MINOT, North Dakota -- Wayne State (NE) achieved a 14-yard rushing touchdown with 36 seconds left in the game as Minot State lost 35-28 in heartbreaking fashion to the Wildcats on Thursday night at First Western Bank Field at Herb Parker Stadium.
The Wildcats improved to 2-0 on the year and 1-0 in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) play, while the Beavers fell to 0-2 overall and 0-1 in conference matchups.
Brandon Hines Jr. led the Beavers' rushing attack by accumulating 174 yards and two touchdowns over the course of the game, averaging 9.7 yards per carry. "Brandon Hines is a difference maker and a special player," head coach Ian Shields said about Hines. "But he's not doing it alone, he's getting a lot of help from some of the unsung heroes like Tyler Stonebraker."
Sam Buckhanan also added 69 yards on the ground, averaging 4.6 yards per carry, while Jett Lundeen hauled in one catch for 32 yards.
RJ Livingston showed out for the Minot State defense, recording one recovered fumble towards the end of the fourth quarter, which led to a touchdown on the next drive for the Beavers offense.
The Beavers forced one turnover in Thursday's contest, with Minot State turning that takeaway into eight points. Minot State also had an excellent showing on the ground, racking up 334 rushing yards while averaging 5.4 yards per carry and out-rushing Wayne State (NE) by 73 yards.
Defensively, Minot State held up fairly well against the Wayne State (NE) passing attack, holding the Wildcats to 119 yards through the air.
How It Happened
Minot State took a 7-0 lead over Wayne State after scoring the game's first points with 2:34 left in the first quarter. Wayne State then scored twice to take a 14-7 lead before the Beavers put a field goal on the board to close the gap and make it a 14-10 game.
Minot State followed with a Hines Jr. six-yard touchdown run at the 8:13 mark in the third quarter and grabbed a 17-14 lead in the process. The Beavers kept building their lead, scoring again to go on top 20-14 with a field goal.
After Wayne State (NE) grabbed a 28-20 lead, Minot State responded with a score of their own: a two-yard touchdown run and a two-point conversion thanks to a recovered fumble by the Beavers to even things up at 28-28 with 1:24 left in the fourth quarter. However, Minot State didn't score again and Wayne State (NE) tacked on seven more points to finish off the scoring.
After another close loss, the Beavers look to take time to learn and capitalize against their next opponent, Augustana University, during week 3. "We need to reset, refresh, and take a deep breath and keep getting better," Shields said.
Moving ahead into week 3 against Augustana, the Beavers look for redemption after two close losses. For Coach Shields, he knows that there is still a lot of potential ahead. "I'm really proud of them, we put up a fight," Shields noted. "We've got a good football team and we're pretty close to being a different story."
The Beavers play at Augustana University on Saturday, September 12, at 1 pm.
Game Notes
» Minot State out-gained Wayne State (NE) 419-380, including a 334-261 advantage on the ground.
» Minot State had their highest scoring quarter in the fourth period, when they put up 11 points.
» Minot State converted 4 of 13 third downs while Wayne State (NE) was successful on 6 of 14.
» Austin Young led the Beavers with eight tackles.
» Brady McGill led the Wildcats passing attack, completing 11 of his 21 attempts for 119 yards and two touchdowns.
» Dawson Forgy led the Wayne State (NE) rushing attack with 147 yards and two touchdowns.
This story created through content automation technology from Data Skrive.
