MINOT, N.D. -- The Minot State football team that's continued to battle week in and week out finally earned their reward Saturday at home ay Herb Parker Stadium.
Rallying for 14 points in the second quarter, then coming up with a huge interception in the end zone late in the game, the Beavers secured a 17-14 win over visiting Upper Iowa Saturday afternoon.
"In the fourth quarter we made some plays to kind of turn the tide," Minot State coach Mike Aldrich said.
The Beavers improved to 1-7 on the year with the victory, while the Peacocks fell to 0-8.
Dawson Macleary led Minot State's passing attack with 292 yards through the air, completing 19-of-32 passes and throwing a 23-yard touchdown to Joemah Norman.
Ali Mohamed paced the Beavers rushing attack by accumulating 99 yards and one touchdown over the course of the game, averaging 4.1 yards per carry.
"Ali was able to pop a couple big ones, and that's what we were hoping is we could pound them," Aldrich said of the running game as Minot State racked up 121 yards on the ground.
Peyton Lamoureux pulled in five catches for 110 yards, and Jaxon Lundeen made his presence felt in the passing game, recording four receptions for 54 yards.
Carson Chrisman paced the Minot State defensive effort, recording four tackles and one interception, and Roma'n Grissett added four tackles, including one for a loss, one interception, and two pass breakups.
Minot State converted on 50 percent of third-down attempts on the day (8-fo-16). The Beavers also went 2-for-2 on fourth down.
Defensively, Minot State held up fairly well against the Upper Iowa offensive attack, holding the Peacocks to 286 total yards. The Beavers defense disrupted the Upper Iowa passing game on the way to pulling down two interceptions and breaking up four Peacocks passes, including Chrisman's interception in the end zone midway through the fourth quarter.
How It Happened
After falling behind 7-0, Minot State responded with a touchdown with 9:42 left in the second quarter to tie the game at 7-7. The Beavers proceeded to break the 7-7 tie with a 1-yard rushing touchdown from Mohamed, making the score 14-7.
After Upper Iowa evened the game at 14-14, Minot State responded with 5:41 remaining in the third quarter with a 23-yard field goal from Dillon Fedor to retake the lead at 17-14. Neither team scored again in the game.
Game Notes
» Minot State outgained Upper Iowa 413-286, including a 292-105 advantage through the air.
» Minot State tallied 14 points in the second quarter, accounting for 82.4% of their total score.
» Minot State converted 8 of 16 third downs while Upper Iowa was successful on 5 of 13.
» The Beavers had two players with more than eight tackles in the ballgame led by Jonathan Leon, who had nine.
» Minot State went 2-for-2 on fourth down, converting on 100 percent of attempts.
» Minot State allowed just 14 points in five Upper Iowa trips to the red zone.
» Minot State forced one red zone turnover in the contest.
» Minot State won the time of possession battle 32:15 to 27:45.
» Zach Reader led the Peacocks passing attack, completing 12 of his 26 attempts for 105 yards with two interceptions.
» Willy Camacho led the Upper Iowa rushing attack with 89 yards and one touchdown.
This story created through content automation technology from Data Skrive.
