MOORHEAD, Minn. -- The wait for college football is over as the MSU Moorhead Dragons get their season started against the Wayne State Wildcats this Thursday.
Kickoff time is set for 6 p.m. on Thursday in Wayne, Neb.
Live stats and video are available at msumdragons.com
About the Dragons
The Dragons come into this year with high hopes, hoping to improve on a 4-7 ledger last year.
Steve Laqua leads the Dragons onto the field for his 13
th year as head coach.
The Dragon offense will be primed and ready to go this season as they return a majority of their offensive production from last year. The starting signal caller will be true sophomore
Jack Strand, who stepped in week four for the Dragons and ran with the opportunity. Season totals for Strand's freshman year were: 230 completions on 356 attempts for a 64.5 completion percentage, 2280 total passing yards for an average of 253 yards per game, while also throwing for 16 touchdowns.
The top five receiving threats from last season are back, led by senior wide receiver
Ryan Bieberdorf and redshirt sophomore receiver
Gage Florence. Bieberdorf led the Dragons in yards per catch last season, averaging 15.5 yards per reception, meanwhile Florence led the team in a few categories: receptions with (a school record) 100 catches, receiving yards with 996 and receiving touchdowns with six. Young returning receivers like
Carter Birrenkott and
Brady Perryman are also players that will make an impact.
Junior running back
Luke Imdieke returns as the rushing leader for the Dragons last season with 347 yards and a touchdown. Senior running back
Tyson Powell will be making a big comeback this year after an injury ended his season last year as he expected to carry the ball along with Imdieke.
Defensively, the Dragons are led by junior linebacker
Josiah Behm, who led the team with 91 tackles last season, and he also had eight tackles for loss. Along the defensive line last year, junior
Denver Sheets chalked up three sacks and 11 tackles for loss. MSUM's defensive player to watch for 2023,
Hayden Carr, also had three sacks to go along with 21 tackles last season. Redshirt sophomore
Abe Hestdalen contributed with three sacks and eight tackles for loss as well.
Defending the skies in the secondary are a pair of seniors,
Jared Kallenbach and
Jake Bettcher. Last season, Kallenbach had three interceptions and 75 tackles while Bettcher had four interceptions along with 65 tackles. Junior safety
Cody Sorenson is also a good piece in the secondary as he totaled two INTs and 52 tackles last season. In 2022, the Dragons averaged 298 yards per game offensively while allowing 398 yards defensively.
About the Wildcats
The Wildcats of Wayne State had a really strong season last year, finishing third in the NSIC with a 9-3 overall record, and a 4-2 conference record. They are coached by second year man Logan Masters.
Offensively, the Wildcats they are led by junior quarterback Nick Bohn. Bohn was 162-of-273 for a completion percentage of 59 percent, he threw for a total of 2246 yards and 19 touchdowns. Catching passes from Bohn is junior wide receiver Jadon Johnson. Last year Johnson racked up 632 receiving yards and 5 touchdowns.
On the ground is really where the Wildcats shined offensively last season, finishing the year with the third-most rushing yards in the NSIC. Quarterback Nick Bohn is a dual threat, as he rushed for 725 yards and 7 touchdowns last year. However, their top two running backs are not returning this year, and it'll be up to a young running back room to pick up where the Wildcats left off last year. Sophomore running back Dawson Forgy is a name to look out for.
On defense, junior linebacker Alex Kowalczyk led the team last year with 106 tackles and he also snagged three interceptions. Senior defensive back Tanner Cooper will be patrolling the skies for the Wildcats, last year he finished with two interceptions and 42 tackles. Leading the defensive line group for the Wildcats is senior Rex Becker, who had 39 total tackles a season ago.
Last season the Wildcats averaged 390 yards per game offensively while allowing 301 yards defensively.
Last Time Around…
MSUM and Wayne State met in the 2022 regular season finale, a game that was played on a frigid 22 degree day in Wayne, America. The Dragons lost a low-scoring defensive slugfest that went down to the wire, 10-7. The Dragons were held scoreless in the first half and were down by 10 points at halftime. MSUM put up a fight in the second half and scored on a rushing touchdown from
Luke Imdieke in the third quarter to bring it within one score while the Dragon defense held the Wildcats scoreless. The Dragons were held scoreless in the fourth quarter and Wayne State held on for the win.
More About the Dragons
Leaders on Both Sides of the Ball
On the offensive side of the ball, redshirt sophomore wideout
Gage Florence was named MSUM's offensive player to watch in 2023. Florence is the reigning NSIC Offensive Newcomer of the Year after pulling in a school record 100 receptions for 996 yards and 6 touchdowns. Defensively,
Hayden Carr earned the honors of being named MSUM's defensive player to watch in 2023. In the 2022 campaign, Carr collected 21 tackles and 3.5 tackles for loss, to go along with his three sacks. Head coach
Steve Laqua pinpointed him as an "excellent leader" and said that "Carr is poised to have a great senior year."
Looking to Prove Something
The Dragons were picked 10
th in the NSIC preseason coaches' poll for 2023. Last year the Dragons finished ninth in the NSIC, going 4-7 with wins over Upper Iowa, Minot State, U-Mary and Concordia-St Paul. With a bunch of experienced leaders, and a majority of the offensive and defensive production from last season returning, MSUM is poised to be a tough team to beat for opponents.
Letting it Fly
The Dragons finished last year with the second-best passing offense in the NSIC. They threw for 270 yards per game, along with a total of 19 touchdowns. They completed the most passes in the conference, 300 total on 489 attempts, coming out to a 61.7 completion percentage. This was the second-highest completion percentage in the conference. As previously mentioned, MSUM's top five receiving threats are back for more again this season as well as quarterback
Jack Strand. The Bloomer, Wis., native had a game where he completed a school record 45 passes in 2022.
