MINOT, N.D. – The key to Saturday's home finale at Herb Parker Stadium was who would manage a blustery west wind the best.

In the first half, Minot State weathered the storm by limiting Bemidji State to just field goals on a series of short fields and trailed only 15-7 at halftime.

The third quarter, however, belonged to BSU.

Bemidji State churned up yardage via the ground game and outscored Minot State 10-0 in the third quarter to pull away 32-7 in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference North Division football Saturday.

"Late in the game they started moving the ball with the run game," said MSU head coach Tyler Hughes. "I thought our defense, early on especially, through three quarters, was really strong. They (MSU defense) had a lot of bad field position situations."

Minot State (1-8 overall, 1-8 NSIC, 1-4 NSIC North) looked like it had withstood a near disastrous start and trailed just 15-7 after David Alaniz (Sr., TE, Cross Junction, Va.) caught a 6-yard TD pass from Jose Escobar (Jr., QB, Norwalk, Calif.) with 6:43 to play in the second quarter.

The TD came after MSU turned the ball over on the first play from scrimmage on an intercepted tipped pass, had a safety on a bad snap in punt formation and had a punt blocked all in the first quarter.

But MSU's defense held for the most part even with the miscue-filled start. BSU (6-3, 6-3, 5-0) only managed field goals on the interception and after a free kick following the safety. Bemidji State did score the game's first touchdown, a 6-yard run by Jordan Hein, following the blocked punt.

"We had our third-team long snapper in, we had a couple injuries and some new guys subbing in," Hughes said. "You have to play in the elements and play with the wind, but when you have wind like the in your face, it's difficult.

"You hate it when your defense is playing inside the 20-yard line off a turnover, but they held them to a field goal, held them to another field goal and did a lot of good things that way."

Minot State's touchdown drive was one of its best all season. MSU went 80 yards in 16 plays consuming 10:27. Escobar hooked up with Akkil Walker (Jr., WR, Miami, Fla.) twice and Porter Sturm (Sr., WR, Roy, Mont.) once on key third down throws and then floated a pass to the 6-foot-5 Alaniz on fourth down from the 6 for the score.

"It was good because we had some big third down conversions on that possession," Hughes said of the drive. "We needed a long sustained drive to get back into it. It was a very good drive and I would agree that it was one of the better drives we have had all season on a lot of levels."

But it was the last time MSU threatened as BSU limited Minot State with two second half interceptions. And, the BSU offense helped keep its defense off the field with an increased run game. Bemidji State finished with 240 rushing yards, most of them coming after the halftime break

"We were on the field a long time. We were gassed," said MSU linebacker Aaron James (Sr., Oklahoma City, Okla.). "Or defensive line can only sub in so much. That would attribute to the long runs. When you're tired, you lose focus and it's hard to keep focused when you're on the field the whole game. I don't care who you are.

"We played well, but at the end of the day, people see the score and they don't care how you played. There are no moral victories."

Bemidji State's rushing offense helped it to a 330-169 advantage in total offense and ran 16 more plays than MSU. Tony Peterson finished with 106 yards rushing and was one of three BSU players with a rushing TD. Hein passed for 90 yards and rushed for 49 in the game.

Escobar was 12 of 20 for 125 yards, a TD and three interceptions. Isaiah Weed (Fr., QB, Bonney Lake, Wash.) finished 3 for 3 for nine yards. Jarvis Mustipher (Jr., RB, Melbourne, Fla.) finished with 62 yards on 17 carries, while Walker caught five passes for 68 yards.

James and Trevin Swensen (Jr., LB, Shelley, Idaho) each finished with 14 tackles and Mitchell Matthias (Sr., DL, Merritt Island, Fla.) added 10 with a tackle for a loss.

MSU has just road contests remaining in their NSIC season, traveling to Minnesota Crookston Saturday to start a two-game road swing.



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.