Dickinson ends drought, beats St. Mary's 40-25

This was the kind of game Dickinson High head football coach Dave Michaelson had been waiting for.

Led by a ground game which produced 331 yards, the Midgets triumphed over Bismarck St. Mary's 40-25 Saturday at the Bismarck Community Bowl.

"We got the offense rolling," Michaelson said. "We're not as happy with the defensive effort, but (St. Mary's) has some kids who can make plays."

Dickinson's ability to run the football proved to be unstoppable. The Midgets were led by their all-state senior tailback Mitch Kudrna, Kudrna went wild on the Saints, rushing for 204 yards on 25 carries and three touchdowns. He had touchdown runs of 5, 8 and 44.

"Mitch had a great game," Michaelson said. "All the kids that ran the football ran well."

Kudrna fumbled after gaining 12 yards on the first play. Dickinson's defense held the Saints to a field goal.

"He had a turnover the first play of the game," Michaelson said. "But he played that much harder to atone for the early mistake."

Junior running back Skyler Beaudoin had 11 carries for 63 yards and a touchdown. Running back Alex Koppinger also got into the mix, rushing for 28 yard on six carries and nabbing a touchdown as well.

"These kids haven't won at the (Community) Bowl in a long time," Michaelson said. "Offensively, we did a lot of things we know we can do."

Dickinson held a 6-3 edge after the first quarter thanks to a 21-yard pass from quarterback Ben Herauf to wide out Travis Tooley.

The Midgets began pulling away in the second due to a 15-point outburst. Dickinson continued its torrid scoring, getting 13 more points in the third quarter. At the start of the fourth, Dickinson held a comfortable 34-18 advantage.

"We feel good about getting a WDA win on the road," Michaelson said. "We're not satisfied with the defensive play and we're not satisfied with our execution."

Herauf wound up completing 7 of 14 passes for 114 yards and a TD. Tooley caught three passes for 38 yards and Nakoa Baker had one catch for 46 yards.

Dickinson will play host to Bismarck Century Friday, which is homecoming.

The Midgets are 1-2 in the West Region and 2-3 overall.