MINOT STATE 2-DEEP                    CONCORDIA-ST. PAUL 2-DEEP

GAME NOTES

GAME DAY PROGRAM

MINOT, N.D. – It's "Senior Day" and the season finale for the Beavers who get to finish at home this weekend, hosting Concordia-St. Paul at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 13, at Herb Parker Stadium. CLICK TO BUY TICKETS

And, yes, it will be an emotional day.

"The last game of the season is always tough because so much time has been into preparation, and it all comes down to this last game," Minot State head coach Mike Aldrich said. "Not to mention it is the last game for our seniors and the last time this team will play together. There will be a lot of emotions, but there is still a goal for us to achieve."

That goal is to finish with a win, sending the seniors who will be honored Saturday – Ian Avalos, Derek Wax, Jordan Will, Sebastian Gutierrez, and Jaxon Lundeen – off with a day to remember, and the rest of the Minot State team (1-9 overall, 0-5 NSIC North) into the off season on a positive note.

"We would love to send our seniors off with a win, but more importantly, being such a young team we would like to head into our offseason with confidence and momentum," Coach Aldrich said.

Of course, the visiting Golden Bears (1-9, 0-5) are hoping for the exact same thing, guaranteeing a great final-day battle.

Here is a quick look at this weekend's matchup:
LAST TIME OUT (MINOT): The University of Mary grabbed an early lead in the "Battle of the Big Lake" and while Minot State battled with big plays, the Beavers couldn't wrestle the lead away from the Marauders who snapped Minot State's five-game win streak in the series.

Big plays highlighted the day for Minot State as Knylen Miller-Levi hauled in pass from Kyle VanBerkom on a fake punt and raced 63 yards for a score, getting the Beavers as close as 15-7 back in the first half, and Miller-Levi added the defense's first touchdown of the season as he returned an interception 34 yards for another score.

Peyton Lamoureux added a 75-yard touchdown reception to the Beavers big-play total, closing the score to 42-24 in the fourth quarter, but Mary held on for a 49-31 victory.

Ali Mohamed rumbled for his fifth 100-plus yard game of the season, running for 116 yards on 20 carries with a touchdown, giving the sophomore running back 1,034 yards on the season – which is No. 2 in the NSIC behind Sioux Falls' Thuro Reisdorfer (1,036 yards).

Lamoureux added his fourth 100-plus yard receiving game, finishing with 126 yards receiving on six catches, while redshirt-freshman quarterback Marshaun Campbell completed 12-of-17 passes for 179 yards and a touchdown coming off the bench.

Defensively, Miller-Levi had three tackles to go with his pick-six, while redshirt-freshman defensive back JT Snow led the way with 11 tackles, including a half-sack, and Jordan Will added eight tackles for the Beavers.

LAST TIME OUT (CONCORDIA): The Golden Bears hung tough until late in the third quarter when visiting Minnesota State Moorhead tacked on a field goal, then added a fourth-quarter touchdown to pull away for a 24-3 victory in the home finale for Concordia-St. Paul.

A pair of first-half interceptions kept the Golden Bears from building momentum in the game as the visiting Dragons scored 14 straight in just a 1 minute, 11 second stretch early in the second quarter.

Sam Henson's 41-yard field goal got Concordia-St. Paul on the board in the third quarter, down 14-3, but they could muster no more.

Six-foot-3 freshman quarterback Bryce Sievers completed 11-of-26 passes for 116 yards in the loss, and led the ground game with 24 yards rushing on eight carries. Five-11 sophomore linebacker Chandler Dahlquist – who shifted to running back for the day – added 21 yards on 13 carries for the Golden Bears who managed just 179 yards of total offense and nine first-downs on the day.

Six-foot sophomore linebacker Andrew Egnarski led the defense for the Golden Bears with 11 tackles, while 6-5 sophomore defensive lineman Mark O'Reilly and 6-2 sophomore defensive lineman Keegan Larson each added six tackles and a pair of sacks.

SCOUTING THE GOLDEN BEARS: Averaging just 14.3 points per game this season, the Golden Bears have struggled to find an identity on offense as Jaylin Richards leads the team with just 234 rushing yards on 74 carries, but has been out since Oct. 16.

Richards numbers lead a run-game that averages 2.7 yards per carry this season.

As for quarterback, Sievers is the third starter under center for the Golden Bears, taking over in Week 9 against the University of Mary. In a total of five games, including two starts, he's completed 43-of-98 passes for 379 yards and a touchdown, but also has thrown four interceptions for a Concordia-St. Paul team averaging just 170.5 yards per game through the air.

"We want to be strong against the run and prevent the explosive pass plays," Minot State's coach said. "We need to play sound defense, be solid tacklers and get the football back for our offense."

While the offense has struggled, the Golden Bears defense has given them a chance to win games as they have 19 sacks on the season and picked up 11 turnovers.

Six-foot junior defensive back Rhett Sheehan leads the defense with 59 tackles, along with three interceptions, while Egnarski has 58 tackles and five sacks, and 6-5 junior defensive lineman Shawn Aarhus has 31 tackles and five more of the Golden Bears sacks.

"They have always been a strong defensive team, especially upfront," Coach Aldrich said. "We need to be great blockers and not put ourselves in negative situations. Taking care of the football and staying on schedule are critical to our success."

COACH ALDRICH'S KEYS TO THE GAME: "We need to win the turnover battle, establish our run game and be stout on run defense."

LOOKING AHEAD: This weekend is the season finale for the Minot State football team.