EMPORIA, Kansas -- Minot State put together a big 216-yard showing on the ground, but fell 27-7 to Emporia State Thursday night on the road at Jones Field at Welch Stadium.
The Hornets improved to 1-0 on the season while the Beavers dropped to 0-1.
Head coach Ian Shields shared his thoughts following the first game of the season:
"Certainly disappointed in the result as would be expected. Give credit to Emporia State - they are an excellent squad and controlled the contest. Their defense was physical, ran well, and executed better than our offense did. We need to collectively improve fundamentally and play with more physicality both up front and on the perimeter. Defensively, we struggled with their tempo early and getting off the field in critical situations- they were hyper efficient in their execution. There are definitely some positives mixed in there and some bright spots throughout the contest. I thought we responded well in the second half and kept playing hard and competing. Bottom line, we need to grow from this experience and improve - we have some young players that got their first taste of college football tonight and I believe they will get better. There is no time to feel sorry for ourselves as we're back on the road against a nationally ranked Mankato squad next week."
Evan Lovett led all Beavers rushers with 62 yards in the contest, picking up 5.2 yards per carry. Carson Chrisman also added 62 yards on the ground, averaging 4.8 yards per carry. Devan Daniels chipped in with 60 yards as well, averaging 4.3 yards per carry.
Chrisman's most prolific target in the ballgame was Jonathan Noriega, who caught one pass for 13 yards.
Vila Jozama showed out for the Minot State defense, collecting one interception.
The Beavers forced one turnover in Thursday's contest, with Minot State turning that takeaway into seven points. Minot State put together a big showing on the ground, racking up 216 rushing yards while averaging 3.7 yards per carry and out-rushing Emporia State by 109 yards.
Minot State's defense held up fairly well against the run, limiting Emporia State to 107 yards on the ground.
How It Happened
Emporia State opened up a 27-0 lead, but Minot State scored with 12:00 left in the fourth quarter to cut the deficit to 27-7. Blake Espino scored the touchdown for the Beavers, his first collegiate touchdown. Neither team scored again in the game.
Game Notes
» Emporia State outgained Minot State 399-229 in the contest.
» Minot State tallied 7 points in the fourth quarter, accounting for 100% of their total score.
» Minot State converted 5 of 17 third downs while Emporia State was successful on 7 of 16.
» Logan Matthews punted six times for the Beavers with an average of 50.5 yards per punt while pinning the Hornets inside their own 20 three times.
» Minot State went 2-for-4 on fourth down, converting on 50 percent of attempts.
» The Beavers didn't allow a sack in the contest.
» Minot State won the time of possession battle 34:44 to 25:16.
» Ben Harris led the Hornets passing attack, completing 37 of his 52 attempts for 292 yards and two touchdowns with one interception.
» Malik O'Atis was Emporia State's leading receiver with 90 yards and one touchdown.
This story created through content automation technology from Data Skrive.
