Football | 10/9/2019 2:33:00 PM

Live Stats
Live Video/Audio
Game Notes (pdf)
The Minnesota State University Moorhead football team hits the road this week to face Concordia-St. Paul. Kickoff is noon on Saturday at Sea Foam Stadium in St. Paul, Minn.

Both teams enter the game at 3-2.

You can find live stats, audio (with Dragon broadcasters Steve d'Eustachio and Donn Groth) and video on msumdragons.com.

An MSUM win over Concordia-St. Paul would...
—give the Dragons their third straight win over the Golden Bears
--give MSUM a 3-0 mark on the road this season
--give MSUM a second straight 4-2 start

Series History
MSUM and Concordia-St. Paul will meet for a 13th time with CSP leading the series 9-3. The Dragons have won the past two meetings by a combined three points.

Previous five meetings:
2017: MSUM 21, CSP 20 (in Moorhead)
2015: MSUM 30, CSP 28 (in St. Paul)
2013: CSP 36, MSUM 34 (in Moorhead)
2009: CSP 45, MSUM 35 (in Moorhead)
2008: CSP 27, MSUM 23 (in St. Paul)

The Head Coaches
Steve Laqua is in his ninth season as MSUM's head coach with a record of 40-54 at the school. Shannon Currier is in his eighth overall season at CSP with a record of 44-38.

About MSUM
MSUM fell to 3-2 on the season with a 28-26 home loss to Winona State. The Dragons led 26-23 in the fourth quarter but Winona State rallied in the final minutes to earn the win. Freshman quarterback Matthew Plasterer threw for a career-high 349 yards in the loss while Denver Colgrove, Plasterer and Ty Jochim rushed for scores.

Colgrove has rushed for 188 yards and six scores to lead the ground game. Plasterer has completed 60.5 percent of his passes for 849 yards, five scores and three interceptions.

Junior receiver Grady Bresnahan has caught 38 passes for 524 yards and four scores. Senior Herman Gray has 20 catches while sophomore Trent Marquart has 19 catches for 168 yards and a score.

As team, MSUM scores 32.2 points per game and records 352.0 yards per game of total offense.

On defense junior safety Shad Vedaa has 34 tackles and two forced fumbles. Senior linebacker Carson Zarak has 29 tackles. Junior defensive end Darius Woods-Steichen has three sacks while sophomore Deontre Wade and freshman Parker Syverson each have two interceptions. MSUM allows 32.2 points per game and 381.6 yards of total offense.

About Concordia-St. Paul
The Golden Bears are 3-2 overall after losing an 18-15 overtime game at St. Cloud State last Saturday. The game was tied at 12-12 after regulation -- with each team recording four field goals -- but St. Cloud State scored a touchdown on its possession to secure the win.

Quarterback Maxon Hutton has rushed fro 276 yards and two scores to lead the ground game while also throwing for 772 yards, three touchdowns and three interceptions.

Jabril Clewis has 13 catches for 216 yards while MJ Williams has 13 catches for 163 yards and a score. CSP scores 23.0 points per game and records 295.2 yards per game of offense.

Jake Portz leads the NSIC in tackles per game at 10.6 tackles per game and has 53 overall. Chris Garrett has 29 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss and four sacks. The Golden Bears allow 21.6 points per game and 374.2 yards per game of total offense.

More about the Dragons
Happy Returns
Freshman safety Parker Syverson returned an interception 30 yards for a touchdown in the first half of MSUM's 47-32 win over UMary on Sept. 28. That is the first time MSUM has returned an interception for a score since Sheldon Jones did so vs. Minnesota Crookston in 2012. Syverson finished with two interceptions in the game, becoming the first Dragon to have two in one game since Michael Strand did so against Augustana in 2015.

Grady's Grabs
Junior receiver Grady Bresnahan leads the NSIC at 7.6 receptions per game which is eighth best in the nation. Bresnahan leads the Dragons with 38 catches for 524 yards and four scores.  Bresnahan also is 12th in the nation in receiving yards per game (104.8), which is second-best in the NSIC.

Well Taken Care Of
Taking care of the ball was a big key to MSUM earning a trip to the Mineral Water Bowl in 2018 as the Dragons consistently ranked near the top of the NSIC in turnover margin. MSUM has committed five turnovers in four games which is 14th fewest in the nation.  The Dragons are 25th in the nation in turnover margin (+1.0 per game), which is tied for third-best in the NSIC.

Week 6 Under Laqua
The Dragons are 1-7 in Week 6 games under Head Coach Steve Laqua. MSUM picked up a 41-12 win over Minnesota Crookston in 2016, ending a streak of five straight losses in that week during Laqua's tenure. Last year MSUM lost 42-20 to No. 1 Minnesota State and in 2017, MSUM lost a tough 23-14 game to Minnesota Duluth. In 2011, the Dragons lost to Southwest Minnesota State, 45-13 and in 2012, they lost at Minnesota-Duluth 45-14. MSUM lost to UMD, 69-45 in 2013 in Moorhead and was edged by Northern State, 40-38 in 2014. In 2015, MSUM lost to Northern State 48-26 in Aberdeen, S.D.

National Rankings
In addition to Bresnahan's receiving numbers, two Dragons are ranked in the top 30 nationally in the following categories:
--Shad Vedaa is 14th in the nation at 0.40 forced fumbles per game
--Colgrove is 20th in the nation with six rushing touchdowns
MSUM/National Team Rankings
--MSUM is 11th in fourth-down conversion percentage (75.0 percent)
--MSUM is 13th with two defensive touchdowns
--MSUM is 12th in fewest penalty yards per game (40.2)
--MSUM is seventh with just one fumble lost
--MSUM is 14th with five turnovers lost

On the Offensive
MSUM is third in the NSIC in scoring at 32.8 points per game. The Dragons have the No. 1 ranked passing offense (278.8 yards per game) as well.

Home Grown
MSUM has placed an emphasis on recruiting local talent, and this year's roster has 39 players from Minnesota and 38 from North Dakota.