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MSU football sends off seniors with win

Beats Concordia-St. Paul 28-20 in comeback effort

MDN File Photo Pictured in a home game earlier this season, Minot State halfback Ali Mohamed helped lead a 28-20 comeback effort on Saturday afternoon to close out 2021. Against Concordia-St. Paul, Mohamed racked up 125 yards and one score on 34 carries. He ends the year with 1,159 rushing yards and the unofficial NSIC rushing title.

The Beaver football team gave their seniors a day to remember on a day that’ll be hard to forget.

Battling a winter storm and the visiting Concordia-St. Paul Golden Bears, Minot State used big plays in the first half, then dominated with its run game in the second half to score a 28-20 victory in the season finale for both NSIC teams.

“We haven’t won the last game of the year for a number of years so it’s fun to see the emotion in the locker-room right now,” Minot State head coach Mike Aldrich said.

The first win in a finale since a 23-13 victory over St. Cloud State back in 2017.

And a fun ending for seniors Ivan Avalos, Sebastian Gutierrez, Jaxon Lundeen, Derek Wax, and Jordan Will who were honored prior to kick-off on an ice-cover field. Then the weather turned into a winter storm in the second half, which the Beavers buckled down and battled through.

“The cool things is our guys will always remember this game now, and the weather was a factor in that,” Aldrich said.

As were the big plays as Kyle VanBerkom jumped on a fumble on the Golden Bears’ 20-yard line on the visitor’s first drive of the game, setting up Minot State (2-9 overall, 1-5 North NSIC).

Redshirt-freshman quarterback Marshaun Campbell took advantage tossing a 3-yard touchdown pass to Lundeen for a quick 7-0 lead.

Ten straight points early in the second quarter gave the Golden Bears (1-10, 0-6) a brief lead, on top 10-7, but on the ensuing kick-off, Knylen Miller-Levi provided the longest play of the season for the Beavers as he raced 89-yards for a touchdown on the return.

The Beavers never looked back.

Campbell threw his second touchdown of the game, a 21-yard scoring pass to Peyton Lamoureux for a 21-10 lead before halftime.

And though Concordia-St. Paul closed to 21-20 back, the Beavers dominated with their run game led by Ali Mohamed who finished with 125 yards – 106 coming in the second half – on 34 carries.

Powered by the run game, Minot State dominated possession and added a 1-yard Mohamed touchdown run late, capping a 99-yard drive that iced the wintery win. Mohamed’s sixth 100-plus yard game of the season gives him 1,159 yards on the year and the unofficial NSIC rushing title.

“I think we just got more push and were able to lean on them and wore them down a little bit,” Aldrich said of the Beavers second-half run attack.

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