Winona, MN -- Cody Raetzman grabbed two interceptions, but Minot State fell to Winona State 35-25 on the road Saturday afternoon.
The Warriors improved to 2-2 on the year and 2-1 in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play, while the Beavers fell to 0-4 overall and 0-3 in conference matchups.

"It's a frustrating position to be in right now. We're playing hard, but not playing well enough to win…" head coach Ian Shields said after the game. "It's always a challenge to win on the road in the NSIC, and credit to Winona for executing in all three phases today and securing the victory."

Carson Chrisman led Minot State's passing attack with 70 yards through the air, tossing two touchdowns without throwing an interception.

Evan Lovett led all Beavers rushers with 54 yards and one touchdown in the contest. Chrisman also added 31 yards on the ground.

"We struggled offensively to establish any rhythm or consistency — they controlled the line of scrimmage and we couldn't sustain much at all," Shields said. "We did a poor job executing on 3rd & 4th down and that's what we're built for…"

Gage Cavanaugh pulled in two catches for 50 yards and one score.

In addition to Raetzman's two interceptions, the defender had six tackles to lead the Beavers defensively. Noah Iosefa added six tackles and one recovered fumble and Cody Grossinger tacked on four tackles, 1.5 TFL, and 1.5 sacks.

"Defensively, we hung in there and got a few takeaways, which was great to see," Shield added. "Winona had some success in the run game and did a nice job converting in the critical situations — we need to get stops on 3rd down and be better in the red zone, but again it comes down to execution and making plays…"

The Beavers won the turnover battle in Saturday's game, forcing three turnovers while avoiding any giveaways, with Minot State turning those takeaways into 10 points.

Defensively, Minot State held up fairly well against the Winona State passing attack, holding the Warriors to 152 yards through the air. The Beavers pestered the Winona State passing attack all game long, racking up four sacks and grabbing two interceptions.

"It was unquestionably our worst day in the kicking game, and there's no way to sugar coat it," Shields said. "We gave up huge chunks of yardage there and don't hardly give ourselves a chance — critical errors on kickoff, kickoff return, and punt team that will always make it difficult to win."

How It Happened

After Winona State jumped out to a 7-0 lead, Minot State got on the board with 5:16 left in the second quarter to narrow the margin to 7-3. After Winona State scored to expand its lead to 14-3, the Beavers got on the scoreboard again to cut into the lead and make it a 14-10 game.

Winona State scored to increase their lead to 21-10 before Minot State responded with 13:29 left in the third quarter and narrowed the gap to 21-17. Winona State scored to increase its lead to 28-17 before the Beavers got on the scoreboard again to cut into the lead and make it a 28-25 game. Minot State didn't score again in the game and

Winona State added seven more points to finish off the scoring.

"We didn't expect to be sitting in this situation, but here we are," Shields said. "Our staff, starting with me, needs to do a better job in preparing this team and leading them through this — we have some tremendous young men in that locker room that are capable and that care a great deal… I believe this team has the necessary internal leadership, character, talent, and toughness to make it feel different — and it needs to."

Game Notes

» Winona State outgained Minot State 369-200 in the contest.
» Minot State won the turnover battle 3-0 after intercepting two passes and recovering one fumble.
» Minot State had their highest scoring quarter in the second period, when they put up 10 points.
» Minot State converted 2 of 10 third downs while Winona State was successful on 8 of 12.
» The Beavers had three players with more than eight tackles in the ballgame led by Jace McDonald, who had 11.
» Logan Matthews punted three times for the Beavers with an average of 45.3 yards per punt while pinning the Warriors inside their own 20 one time.
» Jackson Flottmeyer led the Warriors passing attack, completing 15 of his 22 attempts for 152 yards and three touchdowns with two interceptions.
» Anthony Powell led the Winona State rushing attack with 133 yards and two touchdowns.

This story created through content automation technology from Data Skrive.