Live Video/Audio
Live Stats
The Minnesota State University Moorhead football team begins a stretch of back-to-back road games on Saturday at Minot State. Kickoff is at 3 p.m. at Herb Parker Stadium in Minot, N.D.

After Saturday's game at Minot, MSUM will be on the road again on Oct. 31 at St. Cloud State. The Dragons' home finale is Nov. 7 vs. Mary.

Dragon broadcasters Steve d'Eustachio and Larry Scott will be on the call for the online Dragon broadcast.. Live video, stats and audio can be heard at msumdragons.com.  

MSUM is 3-4 overall and 0-3 in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference North Division; Minot State is 1-6 overall and 1-2 in the NSIC North.

A win over Minot State would…
—be the Dragons' third straight win over the Beavers
—would match the MSUM win total from 2014
—be MSUM's second road win of the season
—snap a four-game MSUM season losing streak

Series History
Saturday's game will be the 11th meeting between MSUM and Minot State, with the Dragons leading the all-time series 6-4. The Dragons have won two straight meeting.

Previous five meetings:
2014: MSUM 52, Minot State 7
2013: MSUM 31, Minot State 30
2012: Minot State 31, MSUM 10
1976: MSUM 28, Minot State 14
1975: Minot State 16, MSUM 6

The Head Coaches
Steve Laqua is in his fifth season as MSUM's head coach with a record of 14-37 at the school, while Tyler Hughes is in his second season as Minot State's head coach with a record of 2-16.

About MSUM
MSUM is 3-4 on the year after suffering a 42-28 loss to Bemidji State last week. The Dragons led 28-7 at halftime before the Beavers scored 35 unanswered points in the second half.  Sophomore quarterback Demetrius Carr threw for 426 yards and three scores while rushing for a touchdown.

The Dragons average 26.3 points per game and record 415.7 yards per game in total offense.  Senior running back Zayne Medhaug has rushed for 350 yards and four touchdowns to lead the ground game, while Carr has thrown for 1,288 yards and eight touchdowns in four starts. Sophomore Damon Gibson leads the receiving corps with 24 catches for 547 yards and five touchdowns. Sophomore receiver Hunter Braaten has 20 catches for 214 yards. Junior Cory Ambrose also has five touchdown receptions this season. Senior receiver Adam Jiskra, who is out with an injury, has 19 receptions in four games.

MSUM allows 37.7 points per game on defense. Teams are recording 477.0 yards per game of total offense against the Dragons.  Junior linebacker Aaron Bohl leads the defense with 44 tackles while redshirt freshman safety Michael Strand, sophomore safety Abe Roehrich and junior safety Jesse Beilke have 41 each.  Strand and senior cornerback Chris Binford have two interceptions each while Steve Schutz has blocked four kicks.  Redshirt freshman linebacker Joe Rademacher has 6.5 tackles for loss to lead the team.

About Minot State
Minot State is 1-6 overall and 1-2 in the NSIC North. The Beavers lost to St. Cloud State, 42-28 on the road last week.  Minot State led 14-7 at halftime but was outscored 35-14 in the second half. Jarvis Mustipher rushed for 175 yards and a touchdown to lead Minot State.

Mustipher leads Minot State with 600 rushing yards and three touchdowns. The Beavers have used four different quarterbacks this year; Jose Escobar started against St. Cloud State and is 24-for-37 for 248 yards and three touchdowns. Porter Sturm lead the Minot State receiving corps with 31 catches for 482 yards and five touchdowns.  Minot State averages 16.3 points per game on offense and averages 303.3 yards per game of total offense.

The Beavers surrender 32.0 points per game to their opposition and are allowing 399.6 yards per game of total offense. Teams are rushing for 192.6 yards per game against Minot State and throw for 207 yards. Trevin Swensen leads Minot with 63 tackles while Marcel Brinson has 59. Thomas Bryson has 3.5 sacks.

More about the Dragons
Gibson's Grabs
Sophomore receiver Damon Gibson has emerged as a go-to threat as part of the Dragon passing game. The Beardsley, Minn., native had four catches for 166 yards and a touchdown against Bemidji State.  He leads MSUM in receptions (24) and yards (547) to go along with five touchdowns. Gibson is averaging 22.8 yards per reception, best in the NSIC and fifth in the nation.

Braaten's Big Day
Sophomore receiver Hunter Braaten had a big day for the Dragon football team in their homecoming contest against Bemidji State on Oct. 17. The sophomore from Westhope, N.D., set career-highs for receptions (nine) and receiving yards (115) in the game. He also caught a touchdown, his first of the season. Braaten is second on the team in receptions (20) heading into Week 8.

Carr Passes 400 Again
Sophomore quarterback Demetrius Carr recorded the second 400-yard passing game of his career against Bemidji State. Carr was 23-of-32 passing for 426 yards and three touchdowns. Carr is ninth in all of Division II in passing efficiency at 161.8, ninth in yards per pass attempt (9.20) and 23rd in passing yards per completion (14.31).

Opening Act
True freshman Evan Moore made his collegiate debut at receiver against Northern State. He caught four passes for 40 yards and shared the team lead in receptions with four. For the season Moore has eight catches for 110 yards in two games.

Week 8 Under Laqua
The Dragons are 1-3 in Week 8 games under Laqua. In 2011, they lost at Augustana, 35-3 and in 2012, they lost at Mary, 23-7. In 2013 they beat Mary, 48-41 and in 2014, they lost at Mary, 52-45.

Schutz Blocks Another
Senior defensive lineman Steve Schutz has shown a knack for blocking extra points and field goals during his career. The Kimball, Minn., native blocked a field goal against Minnesota Duluth for his third blocked kick of the season, and also blocked an extra point against Bemidji State.  In 2013 Schutz also blocked two field goals, giving him five blocks for his career with six regular-season games remaining this year. Schutz is tied for fifth in the nation in blocked kicks.

Jiskra Surpasses 200
Senior receiver Adam Jiskra had two catches for 14 yards against SMSU before leaving the game with an injury that has left him out indefinitely. Those two catches put him at 201 for his career, making him just the second Dragon receiver to surpass 200 receptions for his career. Jiskra is also one of three players in NSIC history with 200 receptions or more. The Grafton, N.D., native already holds MSUM records for receiving yards (2,925) and receiving touchdowns (31).

Starting on the Right Foot
MSUM's 3-0 start was the Dragons' first since 1987. Those three wins — all coming against NSIC South Opponents — came against teams picked to finish ahead of the Dragons in the preseason poll - Augustana (4th), Winona State (6th) and Concordia-St. Paul (eighth). MSUM finished the month of September with a 3-1 mark, their first winning September in the Laqua era.
 
Stalwarts Up Front
Seniors Bennen Bierman (left tackle) and Troy Peterson (right tackle) have each started all 38 games over the past three seasons on the offensive line -- combining for 80 starts in their careers.. The offensive line play is among the keys to the Dragon offense's growth over the past two seasons.

Team captains
Junior linebacker Aaron Bohl and senior running back Zayne Medhaug were selected as MSUM's 2015 team captains. It is the third straight year Bohl has served as team captain.