Home opener set for (RV) Beavers against Wildcats on First Responders’ Day

The Bemidji State University football program will honor first responders as part of Saturday, Sept. 11’s home opener against Wayne State College at Chet Anderson Stadium in Bemidji, Minn. The (RV) Beavers and Wildcats kick-off at 2 p.m. as part of First Responders’ Day on the 20th anniversary of 9/11.

Saturday’s game will be streamed through the NSIC Network (Browser/Amazon Fire TV/Android TV/Apple TV/Roku).

Live audio is available through the Beaver Radio Network online or on 92.1 FM radio, led by play-by-play Brian Schultz and color commentator Brian Bissonette.

Wayne State leads the all-time series, 11-9. Bemidji State has won two straight games in the series, with the most recent victory of 27-10 coming on Sept. 29, 2018 in Wayne, Neb. The series is tied, 4-4, in Bemidji while the Beavers won the most recent game at Chet Anderson Stadium, 45-17, on Sept. 17, 2016. The series first began on Sept. 22, 1990, a 22-0 win by Wayne State in Wayne.

Bemidji State opened its season with a 24-16 victory over the University of Sioux Falls on Thursday, Sept. 2 in Sioux Falls, S.D. The Beavers earned their first ever win in Sioux Falls, now back-to-back overall in the series, after a 656-day hiatus since the 2019 season.

BSU scored 24 points before allowing USF to light the scoreboard. The “Gang Green” defense opened the game with a fumble recovery on the Cougars’ first offensive drive of the game. The Beavers followed with another fumble recovery in the third quarter before sealing the win with another fumble recovery with 40 seconds to play.

Sophomore Brandon Alt threw for a career-high 310 passing yards and three touchdowns, becoming the first Bemidji State football student-athlete to throw for at least 300 yards against Sioux Falls.

Senior wide receiver Malik Williams, BSU’s Offensive Player to Watch heading into 2021, caught seven passes for 157 yards and two touchdowns. His touchdown receptions came from 24 yards and 53 yards, the latter to cap a four-play, 91-yard drive to put BSU ahead, 17-0. Williams became the second Beaver with at least 100 receiving yards in the series, topping Blake Holder’s mark of 153 yards from 2014.

The “Gang Green” recorded three fumble recoveries with no turnovers given away for the first time since Oct. 24, 2015 against St. Cloud State University. Junior defensive back Jake West recovered a fumble on the USF opening drive, senior James Moe recovered a fumble in the third quarter while senior linebacker Gabe Ames forced the game-clinching fumble recovered by freshman linebacker Ty Guden in the fourth quarter.

Bemidji State garnered one vote in the AFCA Top 25 Coaches’ Poll following the win over USF. Sioux Falls entered the season with votes in the poll before being taken down by Bemidji State. BSU last received votes in the AFCA Top 25 Poll after week two of the 2017 season, when it started No. 25 in the poll.