The Minot State football team got the ground game going, rushing for 205 yards which included 142 yards from Ali Mohamed, but turnovers and injuries helped host Wayne State keep the Beavers out of the end zone as the Wildcats scored a 48-0 win in the teams’ NSIC, non-division contest Saturday night.

“We got hit hard with injuries today and had a lot of young guys getting their first quality college snaps,” Minot State coach Mike Aldrich said. “The guys fought hard and never quit.”

The Wildcats improved to 2-1 on the year while the Beavers fell to 0-3 overall.

Mohamed led all Beavers rushers with a career-best 142 yards in the contest, picking up 6.5 yards per carry. Evan Lovett also added 46 yards on the ground, averaging 5.8 yards per carry for Minot State, and Aaron Wood added 36 yards rushing, averaging 4.0 yards per carry.

Dawson Macleary completed 9-of-18 passes for 47 yards on the day leading the the Beavers offense in replacement of injured starting quarterback Ben Bolinske. Meanwhile, Caden Shannon and Lane Schall led the defense with seven tackles each, while Schall and Knylen Miller-Levi (5 tackles) each added a quarterback sack for the Beavers defense.

Wayne State kicked a 20-yard field goal on its opening drive, then tacked on a late first-quarter touchdown for a 10-0 lead. The Wildcats turned an interception into a second-quarter touchdown, and converted two more turnovers into second-half touchdowns as they pulled away for the win.

Minot State converted 3 of 12 third downs while Wayne State was successful on 6 of 13. Justin Cash punted six times for the Beavers with an average of 47.7 yards per punt while pinning the Wildcats inside their own 20 two times.

Up next, the Beavers plan to host 19th ranked Minnesota St.-Mankato on YMCA Youth Football Night on Saturday, Sept. 25. Start time for that contest is slated for 6 p.m.