The Battle of the Big Lake Trophy is staying in Bismarck for at least another year.

After a year hiatus, the two rivals met once again on the gridiron for the coveted trophy, and the end result was the same. Minot State returned home empty handed for the second consecutive meeting, losing 36-21 to U-Mary at the MDU Resources Community Bowl on Saturday, Nov. 1.

The Beavers had won six of their last seven meetings with the Marauders before their current two-game losing streak. It’s the first time the Beavers have lost back-to-back matchups to their rival since 2013 and 2014 – the only other such occurrence.

Minot State (2-7 overall, 2-6 NSIC) racked up 310 yards on the ground on 49 attempts for a 6.3 yards per carry average. Both Evan Lovett and Carson Chrisman eclipsed the 100-yard mark and were responsible for all three of the team’s touchdowns. Lovett finished with a game-high 139 yards on 21 carries and a touchdown, while Chrisman put up 132 yards on the ground on 18 attempts and found the end zone twice. Chrisman also added 53 yards through the air on 3 of 8 passing.

Chrisman got the Beavers on the board on their opening drive, leading a 10-play, 79-yard drive capped off with a 35-yard burst to the end zone for an early 7-0 lead. U-Mary would respond on its first attempt as well, orchestrating its own methodical drive down the field, leading to a 4-yard touchdown run by Andrew Trandahl.

Trandahl would score again with less than a minute remaining in the first half to put the Marauders (4-5, 3-5) in front 15-8. U-Mary would score four of its five touchdowns on the day on the ground despite doing the majority of its damage in the passing game.

The Marauders extended their lead to 22-7 on a 4-yard touchdown pass from Huden Sheldon to Luke Bodine to open the third quarter and Shively Asoau Fua would tack on a 2-yard plunge into the end zone later in the stanza to break the game open and ensure the trophy would remain in Bismarck.

Chrisman and Lovett would add fourth-quarter touchdown runs, but it wasn’t enough to get back in the game.

The Beavers committed a pair of turnovers on fumbles in the first half, but neither led to points by U-Mary. Lovett fumbled at the beginning of the second quarter at the U-Mary 30 on the eighth play of a promising drive. U-Mary’s Jack Stouffer forced the fumble and Jett Solomon recovered. The Marauders would punt. The second turnover came with 26 seconds left in the opening half when Chrisman had the ball knocked out of his hands by Tofa Wilson at the MSU 35, putting the Marauders in field goal range. But U-Mary kicker Jack Henninger would miss the 37-yard attempt as time expired.

The Marauders didn’t turn the ball over.

“Credit to Coach Schillinger and U-Mary,” Minot State head coach Ian Shields said in a press release. “They out-coached and out-played us today collectively. We lose the turnover battle 2-0, don’t win in critical situations on both sides of the ball, and generally didn’t execute well enough in any phase of the game.”

Jordan Polo Solomon took the majority of snaps under center for U-Mary, completing 19 of 28 passes for 199 yards. Sheldon finished 3-for-4 for 62 yards and a touchdown. Trandahl led U-Mary with 62 yards on the ground on 12 carries and Damani Wilks hauled in eight passes for 169 yards.

U-Mary finished with a slight edge in total yards with 404 compared to 363 for the Beavers.

“We have a resilient group,” Shield said. “I expect us to bounce back, dust ourselves off, and be ready to compete next week.”

Minot State travels to play Northern State on Saturday, Nov. 8, at 2 p.m.