Isaiah Smith leads UND running backs with 142-yard game in 72-35 win over Murray State – Grand Forks Herald

GRAND FORKS — And running back Isaiah Smith had a career rushing day at Murray State last year when he ran for 153 yards.

Smith was successful again Saturday in a 72-35 win over the Racers at the Alerus Center, UND’s highest-scoring game since an 80-point loss to Jamestown College on Sept. 29, 1928.

Smith had 11 carries for 142 yards and two touchdowns on runs of 33 and 6 yards. He reached the end zone for the third time after catching a pass from Simon Romfo for a 74-yard touchdown, Smith’s second touchdown of his career.

“We know he’s really explosive and a good pass catcher,” UND coach Bubba Schweigert said. “Isaiah is a really important player on our roster.”

It’s the second straight week a Fighting Hawks running back has rushed for over 100 yards. Sawyer Seidl rushed for 123 yards last week against San Diego, but failed in the win over Murray State.

“We didn’t know until game time whether we could handle Sawyer,” said Schweigert. “We decided to do this today. We thought that was best and then increased some carries but also included Donavan (Hunt) in a rotation. But that’s why we have to have running back depth.”

Smith and Gaven Ziebarth split carries early before UND added Donavan Hunt and Grant Romfo to the rotation late in the game.

Ziebarth finished the game with nine carries for 45 yards and a 7-yard touchdown. Romfo nearly matched that performance about eight minutes later, rushing nine times for 43 yards and a touchdown.

Russell Hons / UND Athletics

Hunt had two runs for 41 yards before leaving the game, and quarterback Simon Romfo ran seven times for 35 yards and a touchdown.

UND ran for 309 yards in its first Missouri Valley Football Conference game of the season.

“It was very exciting,” Smith said, “especially for our running back room. I think we had over 300, so it was pretty exciting to see everyone touch the ball.”

The Hawks (4-1) will go on the road for the first time in a month next week when UND travels to Fargo to face North Dakota State at the Fargodome at 2:30 p.m.

UND may have had its greatest offensive game in nearly 100 years against Murray State, but the players weren’t focused on it.

“I think we did a lot of things well on a lot of levels,” Smith said. “But we also have some things we need to work on. So as soon as we get back to the lab, we’ll watch the film.”

Russell Hons / UND Athletics