Alex Eisen/MDN Minot State freshman running back Ali Mohamed (21) has his jersey tugged by a Southwest Minnesota State defender Saturday afternoon at Herb Parker Stadium.

This homecoming loss will likely linger for a while.

The Minot State football team fell victim to two untimely touchdowns — a successful desperation pass at the end of the first half and blown coverage in the final minute — Saturday afternoon in a 21-17 defeat to Southwest Minnesota State.

The Beavers (2-3) were on the verge of the program’s first homecoming win since 2010. The Mustangs (2-3) managed to suck the life out of Herb Parker Stadium and escape with a road win.

“It’s heart-wrenching,” MSU head coach Mike Aldrich said. “But, on the same token, this is game five and we still have six left. So, the message I told them in the locker room is we can’t pout about this. We got to be able to wear it and keep our chins up.”

With 3:40 remaining, the Beavers were celebrating emphatically. Junior quarterback Ben Bolinske delivered a pinpoint 46-yard pass into the arms of senior wide receiver Lavante Bushnell.

The touchdown strike capped a seven-play, 95-yard drive and gave MSU a 21-17 lead in crunch time.

The Mustangs found themselves backed up on their own 13-yard line with a raucous Minot crowd trying to will the Beavers to their first home win since Sept. 15, 2018.

Senior lineman Ellis Parr broke through for a crucial sack to force fourth down and 16 from SMSU’s 22-yard line. Game on the line, Mustangs senior quarterback Boyer Bouman converted with a 17-yard pass to Luke Narveson for a first down.

Three plays later, Bouman found a wide-open Daniel Davis for a 34-yard game-winning touchdown with 25 seconds remaining.

“We had the right coverage called,” Aldrich said. “One of our DBs saw the route but had his eyes back on the quarterback. He should have matched up with man on it. Nobody feels more terrible than he does.

“That was the first thing I wanted to do in the locker room was put my arms around him. Let him know that we didn’t lose because of that play. We lost because of the 59 minutes before where we had way too many penalties, unforced errors and we weren’t tackling very well in the first half. That whole first half set up their opportunity to win.”

MSU was humbled on another detrimental play at the end of the first half: a 49-yard Hail Mary. Backup quarterback Paul Herrera heaved up the pass as time expired, and Dakota Jaeschke won a jump ball in the end zone.

SMSU went into the locker room elated. The Beavers deflated.

“It gave them all the momentum in the world,” Aldrich said. “They were dead in the water, to be honest with you. You could just tell by their life on the sideline. Then, all of a sudden, they were going to the locker room hooting and hollering. We went to the locker room stunned, and had to fight through that to get back into the game.”

MSU’s offense was held to 195 yards and didn’t get a first down until late into the second quarter with the score already tied up at 7-7.

The Beavers’ first score came early in the second quarter on a pick-six interception return by freshman Isaiah Bigby. His second interception of the season.

SMSU answered with a 1-yard touchdown run by Duce Reynolds and then the Hail Mary at the end of the half to take a 14-7 lead into halftime.

“That was like a shot of adrenaline to get our hearts going,” Aldrich said about the pick-six. “But, it just got pulled from us with that Hail Mary.”

Bigby finished with 12 tackles. Only to be outdone by freshman teammate Knylen Miller-Levi, who notched a career-high 15 tackles.

Freshman running back Ali Mohamed carried the ball 20 times for 76 yards. Bolinske was 13-for-20 through the air for 144 yards, a touchdown and a forced interception late in the game. Bushnell racked up 113 yards on seven catches.

“I really want us to win; we are close,” Aldrich said. “The good thing is, it’s close games, so hopefully we are keeping people in the stands and keeping them on the edge of their seats. We got to break through. We are knocking on the door, but we just keep finding different little ways to not finish.”

MSU looks to regroup and recover on the road against Winona State next Saturday (Oct. 12). Kickoff is set for 2 p.m.

Alex Eisen covers Minot State athletics, the Minot Minotauros and high school sports. Follow him on Twitter @AEisen13.