MINOT, N.D. -- The Minot State football team will seek its second home win of the season on Saturday (Oct. 20) when it hosts Wayne State in a Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference game at 1 p.m. in Herb Parker Stadium.

THIS WEEK: Minot State plays its fifth home game of the season today as it hosts Wayne State in a Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference contest in Herb Parker Stadium.

LAST TIME THEY MET (Sept. 10, 2016): Minot State built a 20-7 lead and then held off Wayne State late to grab a 20-14 win in a Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference game at Memorial Stadium. The Beavers took a 7-0 lead in the first quarter when Zac Cunha connected with Akkil Walker for a touchdown. The Wildcats answered with a touchdown, but the Beavers took the lead for good on an Isaiah Weed found Ray Watkins for a 24-yard touchdown pass. The Beavers upped the lead to 20-7 on a Jarvis Mustipher TD run and then held off a late Wildcats charge. Donnell Vercher sealed the win with an interception in the end zone in the fourth quarter.

LAST TIME OUT FOR THE BEAVERS: Junior wide receiver Lavante Bushnell caught six passes for 81 yards and two touchdowns, but Minot State lost to No. 1 Minnesota State 62-13 on Saturday. It marked the second time this season that Bushnell has hauled in two touchdown passes in one game. Sophomore quarterback Ben Bolinske was 12-of-20 for 84 yards and two touchdowns. Seniors Kiante Goudeau and Kywan Owens paced the Beavers defense with 12 tackles each. Minnesota State scored the first 11 points of the game, but the Beavers got back into the contest when Bushnell caught a 13-yard pass from Bolinske for a touchdown that cut the lead to 11-6. The Mavericks responded with three straight touchdowns to take a commanding lead.

AMONG THE BEST IN THE NATION: Several Minot State players rank among the leaders in NCAA Division II statistically. Junior punter JoseLuis Moreno, who leads the NSIC in punting, is ranked 23rd in the nation averaging 42.4 yards per punt. Senior Kiante Goudeau is the highest ranked Beavers player In the rankings as he is sixth nationally with two fumble recoveries. Junior Lavante Bushnell is also ranked as he is 36th in DII with six touchdown receptions and 78th in receptions per game.

DON'T FORGET THE TEAM: Minot State is also ranked as a team in several different NCAA categories. The Beavers rank 13th in the nation in fewest penalties per game averaging just 4.86 flags per contest. Minot State is ranked 21st in the nation in fewest fumbles lost with three and are 46th nationally in fumbles recovered with six. Additionally, Minot State is ranked 43rd in the nation with 14 turnovers gained.

ABOUT WAYNE STATE: Wayne State enters today's game with a 1-6 overall record and have dropped five straight contests. Last Saturday, the Wildcats lost to Minnesota State Moorhead 28-22 in overtime. Wayne State's lone win of the season came back on Sept. 8 when it defeated Southwest Minnesota State 23-14. The Wildcats feature two outstanding players in wide receiver Nate Rogers and defensive end Jacob Protzman. Rogers has 56 catches for 754 yards and eight touchdown receptions, while Protzman has 7.5 sacks and 11.5 tackles for loss.

OVER THE CENTURY MARK: Junior wide receiver Lavante Bushnell passed the century mark in career receptions against Minnesota State as he hauled in six catches. Bushnell has 103 in his career and leads the Beavers with 33 catches for 395 yards and six touchdowns. He is just the fourth player in the DII era to reach that milestone.

BEAVER TRACKS: QB Ben Bolinske has thrown for 833 yards and eight touchdowns and has rushed for 334 yards and three scores...Lavante Bushnell leads the Beavers with six touchdowns...JoseLuis Moreno leads the NSIC averaging 42.4 yards per punt...Lane Torgerson tops the Beavers averaging 74.1 yards of total offense per game...Kiante Goudeau leads the Beavers with 47 tackles, while Chris Rivers and Kywan Owens have 46.