Kari Gibb/MDN MSU junior quarterback Carson Chrisman (8) hands the ball off to senior running back Evan Lovitt (0) in previous action. The Beavers were at Minnesota, Duluth last weekend and will host Minnesota State University, Moorhead on Saturday, November 2, at Herb Parker Stadium.

DULUTH, Minn. –Minot State University (MSU) fell 35-21 to Minnesota-Duluth on the road Saturday afternoon, October 26.

The Bulldogs improved to 4-4 on the year and 3-4 in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) play, while the Beavers fell to 4-5 overall and 3-5 in conference matchups.

It was another quality opponent on the other side for the Beavers, despite Duluth facing a 3-game losing streak. Head coach Ian Shields saw more chances for MSU to strike, but it fell short once again.

“We had opportunities in all three phases of the game to make it look different, but didn’t capitalize upon those consistently enough,” said Shields. “We’re close, we’re right there, and we’re consistently competing against good teams now, but that’s not the objective, the objective is to play our best football and to win.”

A point of emphasis defining the result was Duluth’s presence at the line of scrimmage.

“Give credit to Duluth, they are a big and physical group on both sides of the ball up front. That’s football at its essence – you have to win up front, and today that was a challenge for us,” said Shields.

It proved to be a major case as the Bulldogs garnered nearly 300 yards on the ground, as was evidence to suggest.

Evan Lovett led all Beavers rushers with 43 yards in the contest. Tyler Stonebraker also added 27 yards on the ground, averaging 5.4 yards per carry. Jonathan Noriega pulled in four catches for 96 yards and one score.

Brayan Augustin led the MSU defensive effort, recording six tackles and one interception. Isaak Guzman collected 1.5 tackles for loss (TFL), along with 1 TFL each from Josh Will and Logan Rouse. Deshawn Carter had a pass breakup in the loss.

The Beavers won the turnover battle in Saturday’s game, forcing one turnover while avoiding any giveaways, with MSU turning that takeaway into seven points.

Defensively, MSU held up well against the Minnesota-Duluth passing attack, holding the Bulldogs to 156 yards through the air.

Even as another opportunity falls short, the effort remains apparent in this Beaver team.

“I was proud of our effort and the fortitude our squad displayed today – there’s certainly no quit in this group,” said Shields.

It is now about taking things to another level as the Beavers make their way back to Minot to finish out the regular season at home.

“We need to coach better, practice better, lift better, and do everything just a little better. If we can do that, we can accomplish some great things to finish this season – I believe that we will,” said Shields

How It Happened

MSU responded to an early 14-0 Minnesota-Duluth lead with a second quarter touchdown to narrow the deficit to 14-7. The Beavers countered with a touchdown after Minnesota-Duluth increased its lead to 21-7 to make it a 21-14 game.

Minnesota-Duluth scored to increase their lead to 28-14 before Minot State answered with 1:38 left in the third quarter and narrowed the advantage to 28-21. Minot State went scoreless the rest of the game while Minnesota-Duluth tacked on seven points to finish off the scoring.

Game Notes

— Minnesota-Duluth outgained MSU 448-212 in the contest.

— MSU won the turnover battle 1-0 after picking off one pass and not turning the ball over on offense

— MSU tallied 14 points in the third quarter, accounting for 66.7% of their total score.

— MSU converted 4 of 14 third downs while Minnesota-Duluth was successful on 4 of 13.

— MSU was only penalized once all day.

— Logan Rouse led the Beavers with eight tackles.

— Carson Chrisman punted once for the Beavers with a 45 yard punt while pinning the Bulldogs inside their own 20 one time.

— MSU went 1-for-2 on fourth down, converting on 50 percent of attempts.

— The Beavers didn’t allow a sack in the contest.

— Kyle Walljasper led the Bulldogs passing attack, completing 15 of his 22 attempts for 156 yards and two touchdowns with one interception.

— Alex Riley led the Minnesota-Duluth rushing attack with 103 yards and three touchdowns.