Sean Arbaut/Minot State athletics Minot State defensive back Manuel Bradford (48) breaks up a pass intended for Moorhead wideout Hayden Swartz (82) at a college football game Saturday at Herb Parker Stadium.

Minot State football fell six yards short of an upset Saturday.

Trailing by six on the final play of the game, the Beavers had a chance to steal a win from MSU Moorhead, but those hopes ended on a failed slant pass to the end zone. Moorhead (5-5) escaped Herb Parker Stadium with a 22-16 victory.

“It’s a heartbreaking loss,” senior running back Larry Overstreet said. “But we really can’t get down and dwell on the what-ifs and think ‘What if we made this play?’ We just came out flat in the second half, honestly. It’s just heartbreaking.”

The loss marks the fourth time this season MSU (2-8) has lost a game by one possession.

“Obviously, it’s disappointing,” MSU coach Mike Aldrich said. “We’re struggling to get that one win where we have the ball on the last possession. We got it against Crookston, but in terms of one of these other games we’re trying to steal this season, to have our fourth game we lose when we have the ball on the last drive is frustrating. But like I told our guys, we can’t forget about the whole 60 minutes we put in as a whole body of work.”

Off a renewed energy from senior day introductions, the Beavers jumped out to a 13-0 lead at halftime following a 17-yard touchdown pass from Lavante Bushnell and two field goals from JoseLuis Moreno.

It was the first time MSU had shut out an opponent at halftime since Oct. 10, 2015 against the University of Mary.

“We got into the mode where we’d bend a little bit but try not to break,” Aldrich said. “We made them have to earn everything. They made some big runs in the half but we didn’t let it impact us. Whereas the last few weeks if something happened the house of cards would just crumble. We played through all of that.”

Saturday may have been senior day, but it was a true freshman that had one of the best first halves for MSU. Minot native and cornerback Manuel Bradford made five tackles (two for a loss), forced a fumble and broke up a pass to propel his team to a fast start. Bradford finished nine tackles and two pass breakups on the day.

“We knew we were going to have to be more in a dime package this week just to play with their spread offense,” Aldrich said. “Manuel has done a great job earning himself back into that third corner role. We knew there’d be times when you have a freshman out there where he could get exposed, but Manny hasn’t shied away from anything. I thought he played really well and we’re excited about his future.”

Offensively, Overstreet paved the way for the Beavers with 92 rushing yards. He finished with 115 yards on 27 carries and four catches for 30 yards.

“The line did a great job opening holes and I think I stayed patient,” Overstreet said. “Once I saw a lane, I was just able to burst through it. I know I gave it my all today. It was bittersweet to sum it up.”

MSU’s defense opened the second half with a goal line stand, but Moorhead responded with a touchdown from freshman quarterback Jakup Sinani and sophomore running back Herman Gray to take a 14-13 lead entering the fourth quarter.

With 6 minutes remaining, MSU drove to the Moorhead five yard line, but wideout Lane Torgerson dropped what would have been a go-ahead touchdown catch on third down. The Beavers had to settle for a field goal and took a 16-14 lead with 5:55 left.

“(Dropped passes are) very frustrating,” Aldrich said. “Lane is a guy we trust because he gives you the same effort all the time whether he’s practicing or playing in a game. He feels bad, and we did get three points out of it, but we needed six. I know he feels bad, same way Lavante did at the end. They hurt not because they feel selfish for dropping it, but they wanted to send our seniors out on a win.”

Moorhead responded with a 10-play scoring drive capped off by a Gray four-yard touchdown run. After a successful two-point conversion, the Dragons led 22-16 with 2:20 remaining.

MSU couldn’t get any positive yardage on the drive, which ended with a Cunha interception on fourth down. Moorhead took over at MSU’s 35 with 1:24 left, but the Beavers had all three of their timeouts remaining. MSU successfully limited the run on three plays and forced a 4th-and-5. Moorhead tried to seal the victory, but a disciplined tackle by senior safety Donnell Vercher after perfectly reading a read-option play gave the Beavers one last chance at their own 35 with 1:01 left. Vercher finished with a team-high 17 tackles.

“We had a great week in practice, the intensity was up all week,” Vercher said. “For senior night and the last home game, we just wanted to come out here and get a win for our home fans.”

Cunha drove the Beavers to the 21-yard line after two big catches from Taylor Maloney. The sixth-year senior quarterback took a shot at the end zone for Bushnell, who got his hands on the football but couldn’t reel it in. Moorhead was called for pass interference on the play, though, giving the Beavers the ball at the 6-yard line with 13 seconds left. After two incomplete passes to Ray Watkins and Maloney, MSU had one final chance with 4 seconds remaining. Cunha tried to connect with Bushnell on a slant, but the pass fell harmlessly to the ground. MSU coaches argued there should have been one second remaining on the clock, but to no avail.

“Whether there’s people pointing out we should have had another chance at it, the point is we had three shots at the end zone and didn’t get it,” Aldrich said. “It stings, but we just came up short.”

Cunha finished 15-of-34 for 199 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. Bushnell had three catches for 54 yards.

Sinani finished 26 of 32 passing for 242 yards and added 34 yards and a touchdown on the ground for Moorhead. Westhope native Hunter Braaten led the Dragons with nine catches for 95 yards in his final collegiate game in his home state.

The Beavers are back in action at 1 p.m. Saturday against St. Cloud State on the road in their final game of 2017.

Garrick Hodge covers Minot State athletics, the Minot Minotauros and high school sports. Follow him on Twitter @Garrick_Hodge.