The sun was shining, the stands were full, and the Mayville State University Comets football team put on a show for those in attendance. Mitchell Ford put the first touchdown on the board with a 16 yard run up the middle on the opening drive for Mayville State. Ford, a running back from Cavalier, North Dakota finished the day with 33 yards on the ground and the one touchdown.

Jake McLain and Taylor Kunkel would take over on offense for a while after Fords touchdown. On the following Comet drive McLain took off from the 19 yard line, juking defenders and making guys miss on his way to a rushing touchdown to bring the score to 13-0. McLain hit the sophomore Kunkel for touchdowns of 31 and 24 yards on the following two drives. The two were in sync with each other and McLain made two very nice passes to the sure-handed receiver from Grangeville, Idaho. Kunkel finished the game with four receptions for 80 yards and two touchdowns.

On the final play of the first quarter Rashad Flanders made one of the many big plays of the day. Trinity Bible quarterback Brandon Welch went deep down the middle to Barry Bighorn when Flanders rose up to pick the ball off near midfield. He was able to turn the interception into one of the more exciting returns I have ever seen. Flanders brought the pick all the way to the house for another Comet touchdown. The score at the end of the first quarter saw the Comets well out in front of the Lions 36-0.

The Lions did get on the board early in the second quarter when Welch found Donald Knight in the corner of the end zone for a five yard touchdown. The Lions lone touchdown was set up as Knight and Welch found each other earlier in the drive on a screen play that went for 49 yards before Dominique Bradley made the stop.

Bradley didn't waste too much time in getting the Comets back on the scoreboard as he returned the ensuing kickoff 73 yards for a touchdown. Bradley broke a few tackles, made guys miss, and did a great job showcasing his athletic ability on the return. Bradley was busy this afternoon playing big roles on offense, defense, and special teams.

The Comet offense slowed a bit in the second quarter with the big lead, but Nick Rodgers put another touchdown on the board right before the half. Rodgers was back to return a punt as the half was just about over. He got the ball right around midfield and took it up the Comet sideline on his way to the end zone on the final play of the half. At the half Mayville State found themselves up 51-6.

Coming out at halftime with the big lead the Comets put most of their efforts on the running game which is when Jerril Jenkins made his mark on the game. The freshman from Miami, Florida took a handoff 14 yards for a touchdown on the Comets first drive after halftime. Jenkins was steady in this game as he carried the ball 16 times for 100 yards and one touchdown.

After the Jenkins score, head coach Derek Schlieve was able to give some of his starters a rest and looked to the second unit. John Poppe, a freshman from Eau Claire, Wisconsin took over the duties at quarterback for the rest of the afternoon. The Comet offense pounded the ball on the ground the rest of the game and worked on clock management. The final score of the game came late in the fourth quarter when Welch was picked off by sophomore defensive back, Josh Jeffries who returned the ball 20 yards for a touchdown.

Offensively the Comets were led by McLain who finished the game 8 of 12 for 121 yards and two touchdowns. McLain also rushed the ball for 43 yards and one touchdown. Amidst all the big plays, the Comets really concentrated on the run well in this game. As a team they picked up 232 yards on 49 attempts on the ground. This helped them win the time of possession battle as they had the ball for over 38 minutes while picking up 21 first downs.

The defense had quite the afternoon statistically as well. The Comet defense forced eight turnovers in the game. Of those turnovers, seven of them were inteceptions and one fumble was recovered. Travis Ahlgren, Dylan Midstokke, Cory Grover, Ben Rayfield, and Jeffries each had one interception. Flanders came away with two interceptions in the game. Kaleb Boehler fell on the ball after Jacob Grosz forced a Lions fumble. Adam Popple led the Comets with seven tackles including 2.5 for a loss. Bradley followed him with six tackles for coach Schlieve's defense.

It was a solid performance on all ends today for Mayville State University. Coach Schlieve did a good job keeping the men focused from start to finish. Those sitting close enough on the bleachers were able to hear him repeating the words “classy and respectful” at the end of the game to his players not on the field. Among all the individual performances, all of the players knew that it took everyone working together to put together that victory. The final score of the game ended up at 65-6.

Next Saturday the Comets (2-1) will be on the road as they travel to St. Peter, Minnesota to take on Gustavus Adolphus College at 1:30 PM. The Gusties open their season tonight, September 10, 2011 as they take on Wartburg College at 7:00 PM in Waverly, Iowa.