Box Score MINOT, N.D. – Minot State University finally controlled the line of scrimmage.

The result was 220 yards rushing and 38-14 win over Minnesota Crookston in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference football Saturday at Herb Parker.

While the latter is the most important stat, the former had to put some smiles on the faces of the Beavers after struggling the run the ball in their first six games. Coming into Saturday's contest, Minot State had just 464 yards rushing.

“Offensively I think we have been able to mix and match and be more balanced than we were in the beginning,” said Minot State head coach Paul Rudolph about his offense.

The Beavers (2-6 overall, 2-6 NSIC, 2-2 NSIC North) blew open a tight first half with three touchdowns in the third quarter to turn a 14-7 halftime lead into a 35-7 rout. Glyn Borel (Jr., WR, San Jose, Calif.) was the main reason as he scored twice in the quarter, first on a 37-yard pass from Zac Cunha (Fr., QB, Rocklin, Calif.) and the final time on a five-yard run – his third touchdown of the game as he opened the scoring with a 55-yard TD reception.

“At first it was a run play, and Zac checked it down to a pass,” Borel – who had three catches for 114 yards – said of his first score. “As I ran, I just beat the safety and he threw it to me deep and I did what I do best; run fast.”

“Glyn is very capable. He is very exciting when he has the ball in his hands,” Rudolph said. We keep trying to figure out more ways to get him involved both in the passing game and running game.”

Blake Eggl (Sr., RB, Minot, N.D.) and Randel Barber (Fr., RB, Maricopa, Ariz.) combined for the best outing for Minot State this season as they combined for 191 yards rushing. Eggl finished with the first 100-plus performance on the ground this year as he finished with 109 yards on 18 carries and a touchdown. Barber added 82 on 10 carries.

While the Beavers offense clicked most of the second half, the defense was solid throughout. Minot State gave up some yards early, but limited UMC to just a Marcus Cheatham 18-yard pass from A.J. Barge in the first half. What was most impressive was the Beavers run defense which gave up just 154 yards rushing to one of the better running games in the league. MISU limited UMC's Richard Haley to 89 yards on 25 carries.

“I thought our defense did a good job on making adjustments,” Rudolph said. “We were able to get their quarterback out of the pocket and bring him down in the second half. I give those guys a lot of credit.”

Leading the way was MISU's linebacker group of Chad Marshall (Jr., Hazen, N.D.), Brett Mohr (Jr., Southey, Saskatchewan), Casey Weinmann (So., Selz, N.D.) and Josh Weidler (Jr., Velva, N.D.). Marshall had a monster game with 16 total tackles and a pass breakup, Mohr added 10 tackles and Casey Weimmann had eight tackles and forced fumble. Weidler, finished with two sacks and a forced fumble.

“We wanted to come out and stop the run,” Marshall said. “Their running back (Haley) is a great talent and we knew if we wanted to win this game we had to stop him.

"I had 10 guys out there with me doing the right things. I was just the right guy in the right spot today.”

The Beavers also got a steady day from freshman quarterback Cunha, making his sixth start of the season. He was 9 of 14 for 227 yards, three touchdowns and just one interception. He now has 13 TD passes on the season.

“The first touchdown was something he saw from the line of scrimmage and he made the right call,” Rudolph said of Cunha. “I think he is getting to the point where he feels comfortable and has had enough reps where he can put his team in positions to succeed.”

Barge was 20 for 30 for 220 yards and two TDs in the loss for the Golden Eagles (1-7, 1-7, 0-4). Cheatham caught three passes – two of them touchdowns – for 66 yards. Ricky Jacobs had 10 tackles and a sack for UMC.

Minot State goes back on the road for a 1 p.m. start at Minnesota State Moorhead Saturday.