It seemed like it was only a matter of time before the flood gates would open for Dakota on Friday night against visiting rival Chippewa Valley.

The dam finally burst in the fourth quarter for the Cougars, who scored 27 unanswered points on their way to a 34-7 MAC Red Division win.

“I saw the way we were moving the ball, and we kept shooting ourselves in the foot so many times,” Dakota coach Greg Baur said. “Penalties continue to hurt us. We definitely have to clean that up. I knew we just had to finish a drive because I knew our defense would keep us in it.”

The Cougars broke a 7-7 tie on the second play of the fourth quarter when DiMari Malone scored on a 9-yard run, putting Dakota up 14-7.

“He’s a playmaker and he wants the ball,” Baur said. “A guy with that much talent, we have to use it, and we do on both sides of the ball. He’s a difference maker.”

The Dakota defense then stopped the Big Reds on downs at midfield on the ensuing possession, and marched 42 yards in five plays, capped by a 3-yard TD burst by Brady Hamby, increasing the lead to 21-7 with 9:09 to play.

“If you want to win a football game, you want Brady Hamby on your team because he will do whatever it takes to win,” Baur said. “It doesn’t matter to him where he plays. He would play left guard if you asked him to.”

On the next Chippewa Valley possession, the Big Reds fumbled at their own goal line, and the Cougars’ Tyler Torey fell on it for another score. The PAT was blocked, leaving the score at 27-7.

“I think we may have lost our focus,” Chippewa Valley coach Terry Wilson said. “Things just didn’t go our way. That’s all I can say.”

Dakota capped the win when quarterback Jadon Ford connected with Jack Aranowski for a 22-yard scoring strike.

“All week long we kept fighting because everyone told us we should beat this team,” Baur said. “We knew that we were going to get Chippewa’s best shot, and we did. Hats off to Terry Wilson and his staff because his kids played a great game. They worked their tails off and that’s the way it should be.

“Finally, we made some plays when we had to at the end to win. We have to get better offensively to move the ball and not get behind the sticks.”

Wilson said several things happened to hinder his team in the final period.

“I told the kids to play hard for four quarters and see if the ball would bounce our way,” Wilson said. “We had three starters go down with cramps in the fourth quarter and that didn’t help us. The momentum went away when that happened.”

Chippewa took an early 7-0 lead when QB Jordan Alston scored on a 1-yard run in the first quarter before Dakota tied the game in the second quarter on a 5-yard run by Hamby.

Dakota was led by Hamby, who rushed for 119 yards on 19 carries. Malone added 62 yards on three rushes, while Ford completed 7-of-13 passes for 71 yards. The win improved the Cougars’ record to 5-0 overall, 3-0 league.

Next week, Dakota hosts Romeo for its homecoming game.

“We know what Romeo is going to give us and they’re going to fight us tooth and nail,” Baur said. “It’s going to be a dogfight. It won’t be too tough to get up after this one because we know Romeo is very good.”

Chippewa Valley was led by Alston, who completed 9-of-16 passes for 59 yards. Caleb Fowlkes led the rushing attack with 33 yards on 18 carries. The loss dropped the Big Reds’ record to 1-4 overall, 0-3 league. Chippewa Valley will play host to Eisenhower next Friday night.

“We have to keep working hard and fix our mistakes,” Wilson said. “We have to stop shooting ourselves in the foot.”