BEMIDJI, Minn. (Chet Anderson Stadium) - Bemidji State scored touchdowns on each of its first four possessions and rolled up 510 yards of total offense, cruising to a 47-9 Homecoming victory over the Southwest Minnesota State Mustangs.
Bemidji State’s four touchdown drives to open the game each covered 73 or more yards and each took 10 or more plays.
Quarterback Nathan Sannes (Fertile, Minn.) completed 12 of 20 passes for 287 yards and two touchdowns in the first half alone, and for the game finished 13 of 23 for 298 yards and two scores. He averaged 22.9 yards per completion, with two completions of 50 yards or more including a 50-yard touchdown pass to Chad Christianson (Hudson, Wis.).
Sannes’ two touchdown passes were the 40th and 41st of his career, keeping him third on BSU’s career list. He became the third quarterback in school history to reach 40 career touchdown passes, and now sits 10 shy of Geoff Martinson’s school record of 51.
BSU took the opening kickoff and drove 80 yards on 10 plays to set the tone for the victory. Sannes connected with Anthony Schreiber (Berkeley, Ill.) for a 48-yard gain on 2nd and 10, and Alvaro Carvajal (San Francisco, Calif.) scored from two yards out three plays later to get the Beavers on the board.
The Mustangs turned the ball over on downs after a 12-play, 50-yard drive on their first possession, and BSU responded with a 73-yard touchdown march. Carvajal carried five times for 28 yards on the drive, and BSU called his number on the final three plays of the drive capped by a one-yard touchdown plunge.
Southwest went three-and-out on its next possession, and BSU assembled an 85-yard touchdown march capped by the 50-yard dart from Sannes to Christianson to essentially put the game away.
BSU picked up its second defensive touchdown in as many weeks on the first play from scrimmage in the second quarter. BSU’s kick to open the second half went through the end zone, and Mustang quarterback Tony Rislov dropped back to pass on the first SMS play of the ensuing drive. Zach Christ (Buffalo, Minn.) batted the ball at the line, then jumped up to make the interception and returned the ball 14 yards for a touchdown just six seconds into the third quarter.
Tom Prout (East Grand Forks, Minn.) entered the game in relief of Sannes on BSU’s first drive of the fourth quarter. He led BSU to its seventh touchdown of the afternoon on a nine-play drive which featured seven rushes for 30 yards by freshman running back Derek Maciel (Billings, Mont.). Prout completed his first career pass on the drive, a 37-yard floater down the right sideline to Randall Griffin (Joliet, Ill.).
Seth Iverson (Hatton, N.D.) had a big afternoon for the Beaver defense. He recorded three tackles, but had 2.5 tackles-for-loss and 1.5 sacks on the day. He led a BSU defense which piled up eight tackles-for-loss for a total loss of 38 yards and four sacks for a loss of 29 yards.
Safety Jeremiah Johnson (Glidden, Iowa) had a team-high nine tackles (one solo) and a pass breakup.
Carvajal finished with 14 carries for a game-high 81 yards and two scores. Schreiber had five catches for 114 yards and a touchdown, all in the first half. It marked Schreiber’s third 100-yard game in five starts this year.
BSU rolled up 510 yards of offense on 77 snaps, marking the team’s first 500-yard game since Sept. 18, 2004 against Wis.-River Falls. The Beavers finished with 335 yards passing, marking the second consecutive game it has gone over 300 yards through the air as a team. It is the team’s first back-to-back 300-yard passing games since a streak of four consecutive 300-yard games from Oct. 13-Nov. 3, 2001.
Bemidji State continued its recent domination of the Mustangs, running its winning streak in the series to eight. In the last four meetings in the series, the Beavers have out-scored the Mustangs by a combined margin of 155-19. All-time, BSU improves to 17-20-1 in its series with Southwest Minnesota State, 9-7-1 in games played in Bemidji.
With the victory, Bemidji State improved to 4-1 on the season and evened its NSIC record at 1-1. Southwest Minnesota State dropped to 3-3 on the year and remains winless in league play at 0-2. Bemidji State returns to action Saturday, Oct. 8 at Winona State. Opening kickoff is set for 1:00 p.m. at Maxwell Field in Winona, Minn.
NOTES: BSU scored on its first possession of the game for the first time this season; it snapped a streak of nine consecutive games BSU had failed to score on its first drive of a game... Chad Christianson hauled in his 12th career TD reception, tied for seventh all-time at BSU...
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