensive tackle Amaurii Grosskopf also had four tackles and his first sack of the year.

NSU opened the scoring on the opening drive on a 24-yard TD run by Vance Barnes.  NSU covered 65 yards on five plays to take the early lead. The Wolves built a 14-0 lead over USF after a Trautman to Dakota Larson 30-yard TD reception. NSU, which scored on its first four possessions, covered 70 yards on seven plays on the second drive. The Wolves pushed the lead to 21-0 when Isaiah Cherrier scored on a 37-yard TD run with 1:04 to play in the first quarter. Early in the second quarter, Trautman completed a 10-yard scoring pass to Dewaylon Ingram to cap a nine-play, 76-yard scoring drive that took 4:02 and helped NSU lead, 31-0. USF was able to get on the board as freshman Nicholas Hernandez connected on a 31-yard field goal with 4:59 to play in the second quarter. Hernandez is now 4-of-5 on field goals this season.

After USF drove deep into NSU territory in the third quarter, they were held on downs and on a third down play on NSU's subsequent drive, Trautman hooked up with Jimmy Kepouros on an 89-yard scoring drive for a 38-3 lead. USF's only TD drive was a one-yard run by Jenkins with 10 seconds to play in the third quarter. The score by Jenkins capped a nine-play, 85-yard scoring drive which used up 4:23 on the game clock. The scoring was capped by NSU's Payton Eue who hit a 35-yard field goal with 12:06 to play in the fourth quarter.