MARSHALL, Minn. – A determined comeback effort in the fourth quarter helped Minot State take Southwest Minnesota State to extra time Saturday night on the road inside Mattke Field at the Schwan Regional Event Center, but the Beavers eventually ended up on the disappointing end of a 27-20 final in overtime in NSIC play.
"I'm really proud of the way our guys competed and came back," Minot State head coach Mike Aldrich said. "Down 11 at half and to get it to overtime was really fun to watch. They never quit, and unfortunately some mistakes at the end hurt us.
"A lot to learn from the game, with some painful lessons, but the passion, commitment and cohesiveness of our team was very evident."
Minot State fell to 0-4 on the season with the loss. The Beavers are back home next weekend hosting Bemidji State on Oct. 1 at First Western Bank Field at Herb Parker Stadium at 1 p.m. in the "Battle of the Beavers." SMSU improved to 3-1 on the year with the win.
Ali Mohamed led all MSU rushers with 78 yards and one touchdown in the contest. Dawson Macleary also added 15 yards on the ground.
Nathan Young reeled in five catches for 60 yards and one score. Erik Palmquist got in on the action in the passing game as well, hauling in seven balls for 51 yards.
Carson Cayko paced the Minot State defensive effort, totaling nine tackles and one interception. Logan Krueger added half a tackle for a loss and one recovered fumble for the Beavers.
Both Minot State and Southwest Minnesota State forced two turnovers in Saturday's contest, with Minot State turning those takeaways into three points.
Defensively, Minot State did an impressive job limiting the Southwest Minnesota State passing attack, holding the SMS to 79 yards through the air. In part because of that stellar defense, Minot State receivers out-gained their Southwest Minnesota State counterparts 169-79.
How It Happened
Southwest Minnesota State opened up an early 7-0 lead, but Minot State got on the scoreboard with 1:37 left in the first quarter to cut the deficit to 7-3. Dillon Fedor booted a career-best 47-yard field goal to get Minot State on the scoreboard.
MSU responded with Ali Mohamed scoring his first touchdown of the season, a 6-yard run, after Southwest Minnesota State extended its lead to 14-3. Mohamed's score made it a 14-10 game.
After Southwest Minnesota State scored to expand its lead to 20-10, Minot State got on the scoreboard again with 1:52 left in the fourth quarter to narrow the advantage and make it a 20-17 game.
After recovering an onside kick, the Beavers proceeded to score again on a 29-yard game-tying field goal by Fedor to tie it at 20-20, and force overtime.
Minot State didn't score again in the game while Southwest Minnesota State scored seven more points on the opening overtime possession to finish off the scoring.
Game Notes
» Southwest Minnesota State outgained Minot State 359-267 in the contest.
» Minot State had their highest scoring quarter in the fourth period, when they put up 10 points.
» Minot State converted 2-of-13 third downs while Southwest Minnesota State was successful on 6-of-11.
» MSU had two players with more than eight tackles in the ballgame led by Cayko, who had nine.
» Minot State went 2-for-4 on fourth down, converting on 50 percent of its attempts.
» Minot State forced one red zone turnover in the contest.
» Justus McComb led the SMS passing attack, completing 10 of his 16 attempts for 79 yards and one touchdown with one interception.
» Jesse Sherwood led the Southwest Minnesota State rushing attack with 147 yards.
This story created through content automation technology from Data Skrive.
