# Mayville State Wins Emotional Home Game

> Mayville State overcomes injured QB's brain injury to win home opener with community support.
- Title: Mayville State Wins Emotional Home Game · Valleynewslive
- Summary: Mayville State overcomes injured QB's brain injury to win home opener with community support. Mayville State defeated Valley City State 40-33 after QB Matt…
- Keywords: mayville state, valley city state, matt donovan, brain injury, jerome berg field, comets, rocky larson, news, local, Mayville, State, Wins
- Source: Valleynewslive — https://valleynewslive.com/2026/10/11/mayville-state-wins-emotional-home-opener-community-rallies-around-injured-qb
- Published: 2026-10-11T01:21:37.803+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: mayville state, valley city state, matt donovan, brain injury, jerome berg field, comets, rocky larson, news, local
## Mayville State wins home opener
Mayville State defeated Valley City State 40-33 Saturday, October 10, in the Comets’ first home game at Jerome Berg Field since quarterback Matt Donovan suffered a severe brain injury last month.
## QB Matt Donovan injured
Donovan was hurt Sept. 19 in a helmet-to-helmet collision and was life-flighted to Fargo for emergency brain surgery at Sanford Medical Center.
## Community rallies for Donovan
Coach Rocky Larson described the scene before kickoff, pointing to the show of support from fans: 'Yeah, it was pretty emotional walking through the tailgate and seeing the threes and the shirts and the support…

> Yeah, it was pretty emotional walking through the tailgate and seeing the threes and the shirts and the support that this group has, but once the ball was kicked off, I thought our kids settled in the game really well.
## Key takeaway

Mayville State defeated Valley City State 40-33 after QB Matt Donovan's severe brain injury recovery.