Football | 10/24/2018 4:30:00 PM

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The Minnesota State University Moorhead returns to Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference North Division action on Saturday when it hosts Minot State. Kickoff is at 1 p.m. at Scheels Field at Nemzek Stadium.

MSUM is 5-3 on the season while Minot State is 1-7

The game will be broadcast live on WDAY'Z Xtra at msumdragons.com with Steve d'Eustachio and Donn Groth calling the action. Live video, stats and audio can be found at msumdragons.com.  

An MSUM win over Minot would...
— give the Dragons their first 6-3 start since 1999
-- clinch a third winning season in four years for MSUM
— give the Dragons their sixth straight win over Minot State
— give the Dragons a 4-1 mark against NSIC North foes this season

Series History
MSUM and Minot State will meet for a 14th time with the Dragons leading the series 9-4. The Dragons have won five meetings in a row.

Previous five meetings:
2017: MSUM 22, Minot State 16 (in Minot)
2016: MSUM 42, Minot State 24 (in Moorhead)
2015: MSUM 30, Minot State 10 (in Minot)
2014: MSUM 52, Minot State 7 (in Moorhead)
2013: MSUM 31, Minot State 30 (in Minot)

The Head Coaches
Steve Laqua is in his eighth season as MSUM's head coach with a record of 34-51 at the school. Mike Aldrich is in his second season as the Minot State head coach with a record of 4-15.

About MSUM
MSUM fell behind early and dropped a 55-21 home game to Sioux Falls on Oct. 20. Sophomore running back Zach Simons rushed for two scores while Grady Bresnahan caught eight passes for 83 yards and a score.

Simons leads the ground game with nine touchdowns and 380 rushing yards. Sophomore quarterback Jakup Sinani has thrown for 1,504 yards and 11 touchdowns compared to just two interceptions. Bresnahan leads the receiving corps with 57 catches for 530 yards and two scores while sophomore Jake Richter has 42 catches for 675 yards and seven scores. MSUM scores 27.1 points per game and records 380.0 yards per game of total offense.

MSUM allows 31.2 points per game and 422.1 yards per game of total offense.  Senior safety Aaron Doan has 66 tackles, including a team-high 34 solos. Junior cornerback Deiondre Taylor has 49 tackles, including four tackles for loss, to go with three interceptions and eight pass breakups, all team highs. Sophomore Darius Woods-Steichen has six sacks to lead the team. Senior linebacker Michael Strand has 53 tackles, including 5.5 for loss.

About Minot State
The Beavers dropped their fifth straight game, a 34-0 home contest to Wayne State on Oct. 20. The loss was the fifth straight for Minot State. Sophomore quarterback Ben Bolinske threw for 97 yards and rushed for 86 to pace the Minot offense.

The Beavers score 14.6 points per game and record 254.2 yards per game of total offense. Bolinske leads the ground game with 420 yards and three scores while throwing for 930 yards and eight scores. He completes 55.9 percent of his passes and has also thrown eight interceptions. Lavante Bushnell has 38 receptions for 439 yards and six scores to lead the receiving corps.

Minot State allows 503.9 yards of total offense and 43 points per game. Senior defensive back Kywan Owens has 59 tackles while senior defensive back Chris Rivers has 58. Senior defensive back Kiante Goudeau has three interceptions.

More about the Dragons
National Rankings
MSUM ranks in the top 40 in several categories as a team and individually:
Team
—Ninth in the nation in the fewest passes intercepted (three)
—21st in fewest penalties (38)
—10th in Division II in fewest penalty yards per game at 44.4 yards per game
—The Dragons are 32nd in punt return defense, allowing 4.44 yards per return
Individuals
—Sophomore receiver Grady Bresnahan is fourth in the nation at 8.2 receptions per game
—Sophomore receiver Jake Richter is 25th in the nation with seven receiving touchdowns and is 33th in receiving yards (675) and 38th in receiving yards per game (84.4)
—Sophomore quarterback Jakup Sinani is 35 in the nation at 18.71 completions per game
—Junior cornerback Deiondre Taylor is 32nd in the nation at 1.6 passes defended per game
—Zach Simons is 25th in the nation with nine rushing touchdowns
--Sophomore linebacker Matt Schoh is tied for ninth in the nation with two fumble recoveries.

Deiondre's Defense
Junior cornerback Deiondre Taylor is off to a strong start for the Dragon defense. He leads the team with three interceptions, including a key one in the end zone to end a Northern scoring threat in Week 3, and is tied for fifth in the NSIC in that category.  

Simons Says
Sophomore Zach Simons was recruited to MSUM as a quarterback but made the switch to running back last season and has been an important part of the MSUM ground game this season. He leads the Dragons with 380 rushing yards.  Simons is tied for third in the NSIC with nine rushing scores and is tied for seventh in scoring per game (touchdowns) at 6.8.

Working Overtime
Prior to the Week 7 win over Wayne State, MSUM had not played an overtime game since 2011.  Ironically the 2011 game was tied at 22-22 — the same score as the MSUM-WSC game. The 2011 game saw MSUM beat Minnesota Crookston, 29-22. The Dragons are now 2-0 in overtime in Steve Laqua's coaching tenure.

Well Taken Care Of
MSUM's two quarterbacks — sophomore Jakup Sinani and junior Bryce Meehl — have down a good job protecting the football this season. Sinani has started five games and has thrown for 1,334 yards and 11 scores — with just two interceptions. Meehl is 24-of-47 for 296 yards and two scores with one interception.  MSUM is ninth in the nation in fewest passes intercepted.

Doan Gets It Done on D
Senior safety Aaron Doan tied a career-high 14 tackles in the win at Upper Iowa, and leads the Dragons with 66 tackles on the season. He is fifth in the NSIC at 8.2 tackles per game. His 34 solo stops also lead the Dragons.

Grady's Grabs
Sophomore receiver Grady Bresnahan has climbed to into the top five of the nation in receptions per game. He had a career-high 13 catches for 103 yards in the win over Wayne State.  He leads the NSIC at 8.1 receptions per game, which is also fourth-best in the nation, and leads the Dragons with 49 on the season (he missed Week 2).

Woods-Steichen Sack Party
Sophomore Darius Woods-Steichen added another sack in the win over Upper Iowa and now has a team-best six on the season. Woods-Steichen's sack total is tied for fourth in the NSIC this season.

Youth Movement
Nearly half of MSUM's roster is freshmen, as 48 are on the roster this year. That does not include nine redshirt freshmen from a year ago.

Home Grown
A total of 69 players on MSUM's roster are from Minnesota and North Dakota as the Dragon coaching staff continues to emphasize recruiting locally. A total of 38 players are from Minnesota.  There are 16 players from Wisconsin and 12 from Illinois.

Week 9 Under Laqua
The Dragons are 4-3 in Week 9 games under Laqua, including a 51-19 win over UMary in 2017. In 2011, they lost to Mary, 52-13 and in 2012, lost to Minot State, 31-10 in a home game. MSUM beat Minot State 31-30 in 2013 and 52-7 in 2014. In 2015 MSUM lost at St. Cloud State, 59-21. The Dragons beat Minot State, 42-24 in 2016.