MINOT, N.D. – A formable opponent and a familiar stretch did Minot State University football in Saturday.

The Beavers gave up 14 points in the final 4:57 of the second quarter and Minnesota Duluth's defense allowed the Beavers just 181 yards in total offense as UMD pulled away for a 38-7 win over MSU in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play Saturday at Herb Parker Stadium.

"We felt good about it (our offensive game plan) going in, but it wasn't the right mix of things," said MSU head coach Tyler Hughes. "We weren't good offensively and as I told the players after the game, that's on me. We obviously didn't have a good enough plan for what they were doing."

Still, the Beavers trailed just 10-7 after Jarvis Mustipher raced 55 yards nearly untouched on a fourth-and-1 play from the Beavers 45. MSU's defense had bent a couple times, had a key interception from Obinna Nwachukwu and had overcome a couple of bad spots due to MSU turnovers on offense.

"We were definitely fired up with Chase Kimble being here to start the game," said MSU senior linebacker Trevin Swensen. "That is what was driving us in the first half. It's frustrating. In the first half, we're a good team. We've been a good team in the first half all year. For some reason we can't come out in the second and replicate what we did in the first."

The Beavers honored Kimble in the pregame with a ceremony and a video. The former MSU wide receiver suffered a spinal cord injury in last season's finale at Duluth and has been recovering since in his hometown of Houston, Texas. He walked to the 50 yard line in the pregame to the applause of both teams and the 1,394 in attendance.

MSU (1-5 overall, 1-5 NSIC, 0-2 NSIC North) struggled to run the ball all day, finishing with just 51 yards on 32 attempts, with 55 coming on the TD run. UMD, on the other hand, rushed for 194 yards and held a 516-181 total yard advantage.

The Bulldogs pushed the 10-7 lead to 17-7 and then 24-7 at halftime with two great catches by Beau Bofferding. The first was a diving catch in the left corner and 4:30 later, he caught an over-the-shoulder TD from Drew Bauer.

MSU couldn't sustain big drive and stalled twice in the UMD end in the second half after long passes. The Beavers finished with just nine first downs, a season low, and turned the ball over on fumbles three times in the game.

Bauer finished with 243 yards passing and three TDs for UMD. Darren Walker rushed for 84 yards, while Nate Ricci caught four passes for 106 yards and a second-half score in the win.

Mustipher rushed for 54 yards on 12 carries to lead the Beavers. Isaiah Weed passed for 130 yards, hitting nine different receivers, but only Lavante Bushnell caught more than one pass, hauling in two for 35 yards.

Donnell Vercher paced the Beavers defense with 13 tackles, two pass breakups and a huge hit on a pass breakup in the second half. Swensen added 12 tackles and a sack, while Bryce Broome added 11 tackles.

The Beavers will be back on the field next week traveling to No. 25 ranked Bemidji State.



About Minot State
Minot State University is a member of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) and NCAA Division II offering 14 men's and women's varsity intercollegiate athletics programs. The NSIC is a premier NCAA DII, 16-member conference featuring teams in North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Nebraska and Iowa. The Beavers are the only public NCAA Division II institution in the state of North Dakota.