MOORHEAD, Minn. -- The MSU Moorhead football team hosts the Bearcats of McKendree University for their third game of the 2023 season. Kickoff time for this non-conference matchup is set for Saturday at noon from SCHEELS Field at Nemzek Stadium.

Live stats and video are available at msumdragons.com.
 
Head Coach Matchup

MSU Moorhead head coach Steve Laqua is in his 13^th season as leader of the Dragons. Some of his accolades include winning 2018 NSIC Coach of the Year, and 2009 and 2010 North Dakota High School AA Coach of the Year.

McKendree's Mike Babcock is in his 11^th season as the head coach of the Bearcats. During his time so far with McKendree, they have been perennial contenders in the Great Lakes Valley Conference.
 
About the Dragons

The Dragons (1-1) will be looking for their second win of the season on their home turf this Saturday after a resounding 56-14 victory against Minot State last weekend. MSUM ran away with the game as the offense was running on all cylinders, and the defense was clicking as well. They will look to keep both sides of the ball humming when McKendree comes into town this week.

The Dragon offensive attack so far this year has been led by a stellar effort from sophomore quarterback Jack Strand. Through two contests this year, Strand has completed 72-of-102 passes for a completion rate of 70.6 percent, and for a total of 650 yards and 8 touchdowns. Strand racked up those numbers without even playing in the fourth quarter against Minot State on Saturday. Both opponents MSUM has faced so far this season have not been able to find many answers to Strand, and the Dragon's high-octane passing attack. After week two of competition, MSUM has the first-ranked passing offense in the NSIC, and fifth offense overall.

On the receiving end of all these passes from Strand are a whole host of receivers. Redshirt sophomore wideout Gage Florence won't surprise many people with his team-leading 24 receptions for 146 yards and a touchdown. Sophomore receiver Brady Perryman has been a standout so far on the gridiron, hauling in 17 catches for 190 yards and an incredible four touchdown grabs. Another stud so far for the Dragons in the passing game has been redshirt sophomore Carter Birrenkott. He has pulled in nine catches for 125 yards, two of those being touchdowns. He also leads the team with 13.9 yards per catch.

The Dragons ran the ball well last week, rushing for 101 yards on 21 attempts, good for 4.8 yards per carry. Three Dragons rushed for over 30 yards, the leader of them being freshman Owen Wiersma who was the feature back on MSUM's last drive of the game, rushing for 43 yards on eight carries and a touchdown to cap off the drive. Senior running back Tyson Powell had a 26 yard scamper, and a total of 33 yards on three totes. Junior running back Luke Imdieke totaled 32 rushing yards, while also adding 25 receiving yards and a touchdown out of the backfield.

The Dragon defense through two weeks currently sits fourth in the NSIC in yards allowed. Junior linebacker Jack Bundgarden has been flying sideline to sideline making plays for the Dragons this season with 17 takedowns, and he also leads the team with 5.5 tackles for loss. Junior linebacker Josiah Behm is always stout in the middle of MSUM's defense as he's tallied 15 tackles and half a sack over two games. Junior defensive lineman Denver Sheets had a fantastic last game with seven tackles and one and a half sacks against Minot State. Sophomore defensive back Tate Gustafson had himself a day as well with seven tackles and two tackles for loss to go along with a blocked punt. The block resulted in a Dragon touchdown. 
  
Scouting the Bearcats

The McKendree University Bearcats (0-2) will come into Nemzek Stadium on Saturday looking for their first victory of the new season. Their first contest of the season they took a 79-14 beating from Tiffin University. Last week also did not go to plan for the Bearcats in their home opener as they lost 35-3 to the University of West Florida. In last week's game, they had 135 total yards on offense, for 2.4 yards per play. Redshirt junior wide receiver Yogi Flager Jr. hauled in eight catches for 87 yards. Redshirt junior quarterback Caleb Fisher completed 15-of-26 passing attempts for 167 yards and an interception. 

Defensively for the Bearcats, in their first two contests this season, they have allowed 572 yards per game and 8.2 yards per play. Their leading tackler is senior safety Elijah Felton with 12 tackles. Junior linebacker Zion Rodriguez has also contributed with five tackles and a sack.
 
More About the Dragons
 
Sizzlin' in the Redzone

Last week against Minot State the Dragons were in the redzone five times with all five trips resulting with the Dragons reaching paydirt. Four of which were passing touchdowns, and one touchdown was on the ground. They will hope to continue this hot stretch on Saturday.
 
Good on the Ground

MSUM rushed for 101 yards last week which is a higher total than 10 of MSUM's 11 games in 2022. A seasoned MSUM offensive line kept the holes open with running room for the MSUM backs. 
 
Feeling Special

MSUM's special teams unit came to play in the third quarter last week when Tate Gustafson blocked a punt in the endzone that Jack Bungarden jumped on top of for a score. Special teams has the ability to flip a tightly contested game one way or another. In future games, the Dragons will be hoping for more big special teams plays as it certainly provided the Dragons with more momentum last Saturday.