ABERDEEN, S.D. – Reved up and ready to go, the Minot State football team hits the road this weekend looking to tackle Northern State and get in the win column.

The Beavers (0-5 overall, 0-5 NSIC) built momentum with solid play in all facets of the game against defending NSIC co-champ Wayne State before the injury bug slowed Minot State's momentum, but the Beavers hope to put that behind them and continue moving forward against the Wolves (1-4, 1-4).

Kick-off against Northern State on Saturday is at 2:30 p.m. in Aberdeen, South Dakota.

"I thought we played with good effort," Minot State head coach Ian Shields said of last weekend's game, adding, "hopefully the best effort games are in front of us, but we're growing, we're improving; certainly offensively we made good strides against Wayne State, played well in spurts."

A big key for Minot State was the play of redshirt junior quarterback Dawson Macleary who had his team marching for a tying score in the third quarter before being sidelined with an injury. His status for this week remains up in the air.

But the Beavers are prepared to deal with the injuries inherent in football, something they have dealt with week after week already.

"We were out 4 or 5 starters in the last game offensively ... and some other guys stepped up in some big ways," Shields said, highlighting true freshman running back Devan Daniels who got his first start in his first collegiate game and rushed for 73 yards. "A lot of guys have stepped up, that's a theme, it's happened on defense.

"A lot of guys are getting to play, a lot of guys are getting pressed into service a little bit before they're ready, but that's the nature of the beast, football is a next-man-up sport. There's going to be injuries in this sport, that's why you keep recruiting, that's why you build a roster with some depth."

It's been a factor for Northern State as well Shields noted, as the Wolves have just a win over the University of Mary this season after going 6-5 last fall, which included a 38-10 in in Minot that saw NSIC Defensive Player of the Year Ian Marshall rack up four sacks.

Picked as the NSIC Preseason Defensive Player of the Year this season, the 6-foot-1, 270-pound transfer from Oklahoma State hasn't had the same kind of season, as of yet, with 7 tackles and 1 sack through the first five contests, but his presence remains a threat.

"He's a special player," Shields said, "and they have some other good, physical guys up front with him too, so they present a lot of problems."

Marshall's influence may have opened the door for other Wolves defenders to make an impact, like 6-3, 205-pound junior linebacker Charlie Larson who is No. 2 in the NSIC with 37 tackles. He leads a Northern State defense that is fifth in the league against the run, allowing 138.6 yards per game, that has 11 sacks, and three interceptions.

On the other side of the ball, 6-3, 190-pound wide receiver Dewaylon Ingram leads the NSIC as the lone receiver averaging more than 100 yards per game as he's caught 31 passes for 536 yards (107.2 ypg) and five touchdowns. He leads a Wolves passing attack that ranks No. 3 in the NSIC averaging 267.2 yards per game.

He finds himself catching passes from junior transfer Anthony Vespo (6-2, 220) and redshirt freshman Colton Hackel (6-2, 220) who have teamed up to complete 93-of-173 passes for 1,315 yards and 8 TDs.

A tandem of running backs lead the way for the Wolves on the ground, as well, in senior Brett Brenton (5-10, 205), who has 196 yards rushing and 2 TDs, and junior Stanley Haskins (5-8, 180), who has 200 yards rushing and 2 TDs, also.

While the Beavers will look to slow down Northern State's offensive weapons, and find ways to win the battle against the Wolves top-notch defense, Shields says the true key remains Minot State itself.

"We just need to keep the arrow pointed up, we need to keep working hard, we need to keep playing together, we need to play with fanatical effort and like I said, take care of the ball offensively, and like I said, be opportunistic defensively."