By Jeff Kolpack The Forum
Fargo
The decision came down to economics. When Dominic Gonnella, the youngest son of Joe and Rachel Gonnella, signed a letter of intent with the North Dakota State football program, his parents in Riverview, Fla., started looking at how best to watch their son play in college.
They looked at prices of flights from Tampa-area airports to Fargo. They looked at having to stay at a hotel for up to two weeks at a time if the Bison have back-to-back home games. There would be other costs, like rental cars. Also, Dominic repeated a question to his parents.
“You’re going to all the games, right?” Rachel said, quoting her son. “We’re like, how are we going to make it to all the games? He said he couldn’t wait to see us in the stands.”
Finally, they said the heck with it. They decided to not only be in the stands for every game but everywhere else, too.
They sold their house and moved to Fargo.
“We did the math,” Joe said.
There are many days when Joe and Rachel get up in the morning and have to quickly retrain their minds that they are living about the same distance to the Canadian border as it was from their Florida house to the Atlantic Ocean.
It was a decision made with some balance. They wanted to watch all of Dominic’s games, but they also wanted to give him space.
“We were both concerned to stay out of his way,” Joe said.
“Look at us,” Rachel said, mimicking anybody in general. “We’re following our kid to college.” They were able to do it because Joe is retired from the military and Rachel stopped teaching. They’re also not the first Florida Bison parents to put the Sunshine State behind and move north.
The parents of former Bison running back Bruce Anderson spent a lot of time in Fargo during Bruce’s career. The parents of former NDSU safety Tre Dempsey moved from Lakeland, Fla., and haven’t left.
“Fargo has everything,” Joe said. “Compared to Tampa, Fargo has everything you need. It has a nice, cool downtown that Tampa doesn’t have.”
The Gonnellas love the traffic, or specifically the
non-traffic. The plan is to return to Florida at some point, but for now they’re enjoying watching a Bison team that is 4-0 heading into a Missouri Valley Football Conference showdown with Northern Iowa at Gate City Bank Field at the Fargodome.
Dominic leads the team in rushing with 275 yards on 36 carries, an average of 7.5 yards per carry.
“They try to give me space, but my mom texts me every day ‘good morning’ and always wants to see how I’m doing after practice,” Dominic said. “After home games we’ll go out to eat, get dinner and talk about the game. It’s nice. It’s kind of like old times after a Saturday youth league game when you go out with your family.”
It’s all in the name of life experiences of following the athletic careers of their two boys. The oldest, Anthony, was
a college baseball player in Florida who is currently in law school in Arizona.
Dominic is the starting running back at NDSU.
“I think it says a lot about the family,” said Bison head coach Matt Entz. “Bison family, Bison football but it also includes all these parents. They create relationships, they create connections with other parents and they want to be here. I know it’s been really good for Dom. I saw them after the game on Saturday and it’s great to have them around. They’re so excited to be here and be part of NDSU and Bison football.”
The market changed in the Tampa area where selling made sense. While in the process, the Gonnellas got some affirmation of what they were doing by hearing about other parents doing the same thing at other schools, like one friend who said, “You would not believe how many parents at Alabama do that.”
Joe talked with Tony Satter, the father of Bison redshirt freshman safety Ty Satter, about living in Fargo. They met when both of their sons were being recruited. The Gonnellas bought a twin home and made it through their first winter. It was a mild winter by Fargo standards, thankfully.
“Supposedly it was mild, we’re like, hmmmm,” Rachel said. “Now we’re really scared about this winter. I’m trying to make winter escape plans.”
The future plans also could include baseball. Dominic is a rare two-sport player who spent part of last summer in the Arizona Diamondbacks organization. It factored into the recruiting process.
Wanting to play both sports, and with NDSU already booked, Dominic took advantage of the willingness of the Diamondbacks and NDSU to work together. He spent part of the baseball season with the club’s extended spring season and played part of a rookie league season.
He expects next year to be a longer stay in baseball since the FCS isn’t playing its season in the spring like it did last year.
He’ll also be closer to Anthony; the two talk every day by phone. Anthony had MLB organizations talking to him when he was a prospect.
“Dom stuck with both,” Joe said.
And his parents made good on his wish for them to watch every game. They just had to make a long-distance move to do it.
“They’re both retired now so they don’t really have much to do in Florida anymore,” Dominic said, “so I guess they feel like coming out and sticking with me as much as they can.”
Eric Peterson The Forum Record: 4-0
Dom Izzo WDAY-TV
4-0
Everything is set up for another classic between these two teams UNI has changed quarterbacks and made them explosive on offense The Bison defense will receive its toughest test today Look for an NDSU turnover to flip the momentum NDSU 23, UNI 21
Mike McFeely The Forum Record: 4-0
Logan Campbell WDAY-TV
Record: 4-0
It will be a battle in the trenches between UNI s defensive line and NDSU s offensive line but Jake Reinholz will kick the Bison to victory NDSU 17, UNI 14
By Jeff Kolpack and Eric Peterson
The Forum
Fargo
The post-college plans for Brandon Westberg are to attend chiropractic school, which shouldn’t be an issue. He’s used to putting a team on his back.
