Football | 11/8/2016 3:30:00 PM

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The Minnesota State University Moorhead football team wraps up the 2016 regular season on Saturday by hosting Northern State at 1 p.m. at Scheels Field at Nemzek Stadium.

The game will be televised on WDAY'Z Xtra  and also broadcast 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 Northern State would…
—be the Dragons' fourth straight win, which would be the longest winning streak in Steve Laqua coaching era
—give the Dragons their first seven-win season since 1999
—assure MSUM of a second-place finish in the NSIC North Division
—be the first win over the Wolves since 2013
--give MSUM a 5-1 mark over its final six games of 2016

Series History
MSUM and Northern State will meet for an 54th time with the Wolves holding a 30-22-1 lead. MSUM's last win came in 2013, a thrilling 47-46 win over the Wolves in Aberdeen.
 
Previous meetings:
2015: Northern State 48, MSU Moorhead 26 (in Aberdeen, S.D.)
2014: Northern State 40, MSUM 38 (in Moorhead, Minn.)
2013: MSUM 47, Northern State 46 (in Aberdeen)
2012: Northern State 45, MSUM 7 (in Moorhead.)
2011: Northern State 42, MSUM 21 (in Moorhead.)

The Head Coaches
Steve Laqua is in his sixth season as MSUM's head coach with a record of 23-42 at the school. Tom Dosch is in his seventh season as as Northern State's head coach with a record of 37-37.

About MSUM
MSUM picked up its third straight win on Saturday with a 42-41 win over Bemidji State in Bemidji, Minn., in the Battle for the Axe. MSUM clinched back-to-back winning seasons for the first time since the 1995 and 1996 seasons with the victory.  Junior quarterback Demetrius Carr threw for four touchdowns in the win while Damon Gibson caught three touchdown passes.  Sophomore running back Austin Stone rushed for 110 yards and a score.

Carr has thrown for 2,203 yards and 26 touchdowns for MSUM. Sophomore Austin Stone has rushed for 898 yards and nine scores. Gibson has caught 76 passes for 1,312 yards and 15 touchdowns for the Dragons, who average 34.3 points per game. Junior receiver Hunter Braaten has caught 53 passes for 542 yards while senior receiver Cory Ambrose has caught 39 passes for 593 yards and eight touchdowns.

Junior Abe Roehrich leads with 79 tackles. He has four sacks. Sophomore Michael Strand has 72 tackles and three interceptions while senior Ryan Dahleen has 5.5 sacks and junior Jake Busse has five. Sophomore Grant Reuer has four forced fumbles, tied for first in the NSIC. Senior linebacker Aaron Bohl has 67 tackles, including seven for loss.

MSUM allows 29.1 points per game and 397.5 yards per game of total offense.

About Northern State
The Wolves are coming off of a 66-14 rout of Minnesota Crookston on Nov. 5. The Golden Eagles scored five rushing touchdowns in the game, led by Stephen Erlandson with two. The Wolves outrushed UMC 295-47.

The Wolves average 35.8 points per game and 417.4 yards of total offense.  Tailback Nicholas Truen has rushed for 918 yards and eight scores for Northern while quarterback Christian McAlvain has rushed for 10 touchdowns. McAlvain has thrown for 1,841 yards and 15 touchdowns while being intercepted six times. Zech Culbreath has 31 catches for 325 yards for Northern while Conner Doherty has 30 catches for 416 yards and seven scores.

The Wolves' defense allows 25.2 points per game along with 365.1 yards of total offense. Chad Stoterau has 66 tackles and 5.5 sacks to lead the defense. Channing Barber has 49 tackles, 13 pass breakups and four interceptions. Tyson Zemlick leads with six sacks.

More about the Dragons
Gibson Adds to Record
Junior receiver Damon Gibson is ranked among the top receivers, statistically, in Division II. He also put his name in the MSUM record books, as he is now the Dragons' all-time leader in single-season receiving yards. Gibson now has 1,312 yards receiving this season to go with 76 catches, which is second-most in school history. Gibson ranks third in Division II in receiving yards (1,312) and fifth in receiving yards per game (131.2). He is sixth in the nation in receptions per game (7.6) and fourth in receiving touchdowns (15).  Gibson hauled in four touchdown passes in the rout of Minnesota Crookston. That tied a record set three times previously by Rick Manke (1972), Chad Davison (2003) and Bruce Green (2006).  

Back to Back Winning Seasons
MSUM's win over Bemidji State on Saturday clinched a winning season for the Dragons. It is the first time since the 1995 and 1996 seasons that MSUM has had back-to-back winning seasons. If the Dragons beat Northern State this week, MSUM will have reached the seven-win plateau for the first time since 1999.




Seniors to be Honored Saturday
A total of 12 MSUM seniors will be honored as part of Dragon Senior Day. The seniors are wide receiver Cory Ambrose, defensive lineman Jake Antolak, cornerback Jeremiah Ary, offensive lineman Jack Bixler, linebacker Aaron Bohl, defensive end Ryan Dahleen, defensive lineman Zach Drevlow, defensive end Nick Ecklund, wide receiver Daniel Grande, linebacker Dylan Hall,  quarterback Jake Hodge, defensive back Jimmy Roth,

Carr Having a Big Year
Carr has moved into the top five in a pair of categories for MSUM. He is third all-time in passing yards at 5,322 and is now third all-time in total offense at 6,389.  Carr is the third player in school history to surpass 6,000 yards of total offense for his career, joining Jake Hodge (8,608) and Dustin Long (6,030). Carr threw for a season-high 387 yards against St. Cloud State and has fired 26 touchdowns this season, which is 14th in the nation. Carr is 11th in the nation in points responsible for (188) and is 22nd in the nation in pass efficiency (154.9). Carr's 2,203 passing yards are fourth-most in a season in school history.

All-Around Game
MSUM played a solid all-around game in the win over Minot State. MSUM outgained the Beavers 457-307, committed a season-low three penalties for 25 yards and also committed a season-low zero turnovers. The Dragons also scored six touchdowns on their 10 offensive possessions.

Stone Closing in on 1,000
After not playing for the past two seasons, sophomore running back Austin Stone has made a big return to the field in 2016, having rushed for 898 yards and nine touchdowns. Stone picked up his third 100-yard rushing game of the season in the win at Bemidji State, rushing for 110 yards and a touchdown.  Stone ranks seventh in the NSIC at 89.8 rushing yards per game and is 102 yards away from becoming  MSUM's first 1,000-yard rusher since Zayne Medhaug rushed for 1,127 yards in 2014.

The 40 Club
MSUM has put up big offensive numbers in recent years, and since Oct. 8, that has been the case. In four of the Dragons' last five games, MSUM has scored 40 points or more. The exception was a 38-point output against St. Cloud State on Oct. 15. During that five-game stretch, where MSUM is 4-1, the Dragons are averaging 42 points per game.

Ambrose Ascends
Senior receiver Cory Ambrose has been one of MSUM's most productive receivers since breaking into the lineup in 2013. Ambrose has moved into third in MSUM history with 162 receptions, trailing only Jabari Taylor (214) and Adam Jiskra (201). He also has 26 career touchdown receptions.

Week 11 Under Laqua
The Dragons are 2-3 in Week 11 games under Laqua. The Dragons lost to St. Cloud State, 47-14 in 2011 and also fell to the Huskies, 39-37 in 2012 at Alex Nemzek Stadium. In 2013 MSUM fell to the Huskies 64-27 in St. Cloud before beating Minnesota Crookston 66-36 to close out 2014. A year ago MSUM dominated Minnesota Crookston 59-21 to close out the seaosn.

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).

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.