Football | 8/30/2017 1:32:00 PM

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The Minnesota State University Moorhead football team kicks off the 2017 season on Saturday at Augustana. Kickoff is at 1 p.m. at Kirkeby-Over Stadium in Sioux Falls, S.D.

MSUM finished 7-4 last season while Augustana finished 8-3.

The game will be televised live on Midco Sports Net, which is Channel 622 in HD. Check local listings for coverage in your area.  The contest will be 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 Augustana would…
—be the Dragons' fifth straight win dating back to last season, which would be the longest winning streak in Steve Laqua coaching era
—give the Dragons their second-ever win over Augustana in football
—give MSUM three straight season-opening wins and improve Dragons to 4-3 in openers under Steve Laqua.
—improve MSUM's road winning streak to three straight games

MSUM and Augustana will meet for a fifth time with the Vikings holding a 3-1 series lead. Augie won the first three meetings before MSUM picked up its first win, 35-34 in 2014 in Moorhead.
 
Previous meetings:
2010: Augustana 47, MSUM 17
2011: Augustana 35, MSUM 3
2013: Augustana 41, MSUM 28
2014: MSUM 35, Augustana 34

The Head Coaches
Steve Laqua is in his seventh season as MSUM's head coach with a record of 24-42 at the school. Jerry Olszewski is in his fifth season at Augustana with a record of 27-18.

About MSUM
The Dragons are aiming for their third straight winning season, which would be the first time that has happened for the program since the 1994-96 seasons. The offense returns nine starters from last season's 7-4 squad, including All-American wide receiver Damon Gibson.

Gibson caught 90 passes for 1,549 yards and 17 touchdowns to lead the Dragons in all receiving categories. Also returning at receiver is senior Hunter Braaten, who caught 66 passes for 696 yards and four touchdowns. Senior quarterback Demetrius Carr returns after  throwing for 2,710 yards and 31 touchdowns a year ago. He also rushed for 297 yards and five touchdowns.

Senior running back Austin Stone is back after leading the team with 898 rushing yards and nine touchdowns, despite missing the final game with injury. Returning with starting experience on the offensive line include senior Damien Crawford, junior Andrew Erickson and sophomores Nathan Belisle and Isaac Ripplinger.

The defense returns seven starters, led by senior linebacker Abe Roehrich, who had 83 tackles and 8.5 tackles for loss. Junior defensive back Michael Strand had 81 tackles and three interceptions last season. Junior defensive back Grant Reuer had 59 tackles a year ago while junior defensive back Aaron Doan had 55 tackles. Senior Jake Busse, an All-NSIC North First Team selection, returns to anchor the defensive line after recording 7.5 sacks last season. Senior defensive end Drew Lingle had 39 tackles a year ago while sophomore Deiondre Taylor is back at corner after intercepting two passes last season.

MSUM averaged 35.5 points per game last season and recorded 467.5 yards per game of total offense. The Dragons allowed 29.5 points per contest and surrendered 399.8 yards of total offense per game.

About Augustana
Augustana finished the 2016 campaign with an 8-3 overall record. The Vikings were 3-2 at home and 5-1 on the road.  They must replace two huge offensive weapons in quarterback Trey Heid (41 passing TD, 10 rushing TD, 3,582 passing yards) and receiver Matt Heller (77 catches, 1,490 yards, 21 TD).

The Vikings' top returning rusher is Caden Quintanilla, who rushed for 341 yards and two touchdowns last season. Nathan Merriman is the top receiver back after catching 23 passes for 304 yards and four scores last year.

Kirby Hora led the Viking defense -- and the NSIC -- after recording 110 tackles last season. Matt Wagner had 81 tackles and four forced fumbles.

The Vikings received votes in the AFCA Preseason Division II Coaches Poll.

Carr Closes In
Senior quarterback Demetrius Carr is closing in on two records as he begins the 2017 campaign. Carr is second all-time in passing yards at MSUM at 5,829 yards, trailing only Jake Hodge in that category. Carr is also second all-time in total offense at 6,892 yards, trailing Hodge's 8,608. Carr threw for 2,710 yards last season, second-highest single season total in school history. He set a school record with 507 passing yards in the win over Northern to close the 2017 season.

Gibson Recognized
After a breakout season in 2016, senior wide receiver Damon Gibson has received preseason recognition this summer. He was named to the D2Football.com Preseason All-America First Team and was named to the College Football America 2017 Yearbook Division II Starting Lineup. Last season Gibson was AFCA All-America Second Team, Don Hansen Super Region 3 Team, All-NSIC North First Team selection, All-Super Region 3 team.  Gibson led the Dragons in 2016 with 90 catches for 1,459 yards, an average of 140.8 yards per game. He ranked first in the nation in both receiving yards and yards per game, was third in receptions per game (8.2), and fourth in the nation in receiving touchdowns. He also set MSUM records for receiving yards, receiving touchdowns (17), and tied the single-season record for receptions. He also tied the single-game record with 237 receiving yards in the Dragons season-finale win over Northern State.

Season Openers Under Laqua
The Dragons are 3-3 in season openers under Head Coach Steve Laqua and have won two in a row, both coming at home. MSUM beat Wayne State, 41-24 to open the 2016 season and topped Winona State, 42-17 in open 2015.  n 2011, the Dragons beat Robert Morris, 28-17. They lost three straight after that win, falling to Wayne State, 49-6 in 2012, Augustana, 41-28 in 2013 and Upper Iowa, 44-36 in 2014.

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. More than 2/3 of this year's roster players hail from either Minnesota (43) or North Dakota (25).

Busse, Roehrich, Strand Lead Defense
The Dragon defense will be led by senior defensive lineman Jake Busse, senior linebacker Abe Roehrich and junior safety Michael Strand, all of whom earned All-NSIC North honors last season.
Busse was a first-team All-NSIC North honoree in 2016 after recording 46 tackles and 7.5 sacks.
Roehrich was All-NSIC North second team after leading the Dragons with 83 tackles, including 45 solo stops.
Strand had 81 tackles, including a team-best 49 solo stops, along with three interceptions.