Football | 11/27/2018 2:43:00 PM

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The Minnesota State University Moorhead football team will play its first postseason game in 24 years on Saturday when it faces Missouri S&T in the Mineral Water Bowl. Kickoff is at noon in Excelsior Springs, Mo.

MSUM enters the game at 8-3 while Missouri S&T is 9-2.

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

A viewing party for the Dragon football game will be held at Buffalo Wild Wings on noon on Saturday in Moorhead.

In addition to a win in the Mineral Water Bowl, an MSUM win over Missouri S&T would...
— give the Dragons nine wins in a season for the first time since 1991
— be MSUM's first postseason win since 1994
— give MSUM a four-game winning streak to close out the season.

Series History
MSUM and Missouri S&T will meet for the first time in school history in football.

The Head Coaches
Steve Laqua is in his eighth season as MSUM's head coach with a record of 37-51 at the school. Tyler Fenwick is in his sixth season as the Missouri S&T head coach with a record of 36-29.

About MSUM
MSUM capped off an 8-3 regular season and earned a trip to the Mineral Water Bowl in the process with a 13-10 win over St. Cloud State on Nov. 10. Senior kicker Joe Tjosvold kicked two field goals in the win for MSUM.

Sophomore running back Zach Simons leads the ground game with 490 yards and 13 touchdowns. Sophomore quarterback Jakup Sinani, who has missed the last three games with injury, has thrown for 1,504 yards and 11 scores while junior quarterback Bryce Meehl has thrown for 1,143 yards and six scores. Sophomore receiver Grady Bresnahan has 75 catches for 796 yards and three scores while Richter has 64 catches for 1,052 yards and 10 scores. MSUM is averaging 28.4 points per game and 392.8 yards of total offense.

Senior safety Aaron Doan leads the defense with 86 tackles. Senior linebacker Michael Strand has 79 tackles, including 10.5 for loss, to go with three forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries. Junior cornerback Deiondre Taylor has three interceptions while sophomore defensive end Darius Woods-Steichen has a team-best 8.5 sacks. Sophomore Matt Schoh has 57 tackles and two fumble recoveries. MSUM allows 28.4 points per game and 389.5 yards per game of total offense.

About Missouri S&T
The Miners, who compete in the Great Lakes Valley Conference, finished 9-2 on the season and 6-1 in the GLVC.  They enter the Mineral Water Bowl on a five-game winning streak, including a 34-33 win over Truman State on Nov. 10.

Deshawn Jones leads the ground game with 669 rushing yards and seven scores. Tyler Swart has thrown for 2,724 yards and 25 scores while completing 64.4 percent of his passes. Braxton Graham has been the big receiving threat for Missouri S&T with 61 catches for 975 yards and 13 scores. As a team Missouri S&T scores 32.5 points per game and records 387.5 yards per game of total offense.

The Miners allow 20.9 points per game and 294.1 yards per game of total offense. Landon Compton has 92 tackles while Bo Brooks has 81 tackles and a team-best 10 sacks. Stefan Camplin and Ryan Kirkendal lead with two interceptions each.

More about the Dragons
Ten Dragons Earn All-NSIC North Honors
MSUM sophomores Jake Richter (wide receiver) and Darius Woods-Steichen (defensive line) were named All-NSIC North Division First Team selections.

Richter had a big season for the Dragons, catching 64 passes for 1,052 yards and 10 touchdowns. He was second in the NSIC at 95.6 yards receiving per game and fourth in receptions per game at 5.82.

Woods-Steichen also picked up his first All-NSIC honor after recording a team-best 8.5 sacks this season. He had at least a half-sack in seven games this season and had two games with two sacks (vs. Minnesota Crookston and UMary).

Senior linebacker Michael Strand, senior offensive lineman Andrew Erickson, senior safety Aaron Doan, junior offensive lineman Nathan Belisle, sophomore receiver Grady Bresnahan and sophomore running back Zach Simons were named to the All-NSIC North Division Second Team selections. Junior defensive lineman Matthew Domek (40 tackles, 3.5 sacks) and junior cornerback Deiondre Taylor (three interceptions, 62 tackles) were honorable mention selections.

Laqua NSIC Coach of the Year
Eighth-year Dragon head coach Steve Laqua was named the NSIC Coach of the Year in football.  He is the first Dragon football coach since 1994 (Ralph Micheli) to earn the honor. Laqua guided the Dragons to an 8-3 mark in 2018, the most wins in a season for MSUM since 1991. He led the team to its best finish in the NSIC (tied for third) since the league expanded to 16 teams in 2012.

Well Taken Care Of
MSUM's two quarterbacks — sophomore Jakup Sinani and junior Bryce Meehl — have done a good job protecting the football this season. Sinani has started five games and has thrown for 1,504 yards and 11 scores — with just two interceptions. Meehl is 71-of-110 passing for 1,143 yards and six scores with one interception.  MSUM is third in the nation in fewest passes intercepted.

NSIC Player of the Week x3
Junior quarterback Bryce Meehl was named the NSIC Offensive Player of the Week on Oct. 29 after throwing for 288 yards and two scores in the win over Minot while rushing for two scores. A week later, sophomore Jake Richter earned the honor after catching a career-high 13 passes for 234 yards and two scores in the win over Bemidji State. Senior kicker Joe Tjosvold was named NSIC Special Teams Player of the Week on Nov. 12 after kicking two field goals in the win over St. Cloud State.

The Axe is Back
For the fourth time in six years, the MSUM football team has the Axe trophy in its possession after the Dragons beat Bemidji State, 31-26 on Nov. 3. MSUM now has all three traveling trophies in its possession — the Axe, the Paddle (with UMary) and the State Farm Traveling Trophy (with Minnesota Crookston) — for the second time, the first coming in 2016.

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 Dragon ground game this season. He is 20th in the nation with 14 rushing touchdowns.  He leads the Dragons with 523 rushing yards.  Simons is  third in the NSIC with 14 rushing scores.

Grady's Grabs
Sophomore receiver Grady Bresnahan has climbed to into the top seven of the nation in receptions per game at 7.5. He has 75 catches for 796 yards and three scores this year and now has the second-best single-season reception total in Dragon single-season history.

National Rankings
MSUM ranks in the top 30 in several categories as a team and individually:
Team
—Third in the nation in the fewest passes intercepted (three)
— 13th in fewest turnovers lost (12)
—15th in fewest penalty yards per game (45.2) and 21st in fewest penalties (455)
—The Dragons are 18th in punt return defense, allowing 4.44 yards per return
Individuals
—Sophomore receiver Grady Bresnahan is sixth in the nation at 7.8 receptions per game
—Sophomore receiver Jake Richter is 17th in the nation in receiving yards (1,053), 17th in receiving yards per game (95.6), 20th in receiving touchdowns (10).
—Zach Simons is 20th with 14 rushing touchdowns
--Michael Strand is 40th in forced fumbles (three) and tied for 31st in fumble recovered