Beavers and Wildcats kickoff Saturday
Bemidji State hosts Wayne State for Hall of Fame weekend game Saturday.
Bemidji State University football is set to host Wayne State College at 1 p.m. Saturday for the annual Hall of Fame game. This year, Hall of Fame honorees include former Beaver running back John Gronski and multiple other Beaver Athletics greats.
The Beavers and Wildcats met for the first time in 1990 and have posted a tied 11-11 record since that day. At the Chet, the Beavers have marked the advantage with a 7-4 record and 11-6 in games that were included in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play. Currently on a four-game win streak, the most recent meeting ended with the Beavers taking down the Wildcats 33-23 in Wayne, Neb.
BSU comes into the weekend after a close loss to Winona State University last week, falling to the Warriors 31-28. They are now 5-3 overall with a record of 4-3 in NSIC play.
The Beavers are led offensively by the trio of Jayden Washington, Sam McGath and Brice Peters. On the ground, Washington has amassed 504 net rushing yards with three touchdowns and a longest rush of 53 yards. At quarterback, McGath has completed 142 of 229 passes for a 62.01 completion percentage and 15 passing touchdowns. On the receiving end of McGath’s passes, Bubba Peters has grabbed 703 yards on 41 receptions for eight touchdowns.
Defensively, Colton Hinrichs and Marcus Hansen have each tallied over 40 total tackles this season, Hinrichs with 46 and Hansen at 41. Hansen has also marked the most tackles for a loss, 9.5 TFL for 45 yards, and sacks, 6.5 for 33 yards. Stephen Hoffman has been in many quarterbacks’ nightmares, marking 10 quarterback hurries and one pass breakup.
The Beavers remain in the national spotlight this week, marking 10 top-25 NCAA Division II rankings.
BSU’s offense is ranked in the top 50 for 3rd down conversion (15th), 4th down conversion (6th), completion percentage (34th), first downs (48th), rushing offense (30th), tackles for loss allowed (20th), time of possession (13th) and total offense (49th).
Defensively, the Beavers grab top 50 nods in 3rd down conversion (34th), 4th down conversion (31st), blocked punts (10th), first downs (13th), fumbles recovered (27th), kickoff return defense (24th), passing yards allowed (15th), rushing defense (29th), scoring (18th), team passing efficiency defense (44th), team sacks (37th), team tackles for loss (50th) and total defense (9th).
Sam McGath also is ranked in the top 45 quarterbacks for completion percentage and completions per game at 43rd and 37th, respectively. Additionally, he takes 33rd in passing touchdowns, 45th for passing yards, 22nd in points responsible for and 29th in points responsible for per game.
Stephen Hoffman has found a top-50 spot in forced fumbles, taking third in the conference and 44th in Division II with 0.25 per game.
Theodus Ringgold is in the top 10 nationally for fumbles recovered at 8th place, first in the NSIC, with two recoveries.
Following this weekend, the Beavers head on the road to Moorhead, Minn. to play Minnesota State University Moorhead in the annual Battle Axe Rivalry game next Saturday at noon.