DATE: September 23, 2006
Beavers notch highest-scoring day against Golden Eagles since 1933; defense records five interceptions, allows just 15 yards rushing

BEMIDJI, Minn. (Chet Anderson Stadium) - Bemidji State dominated all phases of play, rolling up its highest point total against Minn.-Crookston since 1933 and riding a stifling performance by its defense to crush the Golden Eagles, 56-7, this afternoon in BSU’s first home-field Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference contest of the season.

Golden Eagle quarterbacks Josh Kreutner and Chris Zellmer combined to throw five interceptions, all of which led to BSU touchdowns, and led an offense which generated just 156 total yards on 55 snaps. The Golden Eagle ground game was snuffed out to the tune of 15 net rushing yards on 28 carries - an average of 0.5 yards per rush. The yardage total is tied for the fourth-lowest allowed by a BSU defense since 1999, and Crookston’s 15 rushing yards are the third-lowest allowed by the Beavers in the same time span and marks just the fourth time since ‘99 BSU has allowed fewer than 50 yards rushing in a game.

Crookston did not take a snap in BSU territory until its fourth play of the second quarter, and in total crossed midfield just three times on 11 drives. The third of those three drives came in the final two minutes and started at the BSU 39-yard line after Tiger Ellison fumbled on a punt return, a drive which led to the only Golden Eagle touchdown of the contest. The dominant performance by the defense helped BSU average its own 45-yard line to start a drive, with four of its 12 drives starting in Crookston territory.

Offensively, Bemidji State dedicated itself to the ground game and behind Tyler Olson (Alvarado, Minn.) turned in one of its best rushing days in two years. The Beavers piled up 54 rushing attempts, their most in a game since rushing 55 times against Concordia-St. Paul on Sept. 25, 2004, for 282 yards and six touchdowns. The yardage total was BSU’s most since a 358-yard day against the same Golden Eagles in 2005, and BSU ran for six touchdowns for the first time since Sept. 18, 2004, in a 58-14 win over Wis.-River Falls. BSU was not stopped for a loss once on its 54 rush attempts.

Olson carried 22 times for 138 yards and had his number called for four of the six BSU touchdowns on the ground in his best afternoon since 2004. His four rushing touchdowns tied his career high, set in his first career start at Minnesota State on Aug. 26, 2004, and his 138 yards are his most in a game since a 149-yard afternoon at MSU-Moorhead on Oct. 30, 2004.

The effort helped Olson become just the fifth running back in BSU history to reach 2,000 career rushing yards with 20 rushing touchdowns (2,012/22), and his second carry of the day made him the sixth Beaver to reach 400 for his career.

Zellmer was intercepted on the second play from scrimmage to set the Beavers up at the Crookston 34, and BSU scored five plays later on the first of Olson’s four touchdowns to spark the rout. Kreutner’s first interception two drives later set BSU up at the Crookston 15, and five consecutive Olson rushes led him to the end zone for the second time in the first quarter.

BSU added two more touchdowns in the second quarter - a six-yard run by Olson after Zellmer’s second interception and a 32-yard pass from Josh Williams (Downey, Calif.) to Anthony Schreiber (Berkeley, Ill.) to cap a seven-play, 71-yard scoring march - and took a 28-0 lead into halftime.

BSU took the opening kickoff of the second half and marched 65 yards in just six plays, and Olson’s third touchdown helped BSU grab a 35-0 advantage.

Jason Kunz (Duluth, Minn.), who had intercepted Zellmer to set up Olson’s second-quarter touchdown, recorded his second oskie of the afternoon when he intercepted Kreutner on a 4th and 17 play, returning the ball 46 yards to set up BSU’s sixth touchdown of the day on a five-yard pass from Williams to George Kadlec (Chicago, Ill.). Eurice Watson (Dayton, Ohio) scored from one yard out seven plays after Kreutner’s third interception of the game, helping BSU build a 42-0 lead after three quarters.

After Watson’s touchdown, the Golden Eagles went three-and-out, and BSU took over with 43 seconds to play in the third quarter at their own 24-yard line. It would not relinquish the ball until less than five minutes remained in the contest, as backup quarterback Cory Wardrope (Anchorage, Alaska) assembled a 19-play, 76-yard touchdown march which devoured 11:03 of clock time. Kurt Etchison (Bemidji, Minn.) capped the drive with his first career touchdown from seven yards out.

The 19-play drive was the longest at BSU since a 19-play touchdown drive at MSU-Moorhead on Oct. 29, 2005, while no BSU scoring drive since the start of the 1996 season has burned more time off the clock.

Williams finished his afternoon 12-of-21 for 138 yards and two touchdowns, while Wardrope went 2-for-3 for 20 yards during his relief stint. The pair completed passes to six different receivers, with Schreiber hauling in a game-high five passes for 89 yards and a touchdown. His first catch of the day, a 14-yard grab on BSU’s second play from scrimmage, made him the ninth player in BSU history to reach 100 career receptions, and his touchdown catch was the 12th of his career to pull him into a three-way tie for eighth all-time at BSU.

Kicker Michael McDonald (Muskegon, Mich.) set a BSU single-game record with eight successful PAT kicks on eight tries. Six previous BSU kickers had recorded seven in a game, including McDonald in the 2004 victory over Wis.-River Falls. His eight points moved him to 135 for his career, moving him past Mike Guzzo ‘79 into third place on BSU’s career list for points scored by a kicker. He trails Charlie Warring ‘84 by one point for second place and needs just 21 points to move past Neil Collier ‘02 and become BSU’s career leader.

Bemidji State’s 56-7 victory over Minn.-Crookston helped the Beavers improve to 12-1 all-time against the Golden Eagles, including a perfect 6-0 in Bemidji, and extend its winning streak in the series to eight. BSU’s eight-game winning streak over Minn.-Crookston is tied with its current eight-game winning streak against Southwest Minnesota State as its longest ever against a conference opponent. BSU’s 56 points scored were its most against the Golden Eagles since a 64-6 victory on Oct. 28, 1933, with the 49-point margin of victory also being its widest in the series since that 1933 contest. Crookston’s seven points marked its lowest point total against BSU in Bemidji since a 25-0 shutout on Nov. 14, 1930.

With the victory, Bemidji State improved to 3-1 overall and 2-0 in NSIC play while Minn.-Crookston fell to 0-4 and 0-2 in the NSIC. BSU is back in action Saturday, Sept. 30 at Northern State. Kickoff from Swisher Field in Aberdeen, S.D. is slated for 1:00 p.m. Central time.

NOTES: BSU won its home NSIC opener for the fifth consecutive season... BSU is 2-0 in the NSIC for just the third time in 11 years under Jeff Tesch... BSU’s five interceptions are its most in a single game since the start of the 1999 season; at this time, no team single-game record for interceptions exists.

--beavers--