Football | 10/15/2018 4:26:00 PM
It was 1981. Ronald Reagan was in his first year as United States president; newscasting legend Walter Cronkite signed off of CBS News for the final time; Sandra Day O'Connor became the first female justice of the U.S. Supreme Court; and Muhammad Ali fought his last fight.
Locally, there was a football team at Minnesota State University Moorhead (then Moorhead State) that enjoyed the best season in program history, finishing 10-0-1 for the first unbeaten 11-game season in school history.
The 1980 season built the foundation in many ways for MSUM's 1981 success under Hall of Fame Head Coach Ross Fortier. The Dragons finished 8-2 and returned 31 letterwinners from the year before.
A tough 12-7 win over Kearney State (now Nebraska-Kearney) set the tone for the 1981 season, thanks to 211 rushing yards from running back and future Dragon Hall of Famer Jerry Allen. The next week was a fierce defensive struggle with crosstown rival Concordia College that ended in a 3-3 tie, which was in the days before overtime was held in college games.
The defense delivered big the next week, beating St. Cloud State 7-0 thanks to 11 tackles and two interceptions by Al Strandberg. Wins at Bemidji State (35-7), vs. Winona State (57-0), vs. Mankato State (45-0) at Northern State (35-0), at Minnesota Morris (17-0) and at Minnesota Duluth (29-0) capped off an incredible defensive streak for MSUM. The Dragons were now 8-0-1 and had recorded an incredible five shutouts in a row. Through the first nine games, MSUM surrendered an miniscule 17 points.
A 52-10 non conference win over Valley State kept the unbeaten streak alive, setting up a finale with a high-powered Southwest State team. After building a 34-0 lead, the Dragons weathered a Mustang rally to take a 48-28 win. Michael Howard and Gregg Veldman each had two touchdown receptions from quarterback Dennis Eastman.
MSUM finished the regular season 10-0-1 and as the top-ranked team in NAIA Division I. The Dragons won the conference title as well.
The reward was a playoff berth and a trip to Kansas to face Pittsburg State. The Gorillas were 9-1-0 overall. The Dragons lost 14-13 in a huge heartbreaker in a game dominated by the defenses. The game featured four turnovers by each team; MSUM finished with 224 yards, compared to 269 for Pitt State. Paul Brigandi, the team's MVP, had 15 tackles and a sack while Al Strandberg had 14 tackles. MSUM finished 10-1-1.
The Dragons dominated the All-NIC team, with Randy Bjorklund (RB), Brigandi, John Eckl (DE), Bill Moore (SS), Scott Simpson (TE), Al Strandberg (FS) and Dave Tuomi (DT) all earning first-team all-conference honors. Tuomi was first-team All-American while Howard and Brigandi were each honorable mention All-American.
