MOORHEAD, Minn. – Minnesota State Moorhead football began the 2026 season in victorious fashion on Thursday evening inside Alex Nemzek Stadium. Led by a breakout showing from quarterback
Drew Huebner, MSUM rumbled to a 41-19 win over Northern Michigan.
The Wildcats would begin the contest with a strong set of scripted plays, moving to the Dragon nine-yard line in just six plays. Moorhead's defense would awaken on the seventh play of the drive with Northern Michigan knocking on the door. Quarterback Liam Ockowski would roll out to pass but would be picked off by sophomore
Jacion Owens in the end zone.
With the early defensive spark, Moorhead's offense would almost immediately find a groove. Sophomore quarterback
Drew Huebner would complete his first two pass attempts to senior
Kelly Johnson and sophomore
Kalen Lucas. Huebner would then use his legs for 14 yards to push Moorhead to their own 41-yard line. After another completion to Lucas, the Dragons sat on the NMU 39-yard line.
From there, all it took was one play as senior back
Tyson Brandt entered the game and immediately took a delayed handoff up the middle. Brandt went nearly untouched to the end zone, putting MSUM in front by seven points. Northern Michigan would continue to move the ball effectively on the ensuing drive but could only muster a field goal to pull within four points. The teams would trade punts to end the first frame with the Dragons leading 7-3.
As the teams continued to trade punts into the second quarter, it was another defensive jolt that kickstarted MSUM. After the Wildcats would get to MSUM's seven-yard line, the Dragons would hold NMU to a field goal attempt. The try was blocked by sophomore
Brodie Brunssen with senior
Evan Miles falling on the ball. Huebner only needed one play from there, running 73 yards for a touchdown to erupt the Nemzek crowd. The run is the longest by a Dragon since 2017 (Jonathan Kabambi, 78 yards) and placed MSUM in front, 14-3.
After the Dragons would stall the Wildcats out again, MSUM put their firm impression on the game. Brandt guided the drive, snarfing up 32 all-purpose yards to get MSUM to the NMU 45-yard line. A dazzling slant route from Lucas would leave him wide open in the middle of the field. Huebner would hit his man in stride, leading to a passing touchdown for the Dragons. That score would hold firm at halftime as
Gannon Bolgrean would cap the half with an interception.
Moorhead would have a chance to put the game further out of reach to open the second half. Huebner would continue to connect with Lucas on MSUM's first drive, coupled with a 20-yard strike to
Denzel Sutton. The Dragons would get down to the NMU two-yard line before Huebner delivered a strike to
Kelly Johnson for another score. Northern Michigan would get two points back later in the period after a punt snap went awry. However, MSUM would respond right back with another potent offensive series. After getting to the Northern Michigan 44-yard line, Moorhead would dial up a superb wheel route for senior
Owen Wiersma. The Wildcats would lose Wiersma as he motioned out, leaving him all alone along the right sideline. Wiersma would dash forward, securing Huebner's third passing touchdown of the game. After three quarters, MSUM led 35-5.
Northern Michigan would get a score back to open the fourth frame, bringing the score to 35-12 in favor of the Dragons. On the ensuing Dragon drive, Moorhead would do an effective job of chewing up the game clock thanks to strong runs from Wiersma and
Kevon Johnson. With MSUM at the NMU nine-yard line, Huebner delivered an unbelievable back shoulder throw to Johnson in the end zone. The miraculous throw put the Dragons up 41-12 with the drive spanning just over six minutes.
While Northern Michigan would get a late score, Moorhead held firm control of the contest throughout. The Dragons would claim a 41-19 victory behind 374 all-purpose yards and five touchdowns from Huebner. Moorhead's defense stood tall all evening, despite the Dragons losing the time of possession battle (34:44-25:16). MSUM's defense tallied seven tackles for loss from Bolgrean,
Josh Balstad,
Denver Piechowski,
Reign Battle,
Gavin Jarchow,
Jake Schaefer and
Malik Winfield. Balstad, Battle, Schaefer and Winfield all collected quarterback sacks in the victory.
Top Dragons
- Drew Huebner: 21-31, 265 pass yards, four passing touchdowns, 109 rush yards, one rushing touchdown
- Kalen Lucas: Nine receptions, 116 yards, one touchdown
- Kelly Johnson: Six receptions, 49 yards, two touchdowns
- Gannon Bolgrean: Seven solo tackles, one interception
- Jacion Owens: Seven solo tackles, one interception
- Tyson Brandt: Six carries, 54 yards, one touchdown
- Owen Wiersma: Six carries, 29 yards, one reception, 44 receiving yards, one touchdown
Steve d'Eustachio's Stat of the Game
The Dragons are now 3-0 when playing a home game in the month of August. The Dragons beat Minnesota Crookston 34-10 on Aug. 30, 2018. They also defeated Valley City State 16-6 on Aug 29, 2009.
Up Next
MSUM (1-0) remains at home as they prepare for the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) opener against Concordia-St. Paul. Kickoff from Nemzek Stadium is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Thursday, September 3.
