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MOORHEAD, Minn. --  The Battle Axe is at stake this Saturday when Minnesota State University Moorhead faces Bemidji State in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference football. Game time is 1 p.m. at Alex Nemzek Stadium in Moorhead, Minn.

The Battle Axe is the second-longest Division II traveling trophy and dates back to 1929.

MSUM is 3-6 overall and 3-2 in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference's North Division, while Bemidji State is 2-7 overall and 0-5 in the NSIC North

Head Coaches
Steve Laqua is in his third season as MSUM's head coach with a record of 6-25, while Jeff Tesch, a 1978 MSUM alum, is in his 18th season with a record of 115-78.

Series History
Saturday's game will be the 80th between MSUM and Bemidji State with the Dragons holding a 43-33-3 advantage.  The Beavers have won four straight meetings, including a 35-25 win over the Dragons in Bemidji last year. MSUM's last win came in 2008 when the Dragons prevailed, 27-7 in Moorhead, Minn.

Previous five meetings:
2012: Bemidji State 35, MSU Moorhead 25 (in Bemidji, Minn.)
2011: Bemidji State 35, MSU Moorhead 10 (in Bemidji, Minn.)
2010: Bemidji State 14, MSU Moorhead 6 (in Moorhead, Minn.)
2009: Bemidji State 38, MSU Moorhead 13 (in Bemidji, Minn.)
2008: MSU Moorhead 27, Bemidji State 7 (in Moorhead, Minn.)

About MSU Moorhead
A blocked extra point by sophomore Steve Schutz proved to be the difference as MSUM edged Minot State, 31-30 on Nov. 2 for the Dragons' second straight win. Despite being limited by an injury, MSUM sophomore quarterback Jake Hodge threw for 356 yards and four touchdowns. Redshirt freshman Cory Ambrose caught eight passes for 151 yards and a score, while freshman receiver Dan Grande hauled in five passes for 82 yards and a score.

MSUM averages 32.0 points per game and rushes for 175.1 yards per game and throws for 283.3. Hodge has thrown for 1,979 yards and 20 touchdowns -- along with only four interceptions -- in seven starts this year. He has also rushed for 461 yards and nine touchdowns. Junior Brandon Schell has rushed for 568 yards and two scores while sophomore Zayne Medhaug has 391 rushing yards. Sophomore Adam Jiskra has 52 catches for 727 yards and nine touchdowns, while redshirt freshman Cory Ambrose has 47 catches for 824 yards and six touchdowns.

The Dragon defense allows 41.7 points per game, while allowing 258.6 yards per game on the ground and 231.2 yards per game through the air. Sophomore Chris Lee has 67 tackles -- including a team-best nine for loss -- to lead the defense, while sophomore Chris Binford has 63 tackles and 12 pass breakups. Redshirt freshman Jesse Beilke has 58 tackles, while redshirt freshman Brandon Nelson leads with two interceptions. Redshirt freshman Aaron Bohl has three forced fumbles, tied for first in the NSIC.

About Bemidji State
Bemidji State fell to 2-7 on the year with a 45-6 home loss to No. 21-ranked St. Cloud State last week. The loss dropped the Beavers to 0-5 in the NSIC North Division.  Bemidji State trailed 38-0 heading into the fourth quarter before getting on the board in the final frame. Bemidji State was outgained 521-290 in total offense.

The Beavers possess one of the top running backs in the NSIC in Avery Walker, who has rushed for 1,028 yards and five touchdowns. He is fifth in the NSIC in rushing yardage.  The Beavers have started two different quarterbacks, with Ryan Shields leading the way with 506 passing yards and five touchdowns. Josh Malone leads the receiving corps with 23 catches for 197 yards. Bemidji State scores 16.3 points per game and averages 154.4 yards per game on the ground and 120.6 yards per game through the air.

On defense, Bemidji State allows 28.1 points per game. Teams are rushing for 161.7 yards per game against the Beavers and throwing for 210.3. Scott Christensen has 82 tackles for Bemidji State. Troy Beckett leads with two interceptions while Larry Miller has 11 pass breakups and 12 passes defensed.

Top Tandem
Sophomore Adam Jiskra and redshirt freshman Cory Ambrose have combined to form one of the top receiving tandems in the NSIC.  Their 1,574 combined receiving yards are the most of any tandem in the league, and their 15 touchdowns are second-most of any tandem. Their 99 combined receptions  are tied for second in the league, trailing only Upper Iowa's Lucas Hefty and Derek Giesking, who have 110 combined.  Ambrose now leads the NSIC at 91.6 yards receiving per game with Jiskra third at 88.3. Jiskra is sixth in receptions per game (5.78) with Ambrose seventh at 5.22.  Ambrose is 30th in the nation in receiving yards and 32nd in receiving yards per game. Jiskra is 23rd in receiving touchdowns.

Sack Attack
After recording just six sacks through the first seven games, MSUM's pass rush has stepped up with nine sacks in the last two games, led by four from redshirt freshman Ryan Dahleen, who leads the team with five sacks overall on the season. Bohl and junior Ross Montgomery each have 1.5 sacks during those games for MSUM.

Hodge + Ambrose = Records
The passing combination of quarterback Jake Hodge to receiver Cory Ambrose has proved to be explosive -- and record-setting -- this season. Hodge and Ambrose connected on a 92-yard scoring pass last week in the win over Minot State, which set the record for the longest pass play in school history.  IN addition, Ambrose set a school record for receiving yards in a game with 237 in a loss to Minnesota-Duluth, with all of the passes coming from Hodge.

Forcing the Issue
Not only is redshirt freshman Aaron Bohl ranked third on the team in tackles (52), he is also ranked 12th in the nation in forced fumbles per game at 0.43. He leads the NSIC in that category as well with a total of three.

Hodge Ranked Nationally
Starting with the game against Concordia-St. Paul on Sept. 28, sophomore quarterback Jake Hodge's play has been stellar.  In his last five starts (he missed the Minnesota Crookston game with an injury), Hodge has completed 122-of-204 passes for 1,706 yards, 17 touchdowns and two interceptions. For the season, Hodge ranks fourth nationally in points responsible per game (25.1), ninth in total offense (348.6 yards per game), 12th in points responsible for (176), 24th in the nation in pass efficiency (151.6), and 24th in passing yards per game (282.7).

Week 10 Under Laqua
The Dragons are 0-2 in Week 10 games under Head Coach Steve Laqua. The Dragons lost to Northern State, 42-21 in 2011 and lost at Bemidji State, 35-25 a year ago.

Record-Setting Day
The Dragons' loss to No. 11-ranked Minnesota Duluth -- which came into the game ranked sixth in the nation in total defense and ninth in the nation in scoring defense -- produced several team single-game records. Quarterback Jake Hodge threw for a single-game record 472 yards, breaking a mark that stood for six years. Redshirt freshman wide receiver Cory Ambrose caught seven passes for a single-game record 237 yards, breaking a record that stood for 50 years. The Dragons' 684 total yards were also a single-game record, breaking a mark that stood for 19 years.

2013 Captains
MSUM's captains for 2013 are senior linebacker Sam Callahan and junior linebacker Lomumba Ismail.