Westberg was a rare Minnesota Mr. Football finalist as an offensive lineman at CambridgeIsanti High School. He was the school’s first four-year starter since 1965 and set a single-season record with 110 “knockdown blocks.”
Last Saturday was a different animal for the Bison sophomore.
“I really didn’t expect it at first, but the older guys gave me a lot of confidence going in,” Westberg said. “They just said do your job and know your role and they made it a lot easier for me. I was glad to be thrown into an environment like that and it was a lot of fun.”
The loud environment at the Alerus Center against the University of North Dakota resulted in a 16-10 Bison win. NDSU is expecting a similar atmosphere Saturday against Northern Iowa, only much quieter on offense at Gate City Bank Field at the Fargodome.
“I’m really looking forward to it,” Westberg said. “The time I’ve been getting ... to get a first snap with our crowd and not having the opposing team screaming like the Alerus Center, but having the Fargodome cheering will be really fun.”
Westberg was inserted into the lineup after starter Jalen Sundell left with an apparent knee injury. The status of Sundell is unknown, but what is known is that Westberg played well in his backup role.
NDSU head coach Matt Entz said the team recognized him as one of the top players of the game on the offensive line.
“He did a good job,” Entz said. “He got thrown in at a solid venue and in a big game.”
Northern Iowa sophomore quarterback Theo Day, a Michigan State transfer, is making his first start in the Fargodome, which is sold out for Saturday’s homecoming game.
“He hasn’t probably been the starter in that kind of environment, but at the same time, he’s probably been in that environment,” UNI head coach Mark Farley said. “As long as you have experienced players, you’re going to have an opportunity, but until you experience it yourself, it’s who knows how anybody reacts to that.”
The 6-foot-5, 225-pound Day completed 11 of 16 passes for 188 yards and two touchdowns with one interception in a 34-7 home victory against Youngstown State last week.
Farley welcomes playing in front of a packed Fargodome crowd after the coronavirus pandemic limited attendance for Missouri Valley Football
Conference games played last spring.
“It’s fun to be in that environment after going through last year,” Farley said. “I would much rather be in that environment than the stale environment of nobody in the stands. It creates the excitement of the game. That’s why we play the game is for that kind of action.”
Panthers stout against the run
Northern Iowa has been stingy against the run this season, limiting opponents to 80 rushing yards per game with an average of 2.4 yards per attempt. The Panthers are also holding opponents to 10.5 points per game.
Defensive lineman Jared Brinkman leads a salty UNI front seven. The 6-foot-2, 290-pound Brinkman has 12 tackles, one sack, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery through four games,
The Bison are averaging 317 rushing yards per game, averaging about 7.1 yards
per attempt, through four games. NDSU has six different players, including quarterback Quincy Patterson, who have carried the ball at least 16 times this season.
“That’s a fresh back,” Farley said. “You’re going to get a fresh back coming at you and a different style of back coming at you every down.”
The 6-foot-3, 246-pound Patterson has rushed for 268 yards and three touchdowns on 41 attempts this season.
“I think it starts with their quarterback,” Farley said.
“They are once again a very good football team and a great rushing attack.”
Odds and ends
► Bison kicker Jake Reinholz was named the Missouri Valley Special Teams Player of the Week after his three field goals were a major reason the Bison defeated North Dakota 16-10. It was the second such career honor for the senior from Fargo Shanley.
► It’s the fourth time UNI has been a Bison homecoming opponent, with NDSU winning the prior three: 42-14 in 1978, 31-28 in 2015 and 46-14 in 2019.
► NDSU has won nine straight homecoming games after back-to-back losses to Illinois State in 2009 and Western Illinois in 2010.
► Former Bison offensive lineman Chuck Klabo was inducted into the Bison Athletic Hall of Fame on Friday. The other seven honorees were softball pitcher Lindsay (Graham) Gustafson, track and field athletes Andrew Moen, Andi (Noel) Olsonawski and Jill (Theeler) Schlekeway, wrestler Nick Severson, soccer player Nicole (Vandenbos) Hurt and retired track and cross country coach Don Larson.
► The Bison maintained their status as the No. 1-ranked rushing team in the FCS with a 317-pergame average. NDSU leads all divisions with a 7.08 yardsper-carry average.
Top-ranked Sam Houston wins by one point. Thirdranked James Madison by two. Fifth-ranked North Dakota State by six. Sixthranked Eastern Washington by six over fourth-ranked Montana.
Yup, it’s conference season.
Many of the big FCS games lived up to their billing in another weekend of memorable results.
Here are 10 takeaways from the Week 5 action:
Eagles soar with Barriere and defense
Eastern Washington’s 34-28 win over Montana on ESPN2 felt like an instant classic. As the Eagles (5-0) matched their best start since 1984 and the longest active home winning streak in the FCS (19), quarterback Eric Barriere surpassed 400 passing yards in a game (422) for the eighth time in his career, with help from wide receivers Talolo Limu-Jones (231 receiving yards) and Andrew Boston (80 yards, two touchdowns). The win underscored the improvement of the defense, which allowed 358 yards to drop its season average to 382.8 - the lowest since the Eagles’ 2010 FCS championship season. Linebackers Ty Graham and Jack Sendelbach had 12 tackles each and rank 1-2 on the team this season.
