Box Score MOORHEAD, Minn. – Minot State University's defense set the tone early on.

And, with the offense coming alive, the Beavers officially have a Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference winning streak.

Minot State held Minnesota State-Moorhead to 274 total yards and turned the Dragons over four times in a 31-10 win in NSIC football Saturday at Alex Nemzek Stadium.

“You have to be assignment sharp with them and, while I'm not sure the surface warrants a good pass rush, I thought we at least moved him around a little bit,” MISU head coach Paul Rudolph said. “We certainly harassed him.”

The Beavers (3-6 overall, 3-6 NSIC, 3-2 NSIC North) were credited with five sacks and forced MSU-M's Jake Hodge into two interceptions, including one by linebacker Brett Mohr (Sr., Southey, Saskatchewan). Mohr had a monster game, finishing with 14 tackles, 3.5 tackles for a loss, a sack and the interception.

“We didn't blitz much, just got good pressure on them with our guys up front,” he said. “It was physical football, they are a good team and did some good things, but we stayed assignment sharp.”

The Beavers raced to a 10-0 lead thanks to the first interception for Chad Marshall (Jr., LB, Hazen, N.D.) on the season, setting up an Aaron La Deaux (Fr., K/P, Port Orchard, Wash.) 23-yard field goal, and a poor punt, setting up a Glyn Borel (Jr., WR, San Jose, Calif.) 23-yard run.

“Maybe we are coming of age a little,” MISU head coach Paul Rudolph said of his offense. “When we can rush the ball, it takes some of the pressure off. We did a good job of mixing and matching at times.”

But MSU Moorhead (1-8, 1-8, 1-4) didn't go away, getting a Wes Kramer field goal in the second quarter to cut the lead to a touchdown heading into the half.

After the teams traded TDs – a 1-yard sneak by Zac Cunha (Fr., QB, Rocklin, Calif.) for MISU and a 14-yard run by Brandon Schell for MSUM – Minot State's freshman Randel Barber (RB, Maricopa, Calif.) took over. He scored from 1-yard out to cap a 6 play, 69 yard drive to give the Beavers a 24-10 lead and then scored on a 17-yard run late in the fourth quarter to ice the game.

The only real negative for the Beavers were turnovers. While Minot State finished a plus-1 for the game, MISU fumbled four times, losing two, and Cunha was intercepted in the first half.

“I don't know if we are protecting it enough and maybe a little bit of it is in our heads now,” Rudolph said of the fumbles. “We need to just line up and play the other team.”

Barber finished with 93 yards rushing – a career high – on just 15 carries and, coupled with senior Blake Eggl's 21 carries for 89 yards, the Beavers rushed for 204 yards. Cunha was again efficient as he was 13 for 18 for 149 yards. Borel caught four passes for 59 yards to pace the receivers.

Schell was the leading rusher for MSU-M, gaining 49 yards and the one touchdown.

Minot State's Marshall also had a solid day, finishing with eight tackles and the interception. Logan Jones (Jr., DL, Lethbridge, Alberta) finished with six tackles, a sack and two tackles for a loss, while Claude Richards (R-Fr., DL, Loxahatchee, Fla.) had six tackles, two sacks and forced a fumble.

The Beavers will look to extend their winning streak to three games as they return home for a Saturday clash with St. Cloud State in the home finale at Herb Parker Stadium.