MINOT, N.D. -- The Minot State football team returns to Herb Parker Stadium as it hosts Mary in the annual Battle of the Big Lake game on Saturday (Sept. 15) at 3 p.m. The Beavers have won three straight in the series and currently maintain possession of the traveling trophy.

THIS WEEK: Minot State returns home today for a Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference game against rival Mary...Minot State and Mary will each be seeking its first win of the season after suffering losses on the first two weeks...Minot State lost its opener to Minnesota Duluth 49-3 and then dropped a 42-16 decision on the road at Northern State last Thursday...Mary lost to St. Cloud State 14-13 to open the season and then lost to Bemidji State 66-0 last week...Minot State leads the all-time series against the Marauders 14-12...Minot State defeated Mary 27-19 last season.

LAST TIME THEY MET: Senior Larry Overstreet rushed for 190 yards and three touchdowns and Minot State won possession of the Battle of the Big Lake Trophy for the third consecutive year with a 27-19 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference victory over Mary... Overstreet helped seal the first victory of the season for the Beavers when he raced 76 yards for a touchdown with 1:02 to play in the fourth quarter to push the Minot State lead to 27-19... Minot State clinched the victory when linebacker Nikko Walker intercepted a pass at the Beaver 47-yard line with 22 seconds remaining in the game...Mary took an early 12-0 lead on touchdown runs by Deshawn Gay and Brennan Doan...Minot State rallied to tie the game heading into halftime...Quarterback Zac Cunha scored on a 29-yard run and Overstreet scored on a 19-yard run...Mary regained the lead with a touchdown in the third quarter, but the Beavers outscored Mary 15-0 in the fourth quarter to claim the victory.

COACHES CORNER: Minot State's head coach is Mike Aldrich who is in his second season at the helm...He previously was the head coach at Augustana from 2010-12 and compiled a 22-13 overall record...He currently has a career coaching record of 25-23...Craig Bagnell is in his first season as the head coach of the Marauders...He has a career record of 0-2.

BATTLE OF THE BIG LAKE: This marks the sixth edition of the Battle of the Big Lake...Minot State has won three straight in the series and are currently in possession of the traveling trophy...Mary won the first Battle of the Big Lake game in 2013 by a 45-10 score...The Marauders made it two straight wins in 2014 with a 31-29 victory...Minot State won the trophy for the first time in 2015 when the Beavers prevailed 15-9...Minot State capped the 2016 season with a 21-20 win...The Beavers pushed its winning streak to three straight with the win last season...The average margin of victory in the last four games in 4.25 points.

OVER THE CENTURY MARK: Freshman Peyton Lamoureux caught two passes for 101 yards, which included an 87-yard pass and catch. He became the first Minot State wide receiver to top 100 yards receiving in a game since Akkil Walker had 104 yards versus Northern State on Oct. 1, 2016.

BY LAND AND BY AIR: Sophomore quarterback Ben Bolinske has been effective both passing and running this season. Bolinske has thrown for 209 yards and rushed for 114 yards in the first two games of the season. Bolinske rushed for 70 yards in the opener against Minnesota Duluth and had a touchdown rush and threw for 180 yards against Northern State.

NOTING THE BEAVERS: Sophomore Ben Bolinske took all of the snaps in the second half against Northern State...Senior cornerback Kiante Goudeau has two interceptions and two fumble recoveries in the first two games...Junior kicker JoseLuis Moreno has produced a touchback on all six of his kickoffs...Lavante Bushnell caught a career-high eight passes against Northern State...Senior Chris Rivers leads the Beavers with 15 tackles on the year.