Bearkats are clutch again
Playing without AllAmerica quarterback Eric Schmid, Sam Houston survived Stephen F. Austin 21-20 by scoring 15 points in the fourth quarter, including Trappe Pannell’s 4-yard touchdown run and Christian Pavon’s go-ahead PAT with 2:37 left. SFA’s Chris Campos,
who entered the week as the leading scorer among FCS kickers, missed a late, 51-yard field goal attempt.
The top-ranked Bearkats (4-0) have been clutch during their FCS-leading 15-game winning streak, including four postseason wins and seven overall by eight points or less.
Grambling breaks
Glass, Alabama
A&M win streak
Defending SWAC champion Alabama A&M’s secondlongest winning streak in the FCS ended at nine, 37-28 to a Grambling State squad that had lost eight of its nine previous games (A&M’s streak included one forfeit win in the spring season). The host Tigers fell behind 14-0 on Aqeel Glass’ first two of four touchdown passes, but converted three turnovers in a six-minute span of the second quarter into touchdowns, ultimately scoring 34 unanswered points. Glass had a career-high four interceptions.
Group of returning programs has played well
Out of this year’s 128 FCS programs, 27 (including St. Thomas when it was still in Division III) did not play a game during the 2020-21 academic year due to the pandemic. The cohesive play has probably been ahead of schedule while the teams have posted a combined 47-59 (.443) record this season.
Eleventh-ranked Montana State (4-1, 2-0 Big Sky) is the lone team ranked in the Stats Perform FCS Top 25, but three Ivy League teams are 3-0 - Dartmouth, Harvard and Princeton.
Nicholls says, ‘Great Scott!’
So much of the attention with Southland quarterbacks rests with reigning Walter Payton Award winner Cole Kelley of Southeastern Louisiana and Jerry Rice Award winner Cameron Ward of UIW, but Nicholls senior Lindsey Scott Jr. is pushing his name to the front of the conversation. In a 48-17 win
over Houston Baptist, he racked up 183 passing yards, a career-high 143 rushing yards and three total touchdowns.
It was his third straight game over 100 passing yards and 100 rushing yards, making him the first FCS player to do so since Campbell’s Daniel Smith (now Villanova’s starting quarterback) from Sept. 22 to Oct. 6, 2018. With the win, Nicholls coach Tim Rebowe became the school’s all-time leader with 40.
Bison as stingy as ever
Credit both defenses in No. 5 North Dakota State’s 16-10 rivalry win upstate at No. 10 North Dakota. But here’s a scary thought about the Bison defense under coordinator David Braun: It’s allowed only 23 points in a 4-0 start.
At no point during the last 10 seasons, which includes eight national championships, has the Bison allowed as few points during a four-game stretch in the same season (however, it occurred in four games over the 2011 and ‘12 seasons). In the second half against UND, safety Dawson Weber had a key interception and the Bison twice came up with stops on fourth downs. The 5.8 points allowed per game rank second in the FCS to Princeton’s 2.3.
Kennesaw State runs past Jacksonville State
Kennesaw State is often maligned for not having strong nonconference schedules, but this year’s has been the toughest in the Owls’ seven-season history. Included is a Top 25 win after the FCS’ No. 20 squad (3-1) nearly had a 14½-minute advantage in time of possession while dominating No. 17 Jacksonville State 31-6, with quarterback Xavier Shepherd rushing for 124 yards and three touchdowns. Coach Brian Bohannon’s 55th career win gave him sole possession of
second place in Big South history. The Owls now shift to the largest conference schedule in Big South history (seven games), having won 17 of their last 19 matchups since 2017.
JMU’s Ratke: 1 streak over, 2 continue
James Madison kicker Ethan Ratke’s final extra point attempt in the No. 3 Dukes’ 23-21 escape at No. 25 New Hampshire was blocked, ending his streak of 86 made in a row and his first miss since a 2019 win over UNH. However, he made a field goal to push his streak to 22 in row since the 2019 FCS championship game and closer to the FCS record, set by Northern Iowa’s Brian Mitchell with 26 straight over the 1990 and ‘91 season. Ratke, the FCS’ all-time scoring leader among kickers, also has a field goal in 25 straight games. Nevada’s Tony Zendejas made one in an FCSrecord 33 straight games in 1981-83.
MEAC puts it together
This was the week for the … MEAC? Yet to have a week with more than two wins, the shrinking conference went 4-2, including a pair of wins against programs that departed the conference in recent years: preseason favorite South Carolina State beat Bethune Cookman (SWAC) 42-35 and Norfolk State won 47-44 in overtime at Hampton (Big South). In addition, two MEAC teams stopped NEC opponents: Howard beat Sacred Heart 22-17 for coach Larry Scott’s first win and Delaware State worked two OTs to edge Wagner 33-27. D-State’s Sy’veon Wilkerson carried the ball a school-record 40 times — four more than the previous high - for 169 yards and one touchdown.
