Box Score
MOORHEAD, Minn. -- The Minnesota State University Moorhead football team broke into the win column with a 35-13 win over Minnesota-Crookston in the inaugural game of the Red River Valley Showdown Series Saturday at Alex Nemzek Stadium in Moorhead, Minn. The Dragons used several big second-half plays to help finish off the home victory.

The Dragons hoisted the State Farm Insurance Traveling Trophy in celebration following Saturday's win. The trophy will be housed at MSUM until the two teams meet again in 2013.

There were several heroes in Saturday's win. Senior Tyler Brody recovered a botched punt snap in the end zone for a touchdown in the second half and also finished with seven tackles. Freshman Sheldon Jones returned an interception for a touchdown, while senior Uchenna Ogbonnaya blocked a punt. In addition to Jones, three other Dragons had interceptions: freshman safety Shea DeJong, sophomore linebacker Nick Seedorff and senior lineman Steve Parks.

The offense was led by freshman running back Zayne Medhaug, who rushed for a career-high 124 yards and a touchdown. Freshman quarterback Jake Hodge threw for 161 yards and a score and also scrambled 19 yards for a touchdown. Freshman receiver Tyler Rivard had the best game of his career as well with seven catches for 98 yards and a score.

"I thought we did a great job managing the momentum, when things were good and bad," MSUM head coach Steve Laqua said. "There were times we capitalized on the momentum, and we were certainly able to overcome some adversity."

The Dragons took the lead in the first quarter, thanks to one of the five turnovers they forced. Parks intercepted an A.J. Barge pass, giving the Dragons the ball at the UMC 48-yard line. On the next play, Hodge hit senior tight end Shawn Marlowe for a 20-yard gain, and followed that up with a 21-yard strike to Rivard. On a second-and-goal, Hodge hit freshman tight end Wade Youngblom for a touchdown, helping the Dragons take a 7-0 lead with 8:13 left in the first quarter.

"It builds confidence when you get out early," Laqua said.

Crookston came back with a 12-play, 69-yard drive and scored when Barge hit Cheatham from seven yards out early in the second quartert. However, MSUM's Anthony Binford blocked the extra point, helping the Dragons stay in the lead at 7-6.

On the ensuing drive, Hodge hit Rivard for two big plays -- a 20-yard gain and a 29-yard gain -- to set up the Dragons' second score. On a third down and long, Hodge broke free on a scramble from 19 yards out for the touchdown, pushing the Dragon lead to 14-6 with 5:55 left in the half.

The MSUM defense forced a three-and-out, and the Dragons took over at their own 48-yard line. Hode threw an incompletion on a third down; however Crookston was whistled for roughing the passer, giving MSUM an automatic first down at the Golden Eagles' 40-yard line. On the next play, Medhaug broke free for a 40-yard touchdown run, giving the Dragons a 21-6 lead with 2:40 left in the half.

"That's certainly a momentum changer to get a big run like that," Laqua said. "We  were able to get our run game going. Our offensive line has been getting better and better every week."

Late in the half, after the Dragons fumbled a punt, Crookston was threatening to cut into the lead. However, DeJong intercepted a Barge pass in the end zone to end the threat, helping MSUM take a 21-6 lead into halftime.

In the second half, UMC took the initial drive of the second half and drove into Dragon territory; however, MSUM's defense stepped up and forced a missed field goal.

The Golden Eagles closed the gap to 21-13 in the third after a Richard Haley rushing touchdown, and the score stayed that way until the third quarter.

It was then when the Dragons delivered with big plays.

It started when senior Uchenna Ogbonnaya blocked a punt, setting the Dragons up with a scoring opportunity. While the field goal missed, it did give MSUM good field position --and played a role in the team's next score.

The Dragons forced a punt attempt. The snap went over Chris Secrest's head and into the end zone, where Brody recovered it, giving the Dragons a 28-13 lead with 8:42 left in the contest.

MSUM put the game out of reach moments later, when Jones picked off a Barge pass and returned it for a score, pushing the lead to 35-13.

There was a scary moment for the Dragons in the fourth quarter as junior Brad Hauer was injured on a kickoff and taken from the field by stretcher. According to Laqua, Hauer gave a thumbs up as he left the field and was conscious and moving his extremities.

Chris Binford, Seedorff and DeJong paced the Dragons with eight tackles each. Brody had seven.

MSUM returns to the road next week at Mary.

"What I'm most excited about is we got better as a program," Laqua said. "I'm excited to see where that leads us next week."

Steve d'Eustachio Stat of the Game: Saturday's game marked the first time the Dragons had four interceptions and won since defeating Minnesota-Crookston 32-6 on Nov. 4, 2006.

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