Box Score MINOT, N.D. – Minot State University scored what would have been a game-tying touchdown with just over two minutes remaining, but Minnesota State-Moorhead blocked the extra point to preserve a wild 31-30 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference football win Saturday at Herb Parker Stadium.

The Beavers' Jarvis Mustipher (R-Fr., RB, Melbourne, Fla.) capped a three-play, 48-yard drive that took just 1:06 to cut the lead to 31-30, but MSU-M's Steve Schutz was able to get a hand on the ensuing PAT to help the Dragons hold on.

"Well, we weren't quite good enough today," said MISU head coach Paul Rudolph. "We gave up too many easy scores and just weren't good enough. It was kind of an up and down game. We did some decent things and controlled the game through two quarter, but we just needed more points in the third and fourth quarters."

The game finished with three ties and three lead changes along with 711 yards of total offense.

Minot State (2-7 overall, 2-7 NSIC, 1-4 NSIC North) took a 17-14 lead into halftime with two big plays, first getting a 98-yard kickoff return for a touchdown from Leon La Deaux (Jr., WR, Port Orchard, Wash.) after the Dragons took a 14-7 lead with a long pass. LaDeaux swept around to the right and blasted down the sidelines for his first special team's TD in a Beavers' uniform.

"It's never fun losing, doesn't matter if it's losing by one or getting blown out by 50," LaDeaux said. "They all hurt and we don't enjoy it; we want to win."

The second big play came just before the halftime whistle as Logan Jones (Sr., DL, Lethbridge, Alberta) intercepted a tipped pass at the Beavers' 30 and rumbled to the MSU-M 21 with just 51 seconds remaining in the half to set up a Brian Gutierrez (Jr., K, Granada Hills, Calif.) field goal.

 "We made some good efforts to get those turnovers today," Rudolph said. "You don't come out and scheme to get turnovers, you just try to make plays and we were able to do that."
Minot State also took the opening kickoff and marched in for a score as Porter Sturm (So., WR, Roy, Mont.) hauled in a 14-yard TD pass from Zac Cunha (So., QB, Rocklin, Calif.) just 1:44 into the third quarter as the Beavers went up 24-14.

But MISU couldn't give the knockout blow, partly due to two failed fourth down conversions inside the Dragons' 5. The Beavers had two incomplete passes from the MSU-M 2 on its second possession in the third quarter up 24-14 and Cunha was stopped a yard shy on 4th-and-goal from the 5 after a great nine minute drive with just 5:22 to play in the fourth quarter.

"Anytime a coach decides to go for it on fourth down, we take it personally and it means a lot to us that he has faith in us to execute," LaDeaux said. "We are 100 percent behind coach's call and unfortunately we just didn't execute when we needed to."

The Dragons (3-6, 3-6, 3-2) capitalized on those to erase the 10-point deficit with 17 straight points in the fourth quarter. After the Sturm score for a 24-14 MISU lead, Wes Kramer connected on a 20-yard field goal and Adam Jiskra and Dan Grande both hauled in TD passes to make it 31-24 in favor of MSU-M.

The Dragons outgained Minot State by a yard, 356-355. MSU-M finished with 122 rushing yards led by 61 from Zayne Medhaug, while Hodge was 25 for 49 for 356 yards and 4 TDs. Cory Ambrose hauled in a team-high eight catches for 151 yards and a score, while Grande had two touchdown receptions.

Minot State primarily gained yards through the air as well as Cunha was 28 of 44 for 355 yards and two TDs. Wayne Peters (Sr., WR, Carson, Calif.) finished with 169 yards receiving on eight catches and one touchdown, LaDeaux finished with nine catches for 75 yards and Sturm caught six passes for 74 yards and a score. Mustipher finished with 90 yards on 18 carries to lead the ground game.

"It was nine versus seven basically all day in the run game so we wanted to come out and pass," Rudolph said. "We had to be able to throw it well, but it all starts with protection. You have to be able to protect otherwise the rest of it doesn't matter too much."

Jeff Buchert (Sr. DB, Plainfield, Conn.) and Casey Weinmann (Jr., LB, Selz, N.D.) finished with nine tackles each and Levi Freidt (Jr., DB, Minot, N.D.) joined Jones with an interception.

Minot State plays its final away game for the 2013 season at No. 22 St. Cloud State Saturday starting at 1 p.m.