Nov. 1—MOORHEAD — Heading into Saturday’s rivalry game between Minnesota State Moorhead and the Bemidji State football team, the Dragons had the second-best passing offense in the country.
Quarterback Jack Strand showed the BSU defense why.
Advertisement
Like a butcher, Strand sliced and diced the Beavers, tying the NSIC record with seven passing touchdowns in a 49-21 victory for the Dragons at Nemzek Stadium in Moorhead. It’s the first time MSU Moorhead has claimed the Battle Axe since 2018.
“It’s inexcusable on all three levels on some of the plays that occurred,” head coach Brent Bolte said. “We turned it over (three) times on offense, and then we had a blocked punt. … Against a good offense, if you give them (four) extra possessions, yeah, you’re not going to probably end up winning too many games.”
Strand finished his career day going 32 for 42 for 366 yards, with seven touchdowns and only one interception. He beat his previous record of six touchdowns thrown earlier this season against Northern Michigan.
Strand found five different receivers in the end zone, his favorite being Gage Florence, catching 12 passes for 91 yards and two scores.
Advertisement
Brady Perryman led the Dragons in receiving yards with 126. After he went off to the races for a long 76-yard touchdown to open the first quarter, BSU’s Jake Hill responded with an over-the-shoulder grab to tie it 7-7.
MSUM took the momentum from there. Carson Elbert made an impressive one-handed catch in the back of the end zone, and after a blocked punt, MSU Moorhead found the end zone again to go up 21-7. While BSU scored a late touchdown, the Dragons led a 74-yard scoring drive in 50 seconds to go up 28-14 at halftime.
Strand threw for 262 yards, four touchdowns and one interception in the first half alone.
“They throw the ball. They want to play basketball on turf,” Bolte said of the Dragons’ offense. “We talked about how we beat them since we’ve had the axe since 2018 — you play more physical than Moorhead, and we let them play a different brand of football that we didn’t cover very well.”
Advertisement
While BSU had a chance to get back in the game, the offense sputtered in the second half. QB Bart McAninch threw two of his three interceptions in the third quarter as Strand kept finding the end zone.
Before being replaced by Zach Romak in the fourth quarter, McAninch was 11 for 19 for 90 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions.
“Bart did some good things, and unfortunately, I thought we gave up a little bit too much pressure,” Bolte said. “I think he got a little happy in the pocket and caused some of those errant throws.
“He’ll bounce back. He’s a really good player for us.”
Advertisement
Despite the loss, Hill continues to be one of BSU’s most dynamic playmakers in his four games since his return from injury. He ended the day with five catches for 55 yards and two touchdowns.
“He just has an unbelievable catch radius, right?” Bolte said of the redshirt senior. “He’s one of the best receivers that we’ve had. Kind of been a little bit hidden, just because he’s been battling the injury bug.”
After the game, Bolte said there’s a lot of blame to go around, including on the coaches and himself.
“I got to get the guys ready to go better,” he explained. “I thought they were ready to go. I thought they were dialed in, had a good week of practice.
Advertisement
“Our margins aren’t what they used to be. They’re a young team, but youthfulness can only be an excuse for so long. They played a lot of college football games to this point, so we just got to settle in and play better.”
With two games left on the schedule, Bemidji State (3-6) will travel to Duluth to take on the Bulldogs (8-1) on Nov. 8. They will end the season on Nov. 15 at Chet Anderson Stadium against U-Mary.
The NSIC can be an unpredictable conference. After BSU defeated Wayne State on Oct. 11, the Wildcats came back and beat a one-loss Minnesota State team the next week.
What the focus will be from here on out, Bolte said, is getting back to the basics and playing Bemidji State football.
Advertisement
“Anybody can beat anybody, it’s just getting our kids to play our brand,” he said. “And that’s my frustration with this group and coaches, myself. We need to play Bemidji State football, and we didn’t really display it at times today.
“It’s just been a frustrating year, but the kids will battle; they always have. And we’ll just get back to the basics of what we are known for.”
MSU Moorhead 49, Bemidji State 21
MSUM 7 21 7 14 — 49
BSU 7 7 0 7 — 21
First quarter — MSUM TD, Perryman 76-yard catch from Strand (Watson PAT), 7-0 MSUM; BSU TD, Hill 19-yard catch from McAninch (Mantelli PAT), 7-7.
Advertisement
Second quarter — MSUM TD, Elbert 6-yard catch from Strand (Watson PAT), 14-7 MSUM; MSUM TD, Florence 7-yard catch from Strand (Watson PAT), 21-7 MSUM; BSU TD, Hill 8-yard catch from McAninch (Mantelli PAT), 21-14 MSUM; MSUM TD, Thorson 2-yard catch from Strand (Watson PAT), 28-14 MSUM.
Third quarter — MSUM TD, Elbert 6-yard catch from Strand (Watson PAT), 35-14 MSUM.
Fourth quarter — MSUM TD, Brandt 11-yard catch from Strand (Watson PAT), 42-14 MSUM; MSUM TD, Florence 7-yard catch from Strand (Watson PAT), 49-14 MSUM; BSU TD, Peterson 17-yard catch from Romak (Mantelli PAT), 49-21 MSUM.
Penalties: MSUM 1; BSU 6.
