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The Minnesota State University Moorhead football team concludes a brief two-game homestand on Saturday against St. Cloud State. Game time is 1 p.m. on Saturday at Nemzek Stadium.

For those unable to attend the game, it can be found on WDAY'Z XTRA channel. That is available on channel 6.3 over the air, 596 for Midcontinent Communications customers, and on WDAY.com. Live audio, with Dragon broadcasters Steve d'Eustachio and Larry Scott on the call, can be heard at msumdragons.com.

MSUM is 1-5 overall and in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference while St. Cloud State is 2-4 overall and in the league. The Dragons are 0-2 in the north division while the Huskies are 1-1.

Series History
MSUM and St. Cloud State will meet for a 59th time with the Huskies holding a 33-23-2 lead in a series which dates back to 1920. The Huskies have won six straight in the series.
 
Previous five meetings:
2013: St. Cloud State 64, MSU Moorhead 27 (in St. Cloud, Minn.)
2012: St. Cloud State 39, MSU Moorhead 37 (in Moorhead, Minn.)
2011: St. Cloud State 47, MSU Moorhead 14 (in St. Cloud, Minn.)
2010: St. Cloud State 42, MSU Moorhead 16 (in Moorhead)
2009: St. Cloud State 47, MSU Moorhead 0 (in Moorhead)
Last MSUM win: 1983- MSUM 22, St. Cloud State 21

The Head Coaches
Steve Laqua is in his fourth season as MSUM's head coach with a record of 8-31 at the school, while Scott Underwood is in his seventh season as St. Cloud State's head coach with a record of 54-24 at the school.

About MSUM
The Dragons are coming off of a heartbreaking 40-38 loss to Northern State on Oct. 11. The Dragons trailed 40-38 in the final minute and drove to the Northern 11-yard line but were unable to find the end zone. Junior quarterback Jake Hodge threw for 381 yards and three touchdowns while rushing for 73 yards, while junior receiver Adam Jiskra had a career-high 13 catches for a career-high 231 yards. He caught two scores. Junior running back Zayne Medhaug had 75 rushing yards and two scores and also caught a touchdown. On defense, junior Abe Roehrich had a career-high 12 tackles and an interception.
Medhaug leads the Dragons with 487 rushing yards. He has five touchdowns.  Hodge has rushed for 471 yards and four touchdowns and has thrown for 1,507 yards and 12 touchdowns. Jiskra has 44 catches for 716 yards and six touchdowns, while sophomore receiver Cory Ambrose has 32 catches. MSUM is averaging 207.3 yards per game on the ground and 272.0  yards per game through the air for a total of 479.3  yards per game of total offense. The Dragons are scoring 29.3 points per game.

Sophomore linebacker Aaron Bohl leads MSUM with 51 tackles, Roehrich has 50 tackles and an interception. Sophomore cornerback Sheldon Jones has 46 tackles and an interception. Junior cornerback Chris Binford has two interceptions.
The Dragon defense allows 54.2 points per game and 276.0 yards per game on the ground. Teams are throwing for 309.7 yards per game against the Dragons, who surrender 585.2 yards per game of total offense.

About St. Cloud State
St. Cloud State fell to 2-4 on the year with a 44-21 home loss to then No. 4-ranked Minnesota Duluth. Nate Meyer threw for 202 yards and two scores for the Bulldogs while Grant Thayer hauled in two touchdowns. The Huskies were outgained 522-309 in the game.

Ledell White has rushed for 476 yards and five touchdowns to lead the St. Cloud State ground game, while Kenneth Walker has rushed for 431 yards and four touchdowns. Meyer has thrown for 641 yards and five touchdowns while completing 49.4 percent of his passes. Matt Hentges leads the receiving corps with 18 catches for 199 yards. St. Cloud State scores 23.3 points per game and is rushing for 214.2 yards per game. The Huskies are throwing for 135.2 yards per game and compile 349.3 yards per game in total offense.

On defense, the Huskies allow 32 points per game. They allow 178 yards per game on the ground and 240.2 yards per game through the air for a total of 418.2 yards of total offense surrendered.

