Football | 8/31/2021 1:45:00 PM
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The Minnesota State University Moorhead football team opens the 2021 season on Thursday at Southwest Minnesota State. Kickoff is 7 p.m. at Mattke Field at the Schwan Regional Event Center.
It will be the first game for the Dragons since Nov. 2019. The 2020 season was cancelled because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Live stats and video are available at msumdragons.com
An MSUM win over SMSU would...
—give the Dragons two straight wins in the series
--give the Dragons a sixth straight win in season openers
--be a fourth straight win on the road for the Dragons
Series History
MSUM leads the all-time series with Southwest Minnesota State 28-19. The Dragons beat the Mustangs 23-14 for their first win in the series since 2007.
Previous five meetings:
2019: MSU Moorhead 23, SMSU 14 (in Marshall, Minn.)
2017: SMSU 51, MSU Moorhead 35 (in Moorhead, Minn.)
2015: SMSU 48, MSU Moorhead 9 (in Moorhead)
2013: SMSU 27, MSU Moorhead 20 (in Moorhead)
2011: SMSU 45, MSU Moorhead 13 (in Moorhead)
The Head Coaches
Steve Laqua is in his ninth season as MSUM's head coach with a record of 43-57 at the school. Cory Sauter is in his 12th season as the SMSU head coach with a record of 43-68.
About MSUM
MSUM finished the 2019 campaign with a 6-5 mark overall and 5-2 mark in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference's North Division. The Dragons return four starters on offense and eight on defense from that squad.
Senior receiver and co-captain Grady Bresnahan returns after catching 59 passes for 716 yards and four touchdowns in 2019. He was an All-NSIC North First Team selection as well.Â
Sophomore Ryan Bieberdorf had 44 catches for 451 yards and two scores in 2019 while junior Trent Marquart had 38 catches for 293 yards.
MSUM's top three rushers all departed from the 2019 squad as several new faces will be looked upon to carry the ground game.
The offensive line has one starter back -- junior Troy Casperson -- and will look to several candidates to solidify that unit.
The defense has plenty of experience returning, starting on the defensive line. Senior Darius Woods-Steichen led MSUM with six sacks and shared the team lead with 12.0 tackles for loss in 2019. Senior Jordan Magnuson had 12.0 tackles for loss as well along with 5.5 sacks. Senior Hunter Sall had 7.0 tackles for loss while senior Derek Porozinski had 8.0 tackles for loss.
Senior linebacker and co-captain Matt Schoh led the Dragons with 76 tackles in 2019 while senior defensive back and co-captain Shad Vedaa had 73 tackles and an interception.
MSUM averaged 27.4 points per game in 2019 and had 340.2 yards per game in total offense. The Dragons surrendered 26.5 points per game and 365.0 yards of total offense.
About SMSU
The Mustangs were 3-8 overall and 1-6 in the NSIC South in 2019. They return one starter on offense from that team -- offensive lineman Brad Gould.
Andrew Haidet, a transfer from Northern Illinois, is a top contender at the quarterback spot for the Mustangs along with returnee Steven Nava. Sophomore Duce Reynolds returns after rushing for 405 yards and four touchdowns in 2019.Â
The defense returns All-NSIC South linebacker Onte Burns, who led the NSIC with 108 tackles in 2019. Senior linebacker Gage Roberson is also back after recording 69 tackles.Â
The Mustangs were picked to finish 11th in the NSIC preseason coaches poll.
More about the Dragons
Bresnahan's Back
Senior Grady Bresnahan returns after leading the Dragons in receptions in 2018 and 2019. Bresnahan was All-NSIC North First Team in 2019 after earning second-team honors in 2018. Bresnahan is fifth all-time in receptions at MSUM at 173.
Smashing Debuts
MSUM is 6-3 in season openers during Steve Laqua's tenure as head coach. The Dragons have won five straight openers, dating back to 2015 when they christened the new turf at Scheels Field with a 42-17 rout of Winona State.
Sack Attack
MSUM recorded 23 sacks as a team in 2019. A total of 22 sacks returns from that team return, led by 6.0 from senior defensive end Darius Woods-Steichen and 5.5 from senior defensive tackle Jordan Magnuson. Those two players each had 12 tackles for loss in 2019.
