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NCAA News Archive - 2001
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The NCAA News
North Dakota had its opportunity for its first Division II football championship come down to one play -- twice.
The Fighting Sioux converted both fourth-down situations on its final possession, and Jed Perkerewicz scored on a one-yard run with 29 seconds to play as North Dakota edged Grand Valley State, 17-14, December 8 in Florence, Alabama.
Grand Valley State grabbed a 14-10 lead when quarterback Ryan Brady scored his second touchdown of the game on a 12-yard scamper with 2:46 remaining in the fourth quarter.
North Dakota started its ensuing possession on its 20-yard line, and was still there after two incompletions. Quarterback Kelby Klosterman gained eight yards on third down, and kept the drive alive with a seven-yard run on the next play.
Klosterman then found Perkerewicz for a six-yard completion to move the ball to North Dakota's 41-yard line. The march stalled again, however, on an incompletion and a third-down play in which Klosterman was forced out of the pocket and managed to get back only to the line of scrimmage.
With the championship once again hanging on the result of the next play, Luke Schleusner grabbed Klosterman's short pass, broke a tackle, received a path-clearing block from Jesse Smith, and rambled all the way to the Grand Valley State one-yard line. Perkerewicz scored around left end on the next play.
Klosterman had given North Dakota a 10-7 advantage with a nine-yard touchdown run with 12:55 to play in the final quarter. Those were the first points scored since Brady's first touchdown with 5:55 remaining in the opening period.
Perkerewicz ran 26 times for 96 yards to lead North Dakota. Klosterman added 61 yards rushing and completed eight of 27 passes for 139 yards.
North Dakota's defense held the Lakers well below their Division II record regular-season average of 58.4 points and their playoff average of 36.3 points. Strong safety Mike O'Neil ended two Grand Valley State first-half drives with interceptions, and Craig Riendeau blocked a field-goal attempt in the third quarter.
Brady and Todd Wojciechowski split quarterbacking duties for the Lakers, replacing injured Curt Anes, who suffered a season-ending knee injury in Grand Valley State's first-round victory over Bloomsburg. Brady rushed for 89 yards and Wojciechowski completed 11 of 22 attempts for 128 yards.
The win pushed North Dakota's 2001 record to 14-1, while the loss was Grand Valley State's first of the season after 13 victories.
Semifinals
North Dakota 14, UC Davis 2; Grand Valley St. 34, Catawba 16.
Championship
| North Dakota | 3 | 0 | 0 | 14 -- 17 |
| Grand Valley St. | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 -- 14 |
First quarter
ND -- Cameron Peterka 36 field goal (11:18); GVS -- Ryan Brady 2 run (Kevin Sonntag kick) (5:55).
Fourth quarter
ND -- Kelby Klosterman 9 run (Peterka kick) (12:55); GVS -- Brady 12 run (Sonntag kick) (2:46); ND -- Jed Perkerewicz 1 run (Peterka kick) (0:29).
| Team statistics | North | Grand | ||
| Dakota | Valley St. | |||
| First downs | 19 | 16 | ||
| Rushes-yards | 50-187 | 34-161 | ||
| Passing yardage | 139 | 138 | ||
| Passes (comp.-att.-int.) | 8-27-0 | 13-27-2 | ||
| Punts (no.-avg.) | 5-33.2 | 6-35.5 | ||
| Fumbles (no.-lost) | 0-0 | 5-1 | ||
| Penalties (no.-yards) | 8-50 | 10-85 | ||
| Time of possession | 35:22 | 24:38 | ||
Attendance -- 6,113.
Individual statistics
Rushing: North Dakota -- Perkerewicz 26-96, Klosterman 18-61, Blaise Larson 6-30; Grand Valley St. -- Brady 15-83, Reggie Spearmon 7-52, Brent Lesniak 7-35, Terrance Banks 1-4, Todd Wojciechowski 4-(minus 13).
Passing: North Dakota -- Klosterman 8-27-0-139; Grand Valley St. -- Wojciechowski 11-22-2-128, Brady 2-5-0-10.
Receiving: North Dakota -- Luke Schleusner 3-76, Dan Graf 3-41, Jesse Ahlers 1-16, Perkerewicz 1-6; Grand Valley State -- David Kircus 4-58, Banks 3-33, Lesniak 3-25, Tyrone Hibbler 3-22.
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