Mayville, N.D. - The Comets Football team opened the second half of their conference schedule against the #20 ranked Dickinson Bluehawks. Two Bluehawk touchdowns late in the first half broke open a tight contest and Dickinson won 49-20.

Head coach Rocky Larson said, "We needed to find a way to get a few more stops in the first half. I like how we communicated in the second half and fixed some issues on defense. Offensively we had a few big plays but we need to be able to sustain drives."

The Comets received the opening kickoff and received good field position from a 33 yard kickoff return by Marcellus Moore. A 42 yard bomb from Tim Salmon to Javeion Davison put Mayville State in the red zone. A 28 yard field goal from Braeden Lacombe got the Comets on the board 3-0. Dickinson scored touchdowns on their first two possessions to retake the lead 14-3.

After a long drive by Mayville State stalled early in the 2^nd quarter, Dickinson started on their own 23. Bailey Mullenberg forced and recovered a fumble on the second play of the drive to give the Comets great field position. Salmon stepped up and found Davison in stride and Davison sprinted into the end zone from 27 yards out, making the score 14-10 Bluehawks.

Another Dickinson touchdown bumped the lead back to 11. On the ensuing drive, Davison left the Dickinson defense in the dust and Salmon found him for a 68 yard touchdown strike. The PAT by Lacombe cut the lead to 21-17.

The Comets defense created another big play, as Will Flemons picked off a Bluehawk pass at the 30 yard line. However, the Comets weren't able to convert this turnover into points and Dickinson State quickly marched down the field and scored from three yards out to make the score 28-17.

A quick three and out gave the Bluehawks just enough time for one more drive and added their fifth touchdown with 21 seconds to play, making the score at halftime Dickinson State 35, Mayville State 20.

The Bluehawks got the ball to open the second half and converted another drive into a touchdown, boosting their lead to 42-17. Elijah Roundtree converted a 45 yard pass from Salmon to get the Comets deep into Dickinson territory. Mayville State marched inside the 10 but couldn't punch the ball into the end zone, so Lacombe added a 24 yard field goal to cut the lead to 42-20.

The Bluehawks responded with a 48 yard touchdown run on the next possession and bumped the lead to 49-20. The final 20 minutes featured no scoring and the Bluehawks claimed the win 49-20.

Salmon finished the day with 241 yards passing and two touchdowns, both to Davison. Davison finished with three receptions for 137 yards and Joevontay Clayton added four catches for 56 yards.

Defensively, Richard Shelton led the way with nine tackles, with Danzele Navy and Johnathan Updike close behind with seven tackles each. Kaden Johnson picked off a pass in the fourth quarter to go with Flemons interception and Mullenberg's fumble recovery.

"We now have a four game season. This group has 28 days left together. How much better can we get? We have to take a step in the right direction this week," added coach Larson.

The loss drops the Comets to 1-6, 1-4 in the North Star. Mayville State travels to Forest City Iowa to take on the Waldorf Warriors Saturday, October 21^st. kickoff is 1:00pm.