Walker to Heckendorf Completes North Dakota State Comeback Over Cal Poly

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Walker to Heckendorf Completes North Dakota State Comeback Over Cal Poly

Courtesy: NDSU Athletic Media Relations Release: 11/11/2007

North Dakota State 31, Cal Poly 28 (Box Score) College Football Scores (November 10, 2007)

Steve Walker found Kole Heckendorf for an 80-yard touchdown as the Bison came back to beat Cal Poly, 31-28

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. - North Dakota State quarterback Steve Walker found wide receiver Kole Heckendorf for an 80-yard touchdown with 38 seconds remaining to complete a 22-point fourth quarter comeback and lead the Bison over the Cal Poly Mustangs, 31-28, before a crowd of 10,899 at Alex G. Spanos Stadium. It was the largest fourth quarter comeback in NDSU school history.

At the 10:02 mark of the fourth quarter Walker threw his second interception of the game that was returned for a touchdown by David Fullerton and a 28-9 Cal Poly lead.

Over the final ten minutes the Bison (10-0 overall, 3-0 Great West Conference) scored three touchdowns to shock the host Mustangs (6-4 overall, 1-2 Great West Conference) and win the game. The three scoring drives needed only eight plays.

The Bison now sport the longest winning streak in NCAA Division I football at 14 games and have won 10 straight Great West Conference games.

It was Walker’s second last second touchdown scoring drive of the season and fourth for his career. He led the Bison back against Sam Houston State Sept. 15 -- ironically with a TD pass to Heckendorf.

Walker finished the game 14-for-30 for 342 yards and two touchdowns. Heckendorf caught three passes for 112 yards and one touchdown while Jordan Schultenover caught two passes for 115 yards and one touchdown.

Walker found Scholtenover from 67 yards out to cut the Cal Poly lead to 28-16 at the 9:36 mark. The drive took just two plays.

NDSU got the ball back and scored again at the 4:21 mark as Tyler Roehl scored from four yards out. Roehl finished the day with 100 yards rushing on 22 carries for his seventh 100-yard performance of the season.

Walker and NDSU got the ball back once more with 1:02 left in the game on their own eight yard line. Three plays later Heckendorf caught the pass, tight-roped down the right sideline and carried a pair of defenders in the end zone. Wide receiver Gary Williams added the two point conversion for the final 31-28 tally.

Heckendorf extended his consecutive games with a reception streak to 24 and has caught a pass in 31 of his last 32 games.

Defensively, NDSU was led by strong safety Kyle Belmont, who recorded his first two interceptions of his career. Linebacker Joe Mays again recorded double digits in tackles with seven solo stops and 10 tackles total.

Sophomore placekicker Shawn Bibeau tied a career-high with three field goals of 39, 26 and 24 yards. He connected on three against Central Michigan this season, and three times last year against Northeastern, Ball State and Minnesota.

The Bison held a 477-377 advantage in total offense. NDSU turned the ball over three times and Cal Poly two. For Cal Poly, Jonathon Dally was 14 of 23 for 181 yards and three touchdowns. He also rushed for 133 yards on 25 carries.

The win sets up a showdown between NDSU and South Dakota State (6-4, 3-0 Great West) for the Dakota Marker at 1 p.m. Nov. 17 in Brookings, S.D., and for the Great West Conference Championship for the second straight season. SDSU scored 28 points in the fourth quarter to defeat Southern Utah, 52-27.