By Kristin Farris BSU Assistant Director of Athletic Media Relations

BEMIDJI, Minn. — Bemidji State University Football is set to host Southwest
Minnesota State University Saturday at 3 p.m. to kickoff the 2026 Northern Sun
Intercollegiate Conference Schedule. Prior to Saturday’s game, the Beavers will
recognize their 2026 senior class.

BSU NOTES

* The Beavers enter the weekend at 0-1 after coming close to a comeback late
last weekend against RV Michigan Technological University. The Huskies took the
tie-breaking win (current era series now at 1-2 in favor of MTU) by a score of
31-29 after a failed two-point conversion attempt from BSU with under a minute to
play.
* Connor Carver leads the Beavers on the ground with 12 rushing attempts for 58
yards and two touchdowns. He also went 2-2-0 through the air last Thursday,
grabbing the Beavers 16 yards. A true triple threat, Carver also lined up as a
receiver and caught one pass for 16 yards.
* Bart McAninch leads the passing game with five completions on 13 attempts last
week. He threw for 150 yards and two touchdowns, marking a long play of 57 yards.
* Zavery Guerra and Lucas Peterson saw the majority of targets in week one with
Guerra grabbing three and Peterson with six. Guerra led the team in yardage with
119, a long play of 57. Peterson earned the Beavers two touchdowns and 79 yards
with a long of 26.
* Defensively, BSU is led by linebackers Ray Iglesias and Koehler Kilty, along
with defensive backs Caden Bolte and L’Shawn Taylor. The four have combined for 30
of the Beavers’ 56 tackles from Thursday.
* The last time the Beavers and Mustangs met, the Beavers earned a 33-0 shutout
on home turf. BSU holds the all-time series advantage of 28-21-1 and has won the
last six games. BSU is also 16-7-1 all time against the Mustangs at Chet Anderson
Stadium.
* Next weekend, BSU has its first road test, heading to Mankato, Minn. for a 6
p.m. matchup against No. 4/3 Minnesota State University Mankato. Last week, the
Mavericks took down Colorado Mesa University, 38-14, in Grand Junction, Colo.

SMSU NOTES

* Last week, the Mustangs earned their first win in almost a year, defeating
Valley City State University 10-7, to start the season 1-0. Prior to the win, the
Mustangs had lost their last nine games of the 2025 season, finishing with a 1-10
record thanks to a win over University of Jamestown on September 13, 2025.
* This season, SMSU’s run game is led by second-year running back Josh
Lancifort. Against the Vikings, Lancifort tallied 67 net yards with an average of
3.5 yards per rush. On the scoring side, Shaun Walrath, a third-year running back,
grabbed the Mustangs’ solo touchdown and 17 rushing yards.
* Senior quarterback Macloud Crowton was the Mustangs’ solo passer against VCSU,
grabbing 250 passing yards with 22 completions on 38 attempts with one
interception. On the receiving end of Crowton’s passes, Tryg Auten led SMSU with
66 receiving yards, averaging 11.00 yards per reception.
* Defensively, SMSU is led by second-year linebacker Hunter Hanegraaf. He
totaled 10 tackles last week with 2.5 tackles for a loss of nine yards. Two
Mustangs also grabbed sacks against VCSU with Jack Meier taking one back for three
yards and Malachi Kohls earning an eight-yard sack.
* Next week, SMSU hosts Northern State University at 5 p.m. Sep. 15 for their
annual Ag Bowl.