Football | 11/7/2018 2:04:00 PM

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A trip to the Mineral Water Bowl is at stake when the Minnesota State University Moorhead football team hosts St. Cloud State on Saturday. Kickoff is 1 p.m. at Scheels Field at Nemzek Stadium.

The scenario is simple: the winner of Saturday's game will earn the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference's berth in the Dec. 1 bowl game to be played in Excelsior Springs, Mo.

MSUM enters the game at 7-3 overall and 5-1 in the NSIC North while St. Cloud State is also 7-3 with a 4-2 record in the NSIC North

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.  

In addition to the Mineral Water Bowl berth, an MSUM win over St. Cloud State would...
— give the Dragons eight wins in a season for the first time since 1991
— give the Dragons a second place finish in the NSIC North with a 6-1 record
— be the Dragons' first win over St. Cloud State since 1983

Series History
MSUM and St. Cloud State will meet for a 63rd time with the Huskies leading the series 37-23-2. The series dates back to 1920. St. Cloud State has won 11 meetings in a row, including a 31-7 win over the Dragons in St. Cloud in 2017. MSUM's last win came in 1983, a 22-21 victory at the Metrodome.

Previous five meetings:
2017: St. Cloud State 31, MSU Moorhead 7 (in St. Cloud, Minn.)
2016: St. Cloud State 41, MSU Moorhead 38 (in Moorhead, Minn.)
2015: St. Cloud State 59, MSU Moorhead 21 (in St. Cloud)
2014: St. Cloud State 55, MSU Moorhead 27 (in Moorhead)
2013: St. Cloud State 64, MSU Moorhead 27 (in St. Cloud)
Last MSUM win: 1983- MSUM 22, St. Cloud State 21

The Head Coaches
Steve Laqua is in his eighth season as MSUM's head coach with a record of 36-51 at the school. Scott Underwood is in his 11th season as the SCSU head coach with a record of 82-44.

About MSUM
MSUM regained the Axe Trophy with a 31-26 win over Bemidji State on Nov. 3.  Junior quarterback Bryce Meehl threw for a career-high 424 yards and two scores while sophomore receiver Jake Richter caught 13 passes for 234 yards and two scores. Sophomore running back Zach Simons rushed for two more scores.

Simons leads the ground game with 490 yards and 13 touchdowns. Sophomore quarterback Jakup Sinani, who has missed the last two games with injury, has thrown for 1,504 yards and 11 scores while Meehl has thrown for 1,008 yards and six scores. Sophomore receiver Grady Bresnahan has 70 catches for 764 yards and three scores while Richter has 62 catches for 1,006 yards and 10 scores. MSUM is averaging 29.9 points per game and 405.1 yards of total offense.

Senior safety Aaron Doan leads the defense with 78 tackles. Senior linebacker Michael Strand has 71 tackles, including 7.5 for loss, to go with two fumble recoveries. Junior cornerback Deiondre Taylor has three interceptions while sophomore defensive end Darius Woods-Steichen has a team-best eight sacks. Sophomore Matt Schoh has 49 tackles and two fumble recoveries. MSUM allows 30.2 points per game and 404.5 yards per game of total offense.

About St. Cloud State
The Huskies are 7-3 overall and 4-2 in the NSIC North after winning 30-23 at Minot State on Nov. 3. They rallied from a 23-16 deficit going into the fourth quarter.

Gregory Lewis leads the SCSU ground game with 1,006 yards and four touchdowns. Quarterback Dwayne Lawhorn has thrown for 1,709 yards and 16 touchdowns and nine interceptions. John Solberg leads the receiving corps with 52 catches for 808 yards and eight scores. St. Cloud State scores 24.5 points per game and records 350.2 yards per game of total offense.

The Huskies allow 24.5 points per game and 313.8 yards per game on defense.  Jack Horter has 64 tackles, two interceptions and three fumble recoveries to lead the defense. Zach Stecklein has 4.5 sacks. Jamari Manuel has 52 tackles and Matthew Lechner 51.

More about the Dragons
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.

Air Attack
MSUM's passing game had a big day in the 31-26 win over Bemidji State. Junior quarterback Bryce Meehl was 28-of-33 passing for a career-high 424 yards and two scores, while sophomore receiver Jake Richter caught 13 passes for 234 yards and two scores. Sophomore receiver Grady Bresnahan caught seven passes for 137 yards. It was the first time MSUM has surpassed 400 passing yards in a game.

NSIC Player of the Week x2
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.

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 is 16th in the nation with 13 rushing touchdowns.  He leads the Dragons with 490 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns.  Simons is tied for third in the NSIC with 11 rushing scores.

Winning Ways
With the win over Minot State, MSUM clinched its third winning season in the past four years under Head Coach Steve Laqua. It's the best stretch for Dragon football since the 1990s when the team recorded four straight winning seasons from 1993-96. MSUM also has reached the seven-win plateau for a second time in three years.

Grady's Grabs
Sophomore receiver Grady Bresnahan has climbed to into the top six of the nation in receptions per game at 7.8. He has 70 catches for 764 yards and three scores this year and now has the fifth-best reception total in Dragon single-season history.  

Woods-Steichen Sack Party
Sophomore Darius Woods-Steichen added another sack in the win over Minot State and now has a team-best eighth on the season. Woods-Steichen's sack total is fifth-best in the NSIC this season. He leads MSUM with 10.5 tackles for loss.

National Rankings
MSUM ranks in the top 30 in several categories as a team and individually:
Team
—Fourth in the nation in the fewest passes intercepted (three)
— 13th in fewest turnovers lost (10)
—15th in first downs (236)
—23rd in fewest penalty yards per game (49.2) and 26th in fewest penalties (455)
— MSUM is averaging 2.9 sacks per game, 28th in the nation
—The Dragons are 19th 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 10th in the nation in receiving yards (1,006), 12th in receiving yards per game (100.6), 21st in receptions per game (6.2) and 14th in receiving touchdowns (10).
—Zach Simons is 16th with 13 rushing touchdowns and 25th in total touchdowns (13)
—Matt Schoh and Michael Strand are tied for 21st in fumbles recovered (2)
—Sophomore defensive tackle Darius Woods-Steichen is 30th in sacks per game at 0.80.

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 1,5-4 yards and 11 scores — with just two interceptions. Meehl is 71-of-110 passing for 1,008 yards and six scores with one interception.  MSUM is fourth in the nation in fewest passes intercepted. Meehl threw for a career-high 424 yards and two scores on 28-of-33 passing in the win at Bemidji State.

Season Finales Under Laqua
The Dragons are 3-4 in season finales under Head Coach Steve Laqua. The Dragons lost to Bemidji State, 45-14 in 2017 to end a three-game winning streak in finales.  Prior to that, MSUM recorded wins over Minnesota Crookston (66-36 in 2014), Minnesota Crookston (59-21 in 2015) and Northern State (48-33 in 2016).