MINOT, N.D. – A second-quarter interception by Bemidji State helped them turn the games momentum as they bested Minot State, 59-14, in the "Battle of the Beavers" Saturday afternoon at First Western Bank Field at Herb Parker Stadium.
BSU improved to 3-2 on the year and 1-0 in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference North Division play, while the MSU fell to 0-5 overall and 0-1 in North Division matchups.
Dawson Macleary led Minot State's passing attack with 207 yards through the air, tossing two touchdowns.
Ali Mohamed totaled 57 yards to lead the MSU's ground attack in the game. Ian Dexter also tacked on six yards on the ground.
Peyton Lamoureux reeled in three catches for 70 yards and one score.
Aden Scott led the Minot State defensive effort, totaling three tackles and one recovered fumble. Knylen Miller-Levi added three tackles and one interception and Lane Schall had five tackles and one interception in the loss.
MSU won the turnover battle in Saturday's game, forcing three turnovers while coughing the ball up two times.
Defensively, Minot State held up fairly well against the Bemidji State rushing attack, holding the BSU to 164 yards on the ground. The MSU defense disrupted the Bemidji State passing attack on the way to pulling down two interceptions and breaking up four BSU passes.
Coaches Comments
"We played a good team, Bemidji was in the playoffs last year and won a game so we knew it was going to be a big challenge for us," Minot State coach Mike Aldrich said.
"Bemidji did a really good job there at the end of the first half to really separate it," Aldrich added.
"The good thing was a lot of our guys, a lot of our young guys, got a lot of playing experience."
How It Happened
Bemidji State opened up a 14-0 lead, but Minot State got on the scoreboard with 6:43 left in the second quarter to cut the deficit to 14-7.
Driving and looking to tie the game, Jarrett Klein's interception at the Bemidji State 4-yard-line changed the games momentum, though, as BSU scored 22 straight going into halftime.
After Bemidji State scored to increase its lead to 50-7, the MSU got on the scoreboard again to narrow the gap and make it a 50-14 game. Minot State didn't score again in the game and Bemidji State added nine more points to finish off the scoring.
Game Notes
» Bemidji State outgained Minot State 606-250 in the contest.
» Minot State won the turnover battle 3-2 after intercepting two passes and recovering one fumble.
» Minot State converted 3-of-17 third downs while Bemidji State was successful on 4-of-10.
» Justin Cash punted 12 times for the MSU with an average of 45.1 yards per punt while pinning BSU inside their own 20 two times.
» Minot State went 1-for-1 on fourth down, converting on 100 percent of attempts.
» Minot State won the time of possession battle 36:28 to 23:32.
» Brandon Alt led the BSU passing attack, completing 15 of his 27 attempts for 298 yards and four touchdowns with two interceptions.
» Dhel Duncan-Busby was Bemidji State's leading receiver with 136 yards and two touchdowns.
This story created through content automation technology from Data Skrive.
