. . . Keller drove 22 hours from Pennsylvania to watch their grandson play Saturday afternoon at Gate City Bank Field. He did them proud. North Dakota State senior kicker Adam Keller booted a school-record five field goals. His performance helped lift the top-ranked Bison to a 22-10 victory against No. 3-ranked Montana in Division I FCS football at the Fargodome. “It was even sweeter because my grandparents came in from Pennsylvania,” said Keller, who kicked four of those field goals in the first half. “This is their first time in Fargo.”
The Bison (4-0) have won 28 consecutive games, finishing their non-conference schedule with a victory against a stingy Montana (2-2) team. NDSU has won 47 of its past 49 games. The Bison have a bye week before opening their Missouri Valley Football Conference schedule on Oct. 4 at Western Illinois. Keller earned player of the game honors, making all five of the field goals he attempted. The 6-foot-1, 205-pound Keller made field goals of 41, 22, 32 and 47 yards in the first half. The senior added a 30-yarder with 7 minutes, 2 seconds to play in the fourth quarter to give the Bison a 22-10 lead. “I tell him ‘He’s the greatest kicker in the nation’ all the time,” Bison senior running back John Crockett said with a laugh. “A couple of guys said ‘It’s never a good thing when the kicker is the player of the game,’ “ Keller cracked.
Keller, from Lewisberry, Pa., has made his last 13 field-goal attempts and said he feels healthier than he did last season. Keller credits offseason hip surgery for the difference. His surgeon was also on the sideline Saturday. “You don’t want to lean on him for five field goals, but he was awesome today,” Bison head coach Chris Klieman said of Keller. “He was spot on today. … That was the difference in the game, to be able to get those points.” Keller said his grandparents “had tears in their eyes after the game.” Keller’s previous game-high was four field goals against Northern Iowa in 2012. That tied Ken Kubisz for the program’s single-game mark. Kubisz also kicked four field goals in a 1983 game against Augustana. “I really appreciate Adam Keller,” said Bison quarterback Carson Wentz, who completed 16 of 24 passes for 167 yards and a touchdown. “He came up huge for us today.”
The Bison defense also did their part, limiting the Grizzlies to 256 yards and nine first downs. Montana didn’t score a point in the second half. NDSU has yet to allow a point in the second half this season. “We just struggled all around, and that’s a credit to them,” said Montana senior quarterback Jordan Johnson. “A lot of our struggles were because they are so good.”
The Bison defense made their biggest play late in the third quarter. Montana faced a third-and-5 from the Bison 17, trailing 19-10. Johnson sailed a pass to the back of the end zone that NDSU safety Christian Dudzik intercepted, ending that Montana scoring threat with 2:55 remaining in the third quarter. “That really changed the momentum I thought,” Klieman said.
The Bison leaned on their defense for most of the game. Montana scored all 10 of its points in the second quarter, taking advantage of a couple of big plays. Johnson completed a 72-yard pass to wide receiver Jamaal Jones, who was tackled at the Bison 3. One play later, running back Jordan Canada sliced into the end zone. That cut the Bison lead to 9-7 with 10:01 to play in the second quarter. “In the first half we lost the explosive-play battle,” Klieman said.
The Bison finished with 447 yards, but struggled in finishing off drives once they got inside the Montana 20. NDSU scored its lone touchdown in the third quarter. Wentz rolled out left and found senior tight end Kevin Vaadeland in the back of the end zone. That 5-yard scoring pass gave the Bison a 19-10 lead with 8:22 to play in the third quarter.
“We beat a really good football team,” Klieman said of the Grizzlies. “You can tell the tradition, the pride they play with as well. We knew it was a going to be a four-quarter game.”
