MOORHEAD, Minn. — Thanks to several key plays from its defense, the Minnesota State University Moorhead football team held on for a 23-21 win over Upper Iowa in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference action Saturday in Moorhead, Minn.

MSUM is now 2-1 on the year and in the league while Upper Iowa fell to 0-3. It was the third straight home win for MSUM.

The Dragons forced two turnovers and held Upper Iowa to 365 yards on 16 possessions.

Junior linebacker Abe Roehrich led the Dragon defense with 10 tackles, including nine solo stops, while sophomore defensive back Michael Strand had nine tackles with six stops being solo. Sophomore defensive back Grant Reuer had six tackles and a forced fumble while senior defensive end Ryan Dahleen had five tackles and a sack. Sophomore Jeff Stith had a sack while sophomore linebacker Joe Rademacher and freshman Deiondre Taylor had interceptions.

"The defense kept us in the football game," MSUM head coach Steve Laqua said. "We got the stops when we needed them. We've shown great progress defensively."

On offense, junior quarterback Demetrius Carr finished 16-of-25 for 141 yards and two touchdowns. Junior receiver Damon Gibson caught 11 passes for 101 yards and a touchdown, while sophomore running back Austin Stone rushed 26 times for 81 yards and a score. Senior receiver Cory Ambrose had three catches for 35 yards and a score.

Upper Iowa had a 365-302 edge in total yards.

The defense delivered on the game's final drive as Upper Iowa drove in position to attempt the game-winning field goal. Upper Iowa was stopped at the 8-yard line when senior Jeremiah Ary tackled Edmonds as time was running down. Upper Iowa missed the field goal, preserving a 23-21 Dragon win.

MSUM scored on its first drive, going 71 yards on 11 plays, and scored when Carr hit Gibson from nine yards out. The two-point play failed, leaving the Dragons up 6-0 with 8:58 left in the first quarter.

Upper Iowa took the lead at 7-6 with a touchdown early in the second quarter. MSUM answered back midway through the frame when Carr hit Ambrose for a 12-yard score, giving the Dragons a 13-7 lead with 6:33 left in the half. That drive was set up by Taylor's interception.

Sophomore Joe Tjosvold hit a 28-yard field goal with 20 seconds left in the first half to make it 16-7, which was the halftime score.

Upper Iowa scored on a 52-yard touchdown run by Derrick Portis less than three minutes into the second half to cut the lead to 16-14. The rest of the third quarter was ruled by defense as MSUM clung to a 16-14 lead entering the final 15 minutes.

Late in the third, however, Rademacher intercepted Lammers at the Peacock 41-yard line and returned the ball to the 30. Senior quarterback Jake Hodge came in off the bench and led a six-play, 30-yard drive capped off by a 1-yard scoring run from Stone. With Tjosvold's extra point, MSUM led 23-14 with 13:38 left. A key play on the driver was a 12-yard completion from Hodge to Ambrose on a fourth-and-8.

"We made some key plays when we needed to that kept some drives alive that ended up putting points on the board," Laqua said. "Bringing Jake off the bench caused a spark of energy and created some momentum for both sides of the ball."

Upper Iowa responded quickly, going 65 yards on six plays, and scoring on a 10-yard run by Portis to make it 23-21 early in the fourth.  The Peacocks had three offensive possession after that — and the Dragons kept them off the scoreboard.

Dahleen finished with two tackles for loss in the game, while Taylor had six tackles and a pass breakup to go with his interception.

MSUM is on the road the next two weekends, starting Saturday at nationally-ranked Minnesota State. Game time is 1 p.m. in Mankato, Minn.

Steve d'Eustachio Stat of the Game:  Junior Damon Gibson caught 11 balls for 101 yards today. He earned 156 receiving yards versus Wayne State on Sept. 1 and 154 yards last week at the University of Sioux Falls making him the first Dragon to hit 100+ receiving yards in three consecutive games in the same season in nearly a decade. Jabari Taylor went for 183 yards against Winona State in a 42-41 home loss on Oct. 6, 2007, 129 yards at Concordia-St. Paul in a 46-41 defeat a week later and 113 yards in a 45-31 setback at home versus Mary the following week.