The Bemidji State Beavers Football team opens the season hosting Northern State at the Chet tonight at 6pm. Our pregame show starts at 5:30pm on 92.1 The River. Listen in on the Beaver Radio Network (92.1 Bemidji, 107.9 Grand Rapids, 95.3 Thief River Falls, and 94.5 Baudette)
A dominating first half left the No. 11/10 Bemidji State University Football team holding a commanding 36-6 lead and they wouldn’t look back rolling to the 49-13 win over Northern State in the 2023 season opener in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play at Chet Anderson Stadium.
The offense got things going right away after the defense forced a quick three-and-out. Starting at the BSU 32, it was a great start for the offense when Brandon Alt hit Jake Hill deep down the middle for a 43-yard strike to set the Beavers up just outside of the red zone. Faced with a fourth-and-goal, the Beavers went with a shotgun snap to quarterback Sam McGath who rumbled in from a yard out for the touchdown and the early 7-0 lead.
It was another quick three-and-out by the Beaver defense and the offense cashed in. With the ball out near midfield, Ali Mohamed took the second snap and went right up the middle 57 yards for the score and a 14-0 lead. Mohamed made his debut with the Beavers Thursday night after spending time in the NSIC at Minot State.
After the Wolves answered with a big 59-yard pass play, the extra point was missed leaving BSU with the 14-6 advantage. With still four minutes to go in the first quarter, that was enough time for the Beavers to find the end zone once more.
Starting at the NSU 35 following a lengthy 53-yard kickoff return by De’vonta Roberts, the offense was in business. On the next snap, Alt hit Dhel Duncan-Busby for the 35-yard strike and a 21-6 advantage.
Then when Northern State started to put a drive together on the following drive, the defense had an answer. With the ball at the BSU 37 following a timeout, Anthony Vespo tried to connect with a receiver across the middle, but instead Jarrett Klein was there with the interception. After collecting the INT at the 25, he returned it 40 yards to the NSU 35. The offense would be faced with a fourth-and-five at the NSU 30 and Alt found Hill for a big 15-yard play and a first down. On the next snap, Alt found Duncan-Busby for their second touchdown of the game and moved the lead to 27-6. The Beavers went for two on the ensuing try but missed on the pass attempt.
Although BSU couldn’t get those two points, they would quickly get the two points back on a safety. Northern State missed on the first pass attempt and the second snap resulted in a sack in the end zone to push the lead to 29-6. Marcus Hansen and Stephen Hoffman combined for the safety sack.
Before the half closed out, the Beavers still had one more score left in them. With the ball out near midfield with just over two minutes left, BSU would find more points in just four plays. After three plays netted 13 yards, Mohamed was at it again we he rushed through the left side 47 yards for the TD to push the lead to 36-6.
After all the scoring in the opening half, there would be 20 combined points in the second half. BSU opened the scoring in the second stanza when Alt found Sage Booker around the right side, and he walked in for the score from five yards out to move the advantage to 43-6.
In the final frame, Bemidji State would score the only points on a couple of field goals by Marko Jovisic (28 yards, 25 yards) to close the scoring at 49-13.
Bemidji State piled up 424 yards with 216 on the ground. The defense limited the Wolves to just 87 yards rushing on 25 attempts. Alt went 13-22 for 171 yards and two touchdowns. Mohamed finished his debut in style rushing seven times for 113 yards and two scores. He averaged 16.1 yards per carry. Duncan-Busby caught three passes for 72 yards and two touchdowns. Hill added three receptions for 71 yards.
On defense, Isaiah Johnson posted eight tackles, all solo. Princeten Harris added five tackles and Hoffman with four. Hansen had 1.5 sacks, while Roberts, Marco Cavallaro, and Cade Barrett all added to the sack party. BSU had four interceptions on the evening with Maalik Knox, Spencer Shaver, Klein and Spencer Wehr all recording interceptions. Knox returned his 63 yards.
With the victory, head coach Brent Bolte ties H.J. Erickson for second-most wins in program history with 53. He also reaches his 50th career NSIC conference victory. The Beavers extended their winning streak against Northern State to eight games and are now 15-6-1 at home against the Wolves. The 49 points is the most scored against Northern State in the series, breaking the 48-point total from 2003.
Bemidji State will travel to Marshall, Minn., next Saturday (Sep. 9) when they will play at Southwest Minnesota State with kickoff set for 5 p.m. The Mustangs rallied to defeat Minot State, 28-23, on Thursday evening.
——————————————————————
——————————————————————
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | OT | Total | |
| NSU | 6 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 13 |
| BSU | 21 | 15 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 49 |
First Quarter
09:07 – BSU – Sam McGath 1 yd run (Marko Jovisic kick)09:07 – BSU – Sam McGath 1 yd run (Marko Jovisic kick)
06:49 – BSU – ALi Mohamed 57 yd run (Marko Jovisic kick)06:49 – BSU – ALi Mohamed 57 yd run (Marko Jovisic kick)
04:51 – NSU – Dewaylon Ingram 59 yd pass from Anthony Vespo (PAT failed)04:51 – NSU – Dewaylon Ingram 59 yd pass from Anthony Vespo (PAT failed)
04:05 – BSU – Dhel Duncan-Busby 35 yd pass from Brandon Alt (Marko Jovisic kick)04:05 – BSU – Dhel Duncan-Busby 35 yd pass from Brandon Alt (Marko Jovisic kick)
Second Quarter
02:45 – BSU – Dhel Duncan-Busby 15 yd pass from Brandon Alt (2pt failed)02:45 – BSU – Dhel Duncan-Busby 15 yd pass from Brandon Alt (2pt failed)
02:33 – BSU – Marcus Hansen and Stephen Hoffman combined for the safety sack02:33 – BSU – Marcus Hansen and Stephen Hoffman combined for the safety sack
01:40 – BSU – Ali Mohamed 47 yd run (Marko Jovisic kick)01:40 – BSU – Ali Mohamed 47 yd run (Marko Jovisic kick)
Third Quarter
09:30 – BSU – Sage Booker 5 yd pass from Brandon Alt (Marko Jovisic kick)09:30 – BSU – Sage Booker 5 yd pass from Brandon Alt (Marko Jovisic kick)
05:17 – NSU – Dewaylon Ingram 7 yd pass from Colton Hackel (Wade James kick)05:17 – NSU – Dewaylon Ingram 7 yd pass from Colton Hackel (Wade James kick)
Fourth Quarter
14:56 – BSU – Marko Jovisic 28 yd field goal 14:56 – BSU – Marko Jovisic 28 yd field goal
01:10 – BSU – Marko Jovisic 25 yd field goal 01:10 – BSU – Marko Jovisic 25 yd field goal