Right away from the first quarter No. 25 St. Cloud State dominated Bemidji State University, gaining a 35-14 victory in St. Cloud Saturday in a Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference game. The Beavers allowed big plays early in the game and couldn’t get anything going on offense, leading to a 28-0 deficit at the half that was too large to overcome.
“We just couldn’t stop their run early and their quarterback made huge throws on third downs,” said head coach Jeff Tesch. “(Phillip Klaphake, SCSU’s QB) is a heck of a player. He made a lot of plays with his feet and threw the ball exceptionally well. He might have been the difference in the game and the best player on the field. We had chances, but didn’t do it early. The defense tightened-up in the second half, we got a little more going offensively, so that is the good news of the day.”
Throwing for 85 yards, senior quarterback Derek Edholm (Anoka, Minn.) became Bemidji State’s all-time passing yards leader (5,337 yards), while attempting 23 passes and establishing the school’s record for passing attempts (788 attempts).
St. Cloud State (8-2, 8-1 NSIC) got up early, scoring twice in the opening quarter. The first score came on its second drive of the game, going 98 yards, capped by a 69-yard rushing touchdown. The 98 yard drive was the longest BSU has given up to an opponent this season, as was the 69-yard run. SCSU scored two more times in the second quarter, owning a 28-0 halftime lead. The Huskies tacked on one more touchdown in the third quarter to gain the commanding 35-0 advantage. The score was a zero yard fumble recovery by Husky wide receiver Fred Williams. On second-and-goal from the 10, Klaphake ran the ball down to the one yard line and BSU knocked the ball out and it was loose in the end zone. Unfortunately for BSU, nobody in green and white was around to recover the ball.
The Beaver offense had totalled only 148 yards entering the fourth quarter. In the final frame, BSU gained 114 yards and scored two touchdowns on passes from Edholm to junior wide receiver Justin Lee (Elgin, Ill.). The Beavers posted drives of 51 and 67 yards to gain the end zone. The two scores by Lee is his first multiple-score game of his career.
The first drive was set-up by the defense as junior linebacker Blake Sczpanski (Stephen, Minn.) forced a fumble at midfield and freshman linebacker Buckley Wright (Sioux City, Iowa) recovered with four minutes left in the third quarter. On the first play of fourth quarter, Edholm found Lee on a 17-yard pass into the end zone for the first BSU score, avoiding the second shut-out of the season. The second score was a nine-yard pass to Lee with a minute left in regulation. The drive mixed passes and rushes to march down the 67 yards. Sophomore running back Dustin Kroeplin (Withee, Wis.) had his longest rush during the drive, a 29 yard run that put the Beavers into SCSU territory.
Kroeplin had 93 yards in the game, but failed to score a touchdown for the first time in five games. Edholm added 78 yards on the ground on 13 attempts. Junior wide receiver Jody Henningson (North Aurora, Ill.) led the receivers with 31 yards on three catches. Lee scored on both his receptions. Junior linebacker Cory Crosby (Cold Spring, Minn.) was BSU’s leading tackler with 11 (four solo). The Beavers allowed 408 yards to the Huskies that rank second in the conference and 24th in the nation in total offense averaging 429.8 yards a game.
NOTES: The Beavers have now lost seven straight to St. Cloud State and are 16-44-3 all-time against the Huskies…SCSU’s Seth Noreen is the brother of BSU freshman men’s basketball player Zach Noreen…Seth Noreen had one catch for 12 yards that ended at the BSU one yard line, setting up SCSU’s second touchdown.