Minot State Football begins its two-game road trip with the Battle of the Beavers

football
October 18, 2024

BEMIDJI, MN. – It’s a dogfight in the NSIC rankings. Despite two straight losses, Minot State football remains solidly in the middle of the pack and looks to make more lemonade after a 4-1 start.

Just last Saturday, October 12th, the Beavers suffered their first home loss. Still, staying within touching distance of No. 20 and reigning NSIC champion Augustana was no small feat as that program continues to pave the way for a unique season never before seen in the D2 era.

Coach Shields was pleased with some areas of the game, but a slow start and some self-inflicted negatives (SIN) were difficult to overcome.

“It’s the first time we’ve really hurt ourselves all season… we were the least penalized team in the country going into this game, now we’re off offense and there’s about 150 left on the field with the penalties. You lose drives and you lose possessions,” Shields said.

The Beavers must focus on returning to their identity and winning formula as they travel to Bemidji, Minnesota to re-enact the “Battle of the Beavers.”

Minot State (4-3, 3-3 NSIC) takes on the other Beavers, that is Bemidji State (4-2, 3-2 NSIC) for a gridiron showdown. Kick-off is scheduled for Saturday at 1:00 p.m. at Chet Anderson Stadium.

“They are really talented. You’re doing a good job. The offensive line and offense are doing a good job. Their quarterback distributes it, and he also uses his legs, so that’s always a challenge… there are other issues on defense. They” “They are top 20 in the country in scoring defense. They give up close to 15 points a game, and any time a team can do that, they’re as good as it gets,” Shields said, crediting the Bemidji defense.

Minot State enters the conference with an even record after last weekend’s 20-7 loss to Augustana, but still a game over .500 overall. The Beavers of Bemidji appear ready to play as they lost a 14-13 contest to Northern State in heartbreaking fashion.

As far as the all-time series goes, Minot was busy with the fight bus in the Bemidji encounter. BSU owns the series with a record of 22-1. Just like most other games this season, this version of the Beavers (Minot) will look to change the score and the outcome. Bemidji has caused all sorts of problems for Minot offensively, having scored 40 or more points since 2017. The last game ended on October 1, 2022 with a 59-14 loss for Minot at Herb Parker Stadium.

The talented Bemidji offense is led by dual-threat quarterback Sam McGath. He threw for 1,310 yards and 14 touchdowns in 6 games. He also rushed for 218 yards on the ground. The kicker, however, is that McGath has seven interceptions this year, which the Minot State defense can take advantage of in the turnover battle.

Jayden Washington leads Bemidji’s rushing attack, carrying the ball 390 yards with two additional touchdowns. While those numbers are solid, he has a favorable yards-per-carry average of 5.4.

The best person to watch out for over the radio is Brice Peters. He is the real No. 1 target for McGath. He accounted for 612 receiving yards and reached the end zone 8 times.

On defense there is a two-headed monster of Marcus Hansen and Stephen Hoffman. Both Bemidji players were spoilsports everywhere. Hansen sacked the quarterback 3.5 times while producing 5.5 TFL. Hoffman is no different, his 3 sacks and 6 TFL make for a dynamic duo on the front seven. Colton Hinrichs handles the tackling task well, with 37 total tackles leading the team.

The ground-and-pound run style continues to be the name of the game for Minot State. It starts with Evan Lovettwho has accumulated 518 yards as a starting running back to this point in the season. For quarterback Carson ChrismanHe had no problem reaching 300 yards rushing this year. He added another touchdown to bring his total to 7. For all combinations of talents in the skill position, this collective group achieves another 1^st Rank for rushing yards and rushing yards per game in the Northern Sun Conference.

The No. 5 goal defense in the NSIC doesn’t see too many significant changes on the front seven. Julian Kameristy is the leader in both statistical categories with 5.5 TFL and 2.5 sacks. Kevin Speedwho was a recent guest on the “Inside the Dam” podcast, leads Minot State with 35 tackles.

Minot State and Coach Shields aren’t worried about who’s standing in their way, even if Bemidji is hungry to bounce back after a tough loss on their part.

“Our focus must be on ourselves. We can’t be punished seven or eight times, that’s what we have to do. We have to maintain our stance. We have to have our eyes where they need to be. We need to know what to do when the ball is snapped and then be able to execute.”

It’s about taking care of things internally as Minot State takes on the other Beavers in the conference and looks for another result in the win column.