Football | 9/12/2018 1:22:00 PM

Game Notes (pdf)
Live Stats
Live Video/Audio
The Minnesota State University Moorhead returns home to face Northern State on Saturday. Kickoff is 3 p.m. at Scheels Field at Nemzek Stadium.

Both teams are off to 1-1 starts on the season.

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

An MSUM win over Northern State would...
—give the Dragons a 2-0 start at home in 2018
—give the Dragons two wins in the last three meetings with Northern
—give the Dragons their best start (2-1) since 2016

Series History
MSUM and Northern State will meet for the 55th time with the Wolves leading the all-time series 31-22-1.

Previous five meetings:
2017: Northern State 28, MSUM 20 (in Aberdeen, S.D.)
2016: MSUM 48, Northern State 33 (in Moorhead, Minn.)
2015: Northern State 48, MSUM 26 (in Aberdeen)
2014: Northern State 40, MSUM 38 (in Moorhead)
2013: MSUM 47, Northern State 46 (in Aberdeen)

The Head Coaches
Steve Laqua is in his eighth season as MSUM's head coach with a record of 30-49 at the school. Tom Dosch is in his ninth season as Northern's head coach with a record of 44-46.

About MSUM
MSUM suffered a 60-7 setback at No. 24 Minnesota Duluth last Saturday. The Dragons trailed 28-0 after the first quarter and never recovered from the first-quarter ambush. Quarterback Jakup Sinani threw for 103 yards and a score while Jake Richter caught four passes for 77 yards and a score. Deiondre Taylor led the defense with 11 tackles.

Junior Herman Gray has rushed for 117 yards and a touchdown to lead the ground game while junior Bryce Meehl has thrown for 248 yards and two scores. Richter has nine catches for 200 yards and three scores while Trent Marquart has seven catches for 78 yards. Junior Zach Sweep is averaging 19.3 yards per punt return. which is third-best in the NSIC. MSUM is scoring 20.5 points per game and recording 314.0 yards of total offense per game.

Taylor leads MSUM with 20 tackles, an interception and a forced fumble. Senior linebacker Casey Paskey has 18 tackles while Aaron Doan has 12. The Dragons are allowing 35 points per game and 392.0 yards of total offense.

About Northern State
Northern State improved to 1-1 on the season with a 42-16 rout of Minot State on Sept. 6. The Wolves built a 28-3 halftime lead and rolled to the win after losing to Bemidji State 38-17 in Week 1.

Senior RB Chaka Kelly leads the Wolves with 186 rushing yards on 39 carries; he also has two touchdowns. Hunter Trautman is 36-of-64 passing for 490 yards and five touchdowns.  Jacob Streit is the leading receiver with 10 catches for 165 yards and two scores.  The Wolves score 29.5 points per game and average 445 yards per game of total offense.

Noah MacPherson leads Northern with 22 tackles and a sack. Alex Gray has 14 tackles while Brayden McNeary has an interception. The Wolves allow 27 points per game on the season.

More about the Dragons
Deiondre's Defense
Junior cornerback Deiondre Taylor leads MSUM with 20 tackles through two games. He is tied for sixth in the NSIC at 10.0 tackles per game. He also has an interception and a forced fumble.

Meehl A Winner in First Start
Junior Bryce Meehl made his first start at quarterback of his collegiate career a winning one on Aug. 30 vs. Minnesota Crookston. The junior from Oakes, N.D., completed 15-of-30 passes for 215 yards and two scores in the win. He didn't turn the ball over and also was only sacked once.

Gray Surpasses Century Mark
Junior running back Herman Gray picked up his second career 100-yard rushing game in the win over UMC. Gray rushed 14 times for 117 yards and a score in the win. He opened the scoring in the game with a 53-yard touchdown. His last 100-yard game came in 2015 against Minnesota Crookston.

Richter A Career Night in Opener
Sophomore receiver Jake Richter had the best game of his Dragon career during the win over UMC. He caught five passes for a career-high 123 yards and two scores in the win. For the season the Richter leads the Dragons in receptions (nine), receiving yards (200) and touchdowns (three). Richter is sixth in the NSIC at 100.0 yards receiving per game.

Double-Digits for Paskey
Casey Paskey had a career-high 12 tackles in the Dragons' win over Minnesota Crookston. He had four solo stops and eight assists while also recording one tackle for loss. He also had a half-sack. Paskey has 18 tackles on the season.

Sack Party
Darius Woods-Steichen had a career-high two sacks in the win over UMC. The performance was part of five sacks by the Dragon defense, which held UMC to 10 points and 204 yards of total offense.

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 3 Under Laqua
MSUM is 3-4 in the Laqua era during Week 3 games. The Dragons saw a Week 3 three-game winning streak end at Winona State in 2017, 42-14.  The previous streak included a 23-21 win over Upper Iowa in 2016; a 35-34 win over  Augustana in 2015. In 2014, the Dragons held off Wayne State, 40-36.  Previously, MSUM lost to Winona State, 65-21 in 2013, to Upper Iowa, 51-33 in 2012 and fell to Upper Iowa, 45-31, in 2011 which was Laqua's first season.