DICKINSON — For a while Thursday night, Dickinson looked like a team still carrying the weight of last week’s loss.
Then the Mavericks turned a 14-point deficit into a fourth-quarter comeback, taking their first lead of the night on a two-point conversion before blocking Jamestown’s last-second field goal to escape with a 29-27 victory at the Biesiot Activities Center.
Dickinson trailed 27-13 entering the fourth quarter, but touchdowns from Cooper Orton and Wyatt Turner, two-point conversions from Paxton Lyson and a defense that came up with two crucial stops gave the Mavericks a chance to finish a game that had been in Jamestown’s hands for most of the night.
The Mavericks entered the game coming off their first loss of the season, and head coach Dawson McGlothlin said that showed early.
“We came out a little slow. Our confidence was a little low after last week’s loss,” McGlothlin said. “And what’s going to happen? I mean, they’re high schoolers, so you have to give them some grace.”
Jamestown controlled the first half, taking a 14-7 lead into the break before extending it to 21-7 early in the third. Dickinson answered with a touchdown pass from Nate Stevenson to Lyson, but a blocked extra point left the Mavericks still trailing by eight. Jamestown scored again, extending its lead back to 27-13.
The Mavericks needed to settle down, and Stevenson said the message was to stop trying to erase the deficit all at once.
“One big change we made was just we realized we’re getting too high on the roller coaster, and we just had to stay even and take one play at a time,” Stevenson said. “We’re not going to score two touchdowns in one play, but when we chip it, chip, chip, chip, that’s how we came back.”
The defense gave Dickinson the room it needed. After Orton cut the Blue Jays lead to 27-19 with a 27-yard touchdown catch early in the fourth quarter, Lyson hauled in the two-point conversion to make it a six-point game. Dickinson then forced a three-and-out, putting the offense back on the field with a chance to close the gap again.
Starting at its own 11-yard line, Dickinson put together a long drive and repeatedly found answers on third down. Stevenson kept the possession moving with his legs before finding Turner for a touchdown with 3:11 remaining, tying the game at 27.
The Mavericks went for two, but it took three tries to finally take the lead.
Jamestown jumped early on the first attempt, and after a Dickinson timeout, Stevenson appeared to keep the ball into the end zone on the next try. A penalty wiped out the conversion, giving the Mavericks one more chance.
“I got really excited, and then I saw the yellow, and I wasn’t so excited,” Stevenson said. “But then Paxton came up to me and he said, ‘I’m going to be there. Put it on me,’ so I did.”
Lyson came down with the conversion, giving Dickinson its first lead of the night at 29-27.
Jamestown still had time, and the Blue Jays moved quickly on their final possession. They reached touchdown territory with 13 seconds left before sending out the field-goal unit. A penalty pushed the attempt back five yards, but Jamestown still had a chance to steal the game.
The kick went up. Dickinson got a hand on it, and the Mavericks had their comeback.
McGlothlin said the finish was exactly what he wanted to see from his team.
“Yeah, they’re gritty. I mean, that’s what we’ve been preaching all year: staying even keel, staying gritty,” McGlothlin said. “The game’s not over till the final horn sounds, and I think you saw that out of our guys tonight.”
Dickinson also had to adjust around injuries. Jacob Britton and Tristen Tavares were down and out Thursday, forcing other players into bigger roles along the offensive line.
“We had some guys step up,” Lyson said. “So it was a little difficult there, but the other guys that came in did great and finished well.”
“We know what kind of team we are,” Stevenson said. “We’re a team that’s going to finish when it matters, and that’s been our mindset the whole offseason leading up to this. And I think we really showed that in this game.”
The Mavericks (5-1) will travel to Bismarck next Friday to face St. Mary’s.