MINOT, N.D. – It was a mixture of joy and relief Saturday afternoon as Minot State University earned win No. 1 in the Tyler Hughes era.

The Beavers rode seven turnovers by an opportunistic defense, its best rushing attack of the season by far and four touchdown passes from Zac Cunha (Jr., QB, Rocklin, Calif.) to roll past Minnesota Crookston 50-20 in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference football in front of 1,430 fans during Military Appreciation/Hall of Fame game at Herb Parker Stadium.

"It's great to be able to win the game for coach Hughes," said Cunha. "He works his tail off and couldn't be a more deserving man."

"It is a great feeling for the seniors to be able to get the monkey off the backs of the coaching staff and the class," added MSU linebacker Levi Freidt (Sr., Minot, N.D.).

The two biggest statistics in the win were the two areas Minot State (1-7 overall, 1-7 NSIC, 1-3 NSIC North) has struggled with this season – rushing offense and turnover margin. The Beavers were last in NCAA Division II in rushing, but broke out for 185 yards on 26 carries. MSU was also minus-(-13) in turnover ratio entering Saturday's contest, but finished plus-6 in the game.

"Any football coach will tell you that turnover ratio is the number one statistic that dictates wins and losses," said Hughes "We were able to generate a bunch of them and that obviously assisted in the win. We were able to get 50 points (as the offense played well), but a lot of the time it was because of those turnovers and great defensive plays."

The Beavers took a quick 14-0 lead directly off two big turnovers on the first two UMC possessions. Wyatt Grindy (Sr., LB, Minot, N.D.) fell on a fumble caused by Marcel Brinson (Jr., DB, Gilroy, Calif.) on the first Golden Eagles possession to open the game, setting up a 34-yard touchdown run by Jarvis Mustipher (So., RB, Melbourne, Fla.) five minutes into the game. Freidt picked off his first pass of the season three plays later to set up a Cunha 29-yard TD pass to Glyn Borel (Sr., WR, San Jose, Calif.) for a 14-0 lead six minutes in.

"You get momentum on your side," Hughes said of the quick start. "You strike first is what we talked about as a team. You get that momentum and college football is huge in that regard. Teams that have momentum continue to make big plays. We had it with us and we were able to maintain it for the most part through the entire game."

Minot State forced two more turnovers in the quarter – all four of UMC's possessions – and converted on Emanuel Wyatt's (Jr., DB, Artesia, Calif.) interception late in the quarter to set up a 21-yard field goal by Brian Gutierrez (Sr., K, Granada Hills, Calif.) two plays into the second quarter.

The teams traded two touchdowns apiece as Mustipher and Borel each picked up their second TDs of the game to help the Beavers to a 30-14 lead at halftime.

UMC got as close as 30-20 early in the third quarter as Dre Person scored from 1-yard out, but Cunha capped a great day passing with TDs to Chase Kimble (So., WR, Houston, Texas) and Leon La Deaux (Sr., WR, Port Orchard, Wash.). Alamoti Vaenuku (Jr., FB, Kerns, Utah) added a short TD to finish off the scoring for the Beavers in the fourth quarter. It was the first career TD for both Vaenuku and Kimble.

"The guys have worked hard and I'm happy for our kids," Hughes said. "It's been a long season in certain ways. You only get a few football games a year. You lift all those weights and do all those meetings, and you only get a few of these to show what you can do. So anytime you have a chance you want to treat it like a great opportunity.

"I talked to them after and the guys we're saying, 'congrats,' and I just fired right back with a, 'congrats to you.' They've gone through a lot. It's been tough. They did their job today to get a win, so yes, I'm really happy for those guys, especially those that were here through the transition time."

Person finished with 51 yards rushing for UMC (0-8, 0-8, 0-4) and Travon Hearns had one rushing and one passing TD. Hearns was 12-for-21 for 189 yards, but threw three interceptions and was sacked seven times.

Mustipher finished with 115 yards on 14 carries, while Vaenuku added 66 yards on 15 carries as the Beavers almost equaled their rushing total on the season.

"He played great," Hughes said of Mustipher. "He's continued to battle for playing time. He got a little banged up earlier but it was a time for him to get out there and play and he played fantastic."

Cunha was solid as he went 18-for-29 passing for 255 yards and four TDs. He hit seven different receivers and hit three different players for scores. Borel paced the team with 77 yards, while La Deaux added 59, both on four catches.

Six different Beaver defenders had sacks as MSU recorded a season high eight. Thomas Bryson (Jr., DL, Layton, Utah) had a superb day as he finished with three sacks for 22 yards in loss, seven tackles, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery and a pass breakup. Freidt had six tackles to go with career interception No. 8 while Aaron James (Jr., LB, Oklahoma City, Okla.), James Nora (Jr. DL, San Pedro, Calif.) and Wyatt intercepted their first pass in a Beavers' uniform.

"Thomas was great," said Freidt. "He has brought out defensive line to a whole new level."

The Beavers will look to capitalize on their momentum as they travel to Minnesota State University-Moorhead Saturday.