MINOT, N.D. -- Minot State football team was well on its way to a potential surprise comeback victory and a key injury derailed the Beavers.

Rumbling for 212 yards on the ground, including a 39-yard scamper by quarterback Dawson Macleary that put the Beavers in position to possibly tie the game in the third quarter, instead Macleary was injured on the play, stalling Minot State's momentum in a 48-22 lost to Wayne State on Saturday afternoon in NSIC action at First Western Bank Field at Herb Parker Stadium.

The Wildcats improved to 4-1 on the year and 3-1 in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play, while the Beavers fell to 0-5 overall and 0-5 in conference matchups.

Macleary led Minot State's passing attack with 115 yards through the air, tossing two touchdowns without throwing an interception. The signal caller also added 59 yards on the ground before being sidelined.

Myles West led all Beavers rushers with 90 yards in the contest, picking up 5.6 yards per carry. Devan Daniels also added 63 yards on the ground.

James Mintmier reeled in two catches for 55 yards and one score. Daniel Stokes got in on the action in the passing game as well, hauling in one ball for 54 yards and one touchdown.

Isaiah Bigby showed out for the Minot State defense, collecting seven tackles, 1.0 tackle for loss, and one recovered fumble. Carson Cayko added seven tackles, 2.0 tackles for loss, one sack, forced one fumble, and had a safety, and Ryan Ten-Hulscher had 1.0 tackle for loss and one sack in the loss.

Minot State recorded a stellar performance on the ground, racking up 212 rushing yards while averaging 4.2 yards per carry.

Defensively, Minot State held up fairly well against the Wayne State passing attack, holding the Wildcats to 199 yards through the air.
 
Coach's Comments
"I thought we played hard, I thought at times we played well," Minot State head coach Ian Shields said. "I was proud of our guy's effort.
 
Coach Shields added of Macleary's injury with the Beavers trailing 27-19 midway through the third quarter: "It's a big loss, and the reason Dawson is in there - and he was playing well - he can distribute the ball through the air, he can operate, he's done a nice job adjusting, reading the option. … When Dawson went out it wasn't the same, obviously, because he's an emotional leader, he's a captain, he brings a lot of intangibles to our sideline which are missed when he's not out there."
 
How It Happened
Wayne State jumped out to a 7-0 lead, but Minot State responded to tie the game at 7-7 with 2:57 left in the first quarter as Macleary threw a 37-yard touchdown pass to Mintmier.

Wayne State then scored to take a 27-7 lead before the Beavers put a touchdown on the board to narrow the gap and make it a 27-14 game. Macleary once again struck with a long TD pass on the play, a 54-yarder to Stokes.

Minot State cut into Wayne State's lead with a 31-yard field goal by Jeremy Caruso with 1:16 remaining in the second quarter to make it 27-17, and a Cayko safety with 2:50 gone in the second half got Minot State as close as 27-19 back.

The Beavers then got that big Macleary 39-yard run on the ensuing drive, but tackled at the Wayne State 19, Macleary was injured and left the game, and the Minot State comeback threat stalled.

Wayne State scored to increase its lead to 34-19 before the Beavers got on the scoreboard again to narrow the gap and make it a 34-22 game.

Minot State didn't score again in the game and Wayne State tacked on 14 more points to finish off the scoring.

Game Notes
» Wayne State outgained Minot State 486-327 in the contest.
» Minot State had their highest scoring quarter in the second period, when they put up 10 points.
» Minot State converted 4 of 16 third downs while Wayne State was successful on 4 of 9.
» Minot State forced one red zone turnover in the contest.
» Minot State won the time of possession battle 31:36 to 27:15.
» Nick Bohn led the Wildcats passing attack, completing 15 of his 20 attempts for 199 yards and two touchdowns.
» Latravious Boyd led the Wayne State rushing attack with 196 yards and three touchdowns.

This story created through content automation technology from Data Skrive.