MINOT, N.D. -- The Minot State football team will look to retain possession of the Battle of the Big Lake Trophy when it travels to Bismarck, N.D. to face the University of Mary on Saturday (Sept. 30) in a game that will be televised by the Midco Sports Network.
The Beavers will look to make it three consecutive victories over UMary on Saturday. Last season, Minot State rallied for a 21-20 victory at Herb Parker Stadium and in 2015 the Beavers earned a 15-9 win in overtime. The Battle for the Big Lake Trophy series is tied with each team owning two victories, but the Beavers lead the all-time series with UMary 13-12.
In addition to taking the Battle of the Big Lake Trophy, one team will emerge with their first victory of the season as both squads are 0-4 on the year. Minot State has lost to Concordia-St. Paul, Augustana, Southwest Minnesota State and Winona State, while UMary has dropped games to Minnesota State Mankato, Wayne State, Sioux Falls and Upper Iowa.
After dropping a pair of tight games to Augustana and Southwest Minnesota State, the Beavers suffered a 47-7 defeat at the hands of Winona State last week.
Senior
Zac Cunha and
Andy Jones split time at quarterback last week. Cunha was 7-of-16 for 63 yards and a touchdown, while Jones was 10-of-15 for 92 yards and he also added 17 yards rushing on five carries. Cunha has thrown for 745 yards and five touchdowns on the season, while it marked Jones first action of the 2017 season.
Larry Overstreet had five catches for 59 yards and a touchdown and also tacked on 17 more yards on the ground, while
Lane Torgerson piled up a season-high 213 yards of total offense.
Overstreet leads Minot State with 141 yards rushing on the year, while
Hayden Van Winkle has rushed for 130 yards.
Lavante Bushnell has been the Beavers top receiver with 15 catches for 198 yards and three touchdowns, while Torgerson has 12 catches for 96 yards.
The Beaver defense had 3.0 sacks, two interceptions, a fumble recovery and four pass breakups in the game against Winona State. Minot State tied its season high with 3.0 sacks and it also marked the fourth straight game in which the Beavers have claimed an interception.
Kiante Goudeau leads Minot State with two interceptions and
Kywan Owens,
Donnell Vercher and
Justin Gonzales each have one for the season. Vercher and
Bryce Broome lead the team with 40 tackles, while
Matt Marler is the team leading with 4.5 tackles for loss.
The game will be aired live at 2:30 p.m. on the Midco Sports Network with kickoff slated for 2:35 p.m. The game can also be heard on the Beaver Sports Network (KCJB 910 AM) with Scott Kittell calling all of the action.
