Football | 10/5/2016 4:24:00 PM

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The Minnesota State University Moorhead football team returns to Scheels Field this week for its homecoming game against Minnesota Crookston. Game time is 6 p.m. at Scheels Field at Nemzek Stadium in Moorhead, Minn. The game is part of the State Farm Traveling Trophy series in the Red River Valley Showdown.

The game will be broadcast on WDAY'Z Xtra and also online with Dragon broadcasters Steve d'Eustachio and Larry Scott on the call. Live video, stats and audio can be heard at msumdragons.com.  

A win over Minnesota Crookston would…
—be the Dragons' first homecoming game win since 2011 when they beat UMC in overtime 29-22
—be the Dragons' third straight win over UMC
—give MSUM a 3-0 start at home and a 5-2 record at home over the last two seasons
—improve MSUM to 1-1 in the NSIC north

Series History
MSUM and Minnesota Crookston will meet for an 18th time with the Dragons holding a 10-7 series lead. The Dragons have won the past two meetings by a combined 125-57 total score. UMC's last win was in 2013.

Last five meetings
2015: MSU Moorhead 59, UMC 21 (in Crookston, Minn.)
2014: MSU Moorhead 66, UMC 36 (in Moorhead, Minn.)
2013: UMC 20, MSU Moorhead 14 (in Crookston, Minn.)
2012: MSU Moorhead 35, MN Crookston 13 (in Moorhead)
2011: MSU Moorhead 29, MN-Crookston 22 (in Moorhead)

The Head Coaches
Steve Laqua is in his sixth season as MSUM's head coach with a record of 19-41 at the school, while Mike Fritze is in his fourth season as UMC's head coach with a 3-35 record.

About MSUM
MSUM dropped a 42-34 contest at Minnesota Duluth on Oct. 2. Senior quarterback Jake Hodge threw for 314 yards and two scores while senior receiver Cory Ambrose had seven catches for 140 yards and two scores. On defense junior linebacker Abe Roehrich had 11 tackles and a sack.

Junior quarterback Demetrius Carr has thrown for 845 yards and nine touchdowns while Hodge has thrown for 389 yards and two scores. Sophomore running back Austin Stone has rushed for 424 yards and three scores, while junior receiver Damon Gibson has caught 40 passes for 612 yards and five scores.  On offense MSUM is scoring 26.6 points per game and recording 395.4 yards per game of total offense.

Roehrich leads the defense with 44 tackles while sophomore safety Michael Strand has 41.  Senior linebacker Aaron Bohl has two fumble recoveries while sophomore defensive back Grant Reuer has three forced fumbles.  Sophomore kicker Joe Tjosvold is 3-for-4 on field goals and has scored 25 points this season. The Dragons are allowing 31.4 points per game and allowing 447.2 yards per game of total offense.

About Minnesota Crookston
The Golden Eagles fell to 0-5 on the season with a 28-7 home loss to St. Cloud State last weekend.  The Golden Eagles gained 227 yards in the game on 65 plays while holding St. Cloud State to 363 yards.

Senior quarterback Nathan Cole has thrown for 628 yards, a touchdown and six interceptions in five games, while receiver Adam Connette had 31 catches for 332 yards. Andre Person has rushed for 324 yards and a score to lead the ground game. The Golden Eagles are scoring 8.2 points per game and recording 236.8 yards per game of total offense.

Trevor Long leads the defense with 39 tackles while Bubba Cook leads with 2.5 sacks.  Minnesota Crookston allows 48 points per game and 467.5 total yards of offense per game. UMC has forced four turnovers this season but is -3 in turnover ratio which is tied for 13th in the league.

More about the Dragons
Ambrose Shines Against UMD…Again
Senior receiver Cory Ambrose has made a habit of having big games against Minnesota Duluth. Ambrose caught seven passes for 140 yards and two touchdowns — all season-highs — in the loss at Duluth last week. In four career games against UMD, Ambrose has 24 catches for 459 yards and six touchdowns, and averaged more than 19 yards per reception. Ambrose has now climbed to fourth all-time on MSUM's all-time receptions list with 144, and is just two away from third place.

Hodge Adds to Records
Senior quarterback Jake Hodge made his first start of the season against UMD and threw for 314 yards and two touchdowns. Hodge is the all-time leader in career passing yards and total offense at MSUM. Hodge has thrown for 6,854 career yards and also compiled 8,542 yards of total offense.

Joe Connects
Sophomore kicker Joe Tjosvold went 2-for-2 on field goals in the loss at Minnesota Duluth. It was the second multi-field goal game of his Dragon career, and first of 2016. Last season in a 30-20 win over Minot State, Tjosvold connected on 3-of-3 attempts. In 16 games with the Dragons, Tjosvold is 10-of-12 on field-goal attempts.

Defense Delivers
An improving defense has been key for MSUM through five games. The Dragons share the NSIC lead with 13 turnovers forced (seven forced fumbles, six interceptions). The biggest improvement is in pass defense, where MSUM is allowing 209.2 yards per game this season, compared to 248.8 last season.

Forcing the Issue
Sophomore defensive back Grant Reuer is making the most of his first year as a starter on the Dragon defense. Reuer leads the NSIC with three forced fumbles through four games. Reuer's teammate Jerry Raye has two forced fumbles which is tied for second.

Gibson Leads the Way
Junior receiver Damon Gibson is having an outstanding season at the wide receiver position. He shares the NSIC lead at 8.0 receptions per game and is fourth at 122.5 receiving yards per game. He picked up the fourth 100-yard receiving game of the season in the loss at Duluth, hauling in five passes for 134 yards.

Week 6 Under Laqua
The Dragons are 0-5 in Week 6 games under Head Coach Steve Laqua. In 2011, the Dragons lost to Southwest Minnesota State, 45-13 and in 2012, they lost at Minnesota-Duluth 45-14. MSUM lost to UMD, 69-45 in 2013 in Moorhead and was edged by Northern State, 40-38 in 2014. Last season MSUM lost to Northern State 48-26 in Aberdeen, S.D.

Home Grown
With a heavy emphasis on recruiting in the Minnesota-North Dakota area, it's not a surprise the Dragons' 2016 roster features so many players from those two states. A total of 67 players -- or two-thirds total --  hail from either Minnesota (42) or North Dakota (25).

Back to Back?
MSUM's 6-5 record in 2015 marked the Dragons' first winning season since 2006 and the first in Laqua's coaching tenure. The Dragons will aim for back-to-back winning seasons for the first time since the 1995 (6-3-1) and 1996 (7-3) campaigns.

Team captains
Senior linebacker Aaron Bohl, senior offensive lineman Jack Bixler, senior wide receiver Cory Ambrose and junior linebacker Abe Roehrich will serve as MSUM's captains in 2016. Bohl is a captain for a third straight year.

Under the Lights
MSUM is 1-1 in night games this season, beating Wayne State, 41-24 on Sept. 1 before losing at Sioux Falls, 42-21 on Sept. 10.