DATE: October 28, 2006
Beavers tie school record with sixth consecutive NSIC win; remain unbeaten in league play at 6-0

BEMIDJI, Minn. (Chet Anderson Stadium) - Bemidji State held off a late rally by the Southwest Minnesota State Mustangs, as Tony Wanie (Tomahawk, Wis.) intercepted Mustang quarterback Josh Shudlick in the end zone with 2:05 to play in the fourth quarter to help the Beavers post a 23-15 victory and remain undefeated in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play.

Wanie’s interception staved off a furious Mustang rally in the fourth quarter. BSU grabbed a 23-7 lead with five seconds remaining in the third quarter when Jared Dunn (Healdsburg, Calif.) blocked a Korey Roethler punt in the end zone, which the Mustangs fell on for a BSU safety. Jonathan Hawks (Gainesville, Ga.) returned the ensuing free kick to the Mustang 44-yard line, and a 14-yard pass from Cory Wardrope (Anchorage, Alaska) to Dan Nagengast (Plymouth, Minn.) helped drive the Beavers to the Mustang 21-yard line.

But James Moore (Houston, Texas) fumbled, and opened the door for the Mustang comeback attempt. Shudlick completed 8-of-8 passes on the ensuing Southwest Minnesota State drive, capped by a 19-yard touchdown pass to Mike Weierson, then again hit Weierson after scrambling in the backfield on a successful two-point conversion to make the score 23-15 in favor of the Beavers.

The Mustangs elected to kick away, and Hawks fielded the kick at the five yard line. He assembled a 20-yard return, but lost the ball as he was hit at the BSU 25-yard line. The Mustangs recovered with 4:48 to play in the game and began their push for overtime. Shudlick hit Jon Garcia for 15 yards on second down, leaving the Mustangs with a first-and-goal at the BSU six. Two Paul Benesh rushes left the Mustangs facing third and goal, and Shudlick dropped back, overlooked an open tight end and threw into the arms of Wanie in the end zone to all but seal the win for the Beavers.

The Mustangs outgained the Beavers on offense 321-254 behind a solid day from Shudlick. He completed 21 of 29 passes for 223 yads and a touchdown, with his lone interception coming on Wanie’s end-zone oskie in the fourth quarter. Wierson hauled in eight passes for 102 yards, both game highs, and caught the 19-yard touchdown to pull the Mustangs within eight in the fourth quarter.

The Beavers and Mustangs were deadlocked at seven entering the locker room after a defensive-oriented first half which saw the teams combine for just 267 yards of offense and 14 first downs. The Mustangs drew first blood on a one-yard Shudlick keeper to cap a 45-yard drive at 12:08 of the second quarter, but BSU answered on the following possession with a one-yard touchdown dive by Eurice Watson (Dayton, Ohio).

The 7-7 deadlock held until the third quarter, when BSU put up 16 unanswered points and seemed to wrestle the game under control. BSU took advantage of a Thomas Durham fumble when Moore rolled into the end zone on a six-yard scamper to give BSU its first lead, 14-7, with 7:32 to go in the third.

BSU pushed its lead to 21-7 after Roethler shanked a six-yard punt off the right side of his foot to set BSU up at the Mustang 34. Moore scored his second touchdown from one yard out eight plays later, and on the ensuing Mustang drive BSU put the safety on the scoreboard following Dunn’s punt block.

Southwest Minnesota State generated just 89 yards rushing, becoming the eighth of BSU’s nine 2006 opponents to rush for less than 100 yards as a team. However, the 89-yard Mustang total represents the second-highest total yielded by the Beavers this year. Benesh carried 16 times for 56 yards, becoming just the fourth running back to go over 50 yards against the BSU defense this year.

Wardrope completed 7-of-11 passes for 100 yards and was held without a touchdown, but picked up his third win in as many starts at quarterback for the Beavers. He completed passes to five different receivers, with no BSU wideout gathering more than two receptions. Moore paced the BSU ground game with 82 yards and the two third-quarter touchdowns on 22 carries. Watson added 53 yards and a score on 16 runs.

Bemidji State extended several noteable streaks with the victory. It represented BSU’s ninth consecutive win in its all-time series against Southwest Minnesota State; it gives the Beavers six consecutive conference wins for the first time since 1959 and tied for the longest streak in BSU history; and was its seventh consecutive win over NSIC opponents at Chet Anderson Stadium.

Zach Stafford (Fergus Falls, Minn.) piled up a game-high 2.5 tackles-for-loss to lead the BSU defense.

BSU improved to 18-20-1 in 39 all-time meetings with Southwest Minnesota State, including a 10-7-1 mark in Bemdiji. SMSU’s 15 points today were its highest single-game total against BSU since 2000, when BSU won a 65-63 quadruple-overtime marathon against the Mustangs on Homecoming. Since then, the Mustangs have scored a total of 48 points in their last six meetings with BSU. BSU’s 23 points are its fewest against the Mustangs since a 13-10 win in 1999, and snaps a streak of six consecutive games with 30 or more points scored in the series.

BSU secured a seven-win season for the seventh time in 11 years under head coach Jeff Tesch, and for just the 10th time in BSU’s 81-year football history.

Bemidji State (7-2 / 6-0 NSIC) takes to the road for its final two games of the 2006 regular season, starting with a road tilt next Saturday at Concordia-St. Paul.

--beavers--