MINOT, N.D. – Big plays made a big difference in Saturday's Hall of Fame game.

Northern State scored with just 10 seconds remaining before halftime, converted on a fake field goal and had a 90-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in a 45-14 win over Minot State in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference football Saturday night at Herb Parker Stadium.

"That was a big impact play," MSU head coach Tyler Hughes said of the TD just before the half. "We came out in the second half and were pressing hard. We were pressing too hard. That allowed them to get two quick scores and we didn't respond too well to that."

The Beavers (0-5 overall, 0-5 NSIC, 0-1 NSIC North) opened the game with a big play as MSU recovered a muffed opening kick as Spencer Wiley (Jr., LB, Rancho Cucamunga, Calif.) fell on the loose football. Eight plays later, Charles Hall (Jr., RB, Hinesville, Ga.) bowled in from 1 yard out for his second rushing TD of the season to make it 7-0 MSU early on.

But it was all NSU (1-4, 1-4, 1-0) after that to end the half. The Wolves went 57 yards in 15 plays to cut the lead to 7-3 on a field goal midway through the first quarter and then scored 6 minutes apart in the second quarter, the first on a Nicholas Truen run and the second on a pass from Kyle Lavand to Tyrell Anderson just before the half. The first TD was set up by a blocked punt giving the Wolves the ball on the MSU 20 and the second came after Lavand hit Connor Doherty on a 44 yard pass on third-and-1 from their own 29.

"We were in man coverage in short yardage and they ran play action," Hughes said of the third down play. "We were looking in the backfield and not looking at our man. We have to play that situation better."

The blocked punt was a theme for the Wolves as they got a hand on three Aaron La Deaux (Jr., K/P, Port Orchard, Wash.) punts and while only the first one was fully blocked, the final two changed the field position game in the second half. Those miscues, along with the kickoff return for a TD by Channing Barber, loomed large according to Hughes.

"They were huge," said Hughes referring to the special team's mistakes. "The turning point was the initial blocked punt and things started spiraling down. We really performed poorly there. It's disappointing to see that, that's stuff we work on a number of times. We just didn't get the job done."

NSU scored twice in the third quarter and twice in the fourth as Lavand threw another TD pass, Christian McAlvain scored on a fake field goal and C Kelly capped the scoring with an 11-yard run.

MSU's lone score in the second half came as Kristian Shaide (Jr., LB, Fairview, Mont.) fell on a fumble caused by Dalton Houghton (Jr., DL, Lethbridge, Alberta) in the end zone for his first career TD.

Lavand completed just 13 passes, but two of them went for scores as he threw for 124 yards. Truen led the Wolves with 87 yards receiving and Connor Doherty caught four passes for 65 yards and a TD.

Lucas Romanski (Jr., QB, San Ramon, Calif.) started at quarterback for the Beavers and was 16 for 28 for 163 yards and one interception. Jarvis Mustipher (Jr., RB, Melbourne, Fla.) finished with a season-high 86 yards rushing, while Larry Overstreet (Jr., RB, Lehigh Acres, Fla.) added 55 yards on the ground. Porter Sturm (Sr., WR, Roy, Mont.) continued to produce yards for the Beavers as he caught seven passes for 56 yards and added 144 yards in the return game.

Trevin Swensen (Jr., LB, Shelley, Idaho) and Marcel Brinson (Sr., DB, Gilroy, Calif.) both reached double figures with 10 tackles each. Swensen added a quarterback sack to his totals.

MSU will spend the next two weeks on the road beginning with the Battle of the Big Lake game against rival University of Mary Saturday in Bismarck, N.D.

About Minot State
Minot State University is a member of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) and NCAA Division II offering 14 men's and women's varsity intercollegiate athletics programs. The NSIC is a premier NCAA DII, 16-member conference featuring teams in North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Nebraska and Iowa. The Beavers are the only public NCAA Division II institution in the state of North Dakota.