More about the Dragons
Jiskra Just Shy of Record
Junior wide receiver Adam Jiskra had a career day during Saturday's loss to Northern State, and it has put him on the brink of a school record. Jiskra now has 2,347 career receiving yards, just two away from the record held by Jabari Taylor, who has 2,349.  The Grafton, N.D., native also has moved into second all-time in MSUM career receptions with 152, trailing only Taylor, who has 214.  Jiskra has 44 catches to lead the Dragons this season.

Hodge Nearing the Top
Hodge is now ranked second in Dragon school history with 5,431 career passing yards and trails career leader Dustin Long, who has 5,748 career yards.

Tough Road
Few Division II teams have played as difficult a schedule as the Dragons have so far in 2014. The combined record of the Dragons' six foes is 31-5 (.861). The combined record of the five teams MSUM has lost to is 27-3, with three of the teams (Minnesota State, Minnesota Duluth and Sioux Falls) currently ranked in the AFCA Division II top 25.

National Rankings
The MSUM football team is tied for 17th in the nation in first downs (148), 23rd in total offense (479.3). Jiskra is ranked sixth in the nation in receiving yards (716), seventh in receiving yards per game (119.3) and is tied for 14th in receptions per game at 7.3. Hodge is ranked 12th in the nation in total offense (329.7).

Roehrich's Rise
Redshirt freshman Abe Roehrich has made an immediate impact on the Dragon defense. He is second on the team with 50 tackles and also has a blocked field goal and an interception.

Another Record Goes Down for Dragon Offense
Offensively, the Dragons set eight records a year ago, and in Week 1, they set another record with 709 yards of total offense. On Saturday against Northern State, MSUM ran 101 offensive plays, setting another school record.

Week 7 Under Laqua
The Dragons are 1-2 in Week 7 games under Laqua. They lost to Bemidji State, 35-10 in 2011 and beat Minnesota Crookston, 35-13 in 2012. Last year MSUM lost to Minnesota Crookston on the road, 20-14.

Block Party
Redshirt freshman safety Abe Roehrich and freshman defensive lineman Jake Busse both blocked field goals during the Dragons' 40-36 win over Wayne State on Sept. 20. In a game decided by four points, keeping those six points off the scoreboard proved vital.

All-Purpose Weapon
Junior running back Zayne Medhaug became the first player in the NSIC to return a kickoff for a touchdown in the Dragons' 40-36 win over Wayne State. Medhaug returned a kickoff 98 yards for a score in the fourth quarter to put MSUM up 38-23 in what proved to be the game-winning score. Medhaug is fifth in the NSIC in all-purpose yardage at 128.7 yards per game and is seventh in rushing yards per game at 81.2, He is also tied for seventh in scoring with 42 points.
It was MSUM's first kick return for a touchdown since 2006 when Jabari Taylor accomplished the feat.

Hodge a Double Threat
Hodge continues to be one of the top all-around threats in the NSIC.  He ranks second in the league in total offense per game at 329.7 yards per game.  Hodge also is ranked fifth in the NSIC in passing yards per game at 251.2 and ninth in rushing yards per game at 78.5.

No Place Like Home
Nearly half of the Dragons' 2014 roster is from Minnesota, as 43 players hail from the Land of 10,000 Lakes.  The next state is neighboring North Dakota with 18 players.

Another 100 for Jiskra
Junior wide receiver Adam Jiskra recorded the 10th 100-yard receiving game of his career against Northern State. He finished with a career-high 231 yards.

Stalwarts Up Front
Senior Kasey Groettum and juniors Bennen Bierman and Troy Peterson have each started all 28 games over the past two-plus seasons on the offensive line -- combining for 84 starts during that time. Their play is among the keys to the Dragon offense's growth over the past two seasons. Groettum is in his fourth year as a starter after starting in five games as a freshman in 2011.

All-NSIC returners
The Dragons had seven players who earned All-Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference honors a year ago, and all seven return.

That includes Jiskra, who was a first-team selection a year ago. Also returning for the Dragons Hodge (All-NSIC second team), Medhaug (All-NSIC second team),  sophomore wide receiver Cory Ambrose (All-NSIC second team), junior linebacker Chris Lee (honorable mention), junior offensive lineman Troy Peterson (honorable mention) and defensive lineman Ryan Dahleen (honorable mention).

2014 Captains
MSUM's senior linebacker Lomumba Ismail and sophomore linebacker Aaron Bohl are the Dragons' 2014 team captains.