Box Score WAYNE, Neb. – Minot State University football came a long way in a little over a week.

But it wasn't quite enough.

Wayne State stopped Minot State on the doorstep early in the fourth quarter and then held off a late charge by the Beavers to top MISU 20-6 in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Saturday at Memorial Stadium.

“We were certainly better. We had a 60-minute football game,” said MISU head coach Paul Rudolph. “We saw some flashes, protected better, ran the ball a little better. When you do that, you can have some fun. We just need to be a little more consistent.”

Minot State had more first downs (eight) than in the entire game (six) against Minnesota State in the opener and had nearly as many yards in its first drive (30) than it had in the game last Thursday (32).

The Beavers moved the virtually the entire second half, moving into Wildcat territory three times, but came away with just six points. Minot State gave up just one second-half drive, but it was a backbreaker as the Wildcats answered a Minot State TD with a 75-yard, 15-play drive that iced the contest.

“Our defense was pretty darn good for 55 minutes – and we put them in some tough spots – but we couldn't get one more stop,” Rudolph said. “We made some big strides there too.”

Freshman quarterback Zac Cunha (Rocklin, Calif.) tossed his first touchdown of his young career hitting junior Wayne Peters (WR, Carson, Calif.) midway through the fourth quarter.

Cunha was solid in his first start, going 17 for 36 with 209 yards a touchdown and an interception.

“Zac did some real positive things,” said Rudolph. “I think he got flustered or bewildered or whatever you want to call it a couple times, but the guys bought into him.”

The Beavers defense gave up 203 yards in the first half, but 47 came on the first play of the second quarter as WSC's Nate Most found Adam Stark with the only TD of the first half. It put Wayne State up 10-0.

“It seemed like we had something here or there in the first half. We had a breakdown somewhere, drop a pass, drop a block, something. We were just too inconsistent,” Rudolph said.

Minot State didn't go away, driving to the Wayne 25 early in the third quarter, but a deflected pass ended up being intercepted by the Wildcats. The biggest play before the final drive for WSC was was a fourth-and-goal from the 1 early in the fourth quarter as the Beavers were denied paydirt.

“We needed to get a TD there – I wish I had that one to do over, but at the time we didn't think a field goal was good for us. We needed a touchdown and didn't get it. That's a tough break there,” Rudolph said.

Wayne State (2-0, 0-0 NSIC South) finished with 338 total yards, including a161 on the ground. Nick Pulscher finished with 82 yards rushing and a score, while Charlie Davidson added 61 yards rushing. Most went 10 for 32 for 177 yards.

Blake Eggl (Sr., RB, Minot, N.D.) rushed for 49 yards, while freshman Randel Barber (RB, Maricopa, Ariz.) added 31 yards. MISU rushed for 69 yards and passed for 209 for a total of 278. Peters caught seven passes for 67 yards and Kirk Mason (Sr., TE, Maple Creek, Sask.) added four catches for 66 yards.

Casey Weinman (So., LB, Selz, N.D.) had a strong defensive game with 14 tackles, including 3.5 tackles for a loss. John Denne (Sr., DB, St. Cloud, Minn.) had eight tackles and two pass breakups.

Minot State (0-2 overall, 0-0 NSIC North) returns home for Homecoming 2012 as the Beavers play host to the University of Sioux Falls Saturday.