By Kristin Farris
BSU Assistant Director of Athletic Media Relations

Bemidji State University Football heads on the road for the final
time Saturday. The Beavers will face off against the No. 13/10 University of
Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs with a 12 p.m. kickoff from James S. Malosky Stadium in
Duluth, Minn.

Bemidji State Notes

* Bemidji State enters the weekend at 3-6 overall with a 3-5 record in the
Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference. October hosted a three-game winning
streak for the Beavers, but this streak came to a close last Saturday in Moorhead,
Minn. when BSU fell to Minnesota State University Moorhead, 49-21, in the Battle
Axe Rivalry Game.
* The Beavers come in at 10th in the NSIC and fourth in the North Division with
two North Division games left this season.
* On the ground, the Beaver offense is led by quarterback Connor Carver who
ranks seventh in the NSIC for rushing touchdowns, eighth in rushing yards and
yards per game. This has helped the Beaver offense to rank 44th in the NCAA,
seventh in the NSIC, for rushing offense.
* Caden Bolte leads the defense this season, ranking 53rd in the NCAA for solo
tackles and 149th in total tackles. Bolte is also 46th in the NCAA for passes
defended with eight so far this season.
* Drayton Lehman has shot to the top of the leader board for punt returns in the
NSIC, averaging 8.9 yards per return. He is also 31st in the NCAA for this effort.
* Connor Mantelli moved to 86th in the NCAA for field goals after his first
missed kick of the season last weekend. On the other hand, Mantelli is now 28th in
the nation for punting, averaging 41.1 yards per punt.
* Quarterback Bart McAninch remains in 10th in the NCAA for completion
percentage for the second week. McAninch has posted a .674 completion percentage
with 95 completions on 141 attempts with seven interceptions. McAninch has thrown
nine of the Beavers’ 13 touchdowns.
* The Beavers close the regular season next week, hosting the University of Mary
at Chet Anderson Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. and is available on the
NSIC Network and Beaver Radio Network.

Minnesota Duluth Notes

* The Bulldogs hold a .889 win percentage this season, sitting at 8-1 overall
and 7-1 in the conference, holding the top spot in the North and second overall in
the conference.
* Last week, the Bulldogs downed the University of Jamestown Jimmies, 45-29. The
team’s solo loss came on Oct. 11 at Northern State University when UMD fell 34-31.
* Redshirt senior quarterback Kyle Walljasper leads the Bulldogs’ offense with
530 rushing yards, 11 rushing touchdowns and 58.89 rushing yards per game. Through
the air, Walljasper has posted the fifth-best completion percentage in the NCAA at
.710 with 1916 yards. He hosts the best passing efficiency in the nation at 195.0.
Adding to his stat sheet, Walljasper is ranked fourth in the NCAA for passing
touchdowns, third for points responsible for and first in passing yards per pass
attempt.
* The Bulldogs’ special teams return unit is led by Jonathan Shrum who has
posted the No. 14 kickoff return efforts in the nation. He leads the conference in
KOR touchdowns and KORs.
* On the receiving end of Walljasper’s passes, Luke Dehnicke leads the nation in
receiving yards with 918, taking third in yards per game and fifth in receptions
per game.
* Defensively, Wojo Weerts ranks second in the NSIC with 0.63 sacks per game.
Additionally, Brock Unger is averaging 0.38 interceptions per game, taking 25th in
the NCAA and fourth in the conference.
* The Bulldogs will close the regular season at Minot State University next
Saturday at 1 p.m. They will then look towards the NCAA Division II Football
playoffs for the first time since their 48-14 first-round loss to Angelo State
University in 2021.