MINOT, North Dakota -- Minot State put together an explosive 332-yard output on the ground, including 178 yards from Brandon Hines Jr., and four rushing touchdowns, but fell 49-36 to Northern State Saturday afternoon at home at Herb Parker Stadium.
"Credit to them, they do what they do and they do it well," Minot State head coach Ian Shields said regarding Northern. "They did a nice job offensively and we had a hard time getting off the field."
The Wolves improved to 7-3 on the year and 6-3 in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play, while the Beavers fell to 3-7 overall and 3-6 in conference matchups.
"I'm proud of our resiliency and the fight," Shields said. "But the ring is hollow when you don't come up with more points than the other team."
Hines Jr. paced the Beavers rushing attack by accumulating 178 yards and two touchdowns over the course of the game, averaging 13.7 yards per carry. Jett Lundeen also added 77 yards and two touchdowns on the ground, averaging 4.1 yards per carry.
After Hines Jr.'s performance today, he is now third of all-time for both scoring and rushing yards for the Beavers. He needs 19 more points for single-season scoring and 138 rushing yards to break the all time single-season rushing yard record.
"It hurts right now for the seniors," Shields said. "We've got to be better than that."
Lundeen's most prolific target in the ballgame was Matyas Bily, who caught two passes for 45 yards and one touchdown.
Kyler Smith paced the Minot State defensive effort, recording three tackles and one recovered fumble.
Minot State put together a strong performance on the ground, totaling 313 net rushing yards while averaging 7.1 yards per carry and out-rushing Northern State by 122 yards. Minot State converted on 42.9 percent of third-down attempts on the day. The Beavers also went 3-for-5 on fourth down.
"We have resilient guys," Shields added. "Our guys are resilient, they believe in each other."
Minot State travels down to the University of Minnesota-Duluth next Saturday on November 14 for a 12 pm matchup against the Bulldogs, the Beavers' last game of the season.
How It Happened
Minot State scored on the game's opening drive to take a 7-0 lead off a 70 yard run from Hines Jr. Northern State then scored four touchdowns to take a 28-7 lead before the Beavers put a touchdown on the board to close the gap and make it a 28-13 game.
Minot State narrowed Northern State's lead with a touchdown with :03 remaining in the second quarter to make it 28-21. Northern State scored to extend its lead to 42-21 before the Beavers got on the scoreboard again to narrow the gap and make it a 42-28 game.
Northern State expanded its lead to 49-28 until Minot State got on the scoreboard again to narrow the gap with :33 left in the fourth quarter and make it a 49-36 game. Neither team scored again in the game.
Game Notes
» Minot State had two players reach the promised land multiple times, as Lundeen scored two touchdowns and Hines Jr. added another two.
» Northern State outgained Minot State 465-464 in the contest.
» Minot State had their highest scoring quarter in the fourth period, when they put up 15 points.
» Minot State converted 6 of 14 third downs while Northern State was successful on 8 of 11.
» The Beavers had two players with more than eight tackles in the ballgame led by Kevin Speed, who had 12.
» Minot State went 3-for-5 on fourth down, converting on 60 percent of attempts.
» The Beavers didn't allow a sack in the contest.
