DATE: Sept. 16, 2006
Beavers hold Dragons to 13 yards rushing, capture Battle Axe for record seventh consecutive season

MOORHEAD, Minn. (Alex Nemzek Stadium) - Bemidji State turned in a stifling defensive effort and limited Minnesota State-Moorhead to 13 yards rushing and 185 yards of total offense, while wide receiver Anthony Schreiber put away a victory with the first punt-return touchdown by a BSU player in nearly four years as the Beavers opened Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play with a 21-9 victory over their rival Dragons.

The win helped Bemidji State retain the Battle Axe, the fourth-oldest traveling trophy in NCAA Division II football, for a seventh consecutive season, extending its longest winning streak in the history of the series.

The first half saw the long-time rivals embroiled in a defensive struggle which saw only two drives last longer than four plays. The Beavers and Dragons each went three-and-out and lost yardage on their respective first drives of the contest, and through five combined drives the teams had advanced the football a total of 13 yards.

Moorhead finally broke through the quagmire, assembling a 33-yard field goal drive which required 14 plays and 6:31 of clock time to grind out, but Tyson Bonkoski connected from 37 yards out to give the Dragons the day’s first score.

The second quarter started in the same manner as the first, with the teams trading three-and-outs on negative-yardage drives. Beaver quarterback Josh Williams connected with Screiber for a 36-yard catch-and-run on BSU’s second drive of the second quarter to move the ball to the Dragon 12-yard line, but Eurice Watson fumbled the ball back to the hosts on the next play to stall out the first Beaver scoring opportunity of the day.

BSU forced the Dragons into their fourth three-and-out on five drives on the ensuing possession, and would take advantage of a crucial Moorhead penalty on their next possession to take the lead.

Two rushes left BSU facing a third and one situation at the Moorhead 37, where BSU head coach Jeff Tesch called running back Tyler Olson’s number on an option play. Olson’s pass to Danny Rodgers fell short, but the Dragons were caught holding and the 10-yard penalty moved the ball to the Moorhead 27 and kept the drive afloat.

BSU would score seven plays later, pounding out the final two yards on back-to-back one-yard plunges from Olson, and the Beavers grabbed a 7-3 advantage.

The Dragons recaptured the lead on their first drive of what would become a wild third quarter. Enol Gillies took the kickoff back 28 yards to start things off, and later capped a 10-play, 71-yard scoring march with a 10-yard burst at 10:09 of the third. Bonkoski missed the extra point attempt, and the Dragons led 9-7.

BSU retaliated immediately, assembling a 13-play, 77-yard scoring march almost exclusively on yardage from Williams. Williams was stellar on the drive, completing 6-of-6 passes for 57 yards, with three of the six completions going for first downs, and rushing twice for two yards. Watson atoned for his earlier fumble with a 12-yard scamper at 2:58, and Michael McDonald’s extra point kick helped the Beavers to a 14-9 lead they’d not relinquish.

The Dragons went three-and-out on their next possession. Schreiber fielded a 28-yard punt from Bonkoski and bolted 51 yards for a touchdown to put the game out of reach. It was the first career punt-return touchdown for Schreiber, and the first by a Bemidji State player since Karl Mikolon also had a 51-yard punt return touchdown on the road against the same Dragons on Oct. 26, 2002.

Neither team was able to generate much offense in the fourth quarter. BSU ended two of its three drives following the Schreiber touchdown with interceptions of Williams, and the Dragons turned the ball over on downs twice and saw time expire on their third and final drive of the fourth quarter.

Moorhead became the ninth BSU opponent since 1999 to fail to generate 200 yards of offense, and the Dragons’ total of 13 net rushing yards was the lowest by a BSU opponent since Southwest State generated just 12 yards on the ground on Oct. 19, 2002. BSU has not allowed 100 yards rushing to a team yet this season, and dating back to the last three games of 2005 has held five of its last six opponents under 100 yards rushing.

Bemidji State (2-1 / 1-0 NSIC) improved to 28-42-3 all-time against MSU-Moorhead (2-1 / 0-1 NSIC), including a 10-23-1 record in games played in Moorhead.

Bemidji State returns home on Sept. 23 to tackle the Minnesota Crookston Golden Eagles. Opening kickoff for BSU’s annual Shrine Game and the battle for the Hubcap traveling trophy is slated for 1:00 p.m Central time at BSU’s Chet Anderson Stadium.

NOTES: Bemidji State played its 400th all-time contest against NSIC opponents... BSU won its NSIC opener for just the second time in the last six seasons... BSU’s 21 points were its fewest against Moorhead since Oct. 4, 1997 (L, 36-17)... BSU held the Dragons to 14 points or less for the fourth consecutive year and the sixth time in the last seven meetings... BSU’s seven-game winning streak over MSU-Moorhead is the longest by either team in the series; Moorhead twice assembled six-game winning streaks against BSU, from 1970-75 and 1977-82... Bemidji State’s school-record streak of consecutive games with a touchdown pass was ended at 33... Schreiber’s punt return touchdown was the fifth by a Bemidji State player in the Jeff Tesch era (since 1996), and the first by a Beaver since 2002...

--beavers--