CROOKSTON, Minn. (Ed Widseth Field) - Bemidji State piled up 358 yards rushing and topped 600 yards of total offense for the first time in more than a year as the Beavers posted a 40-14 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference victory at Minnesota, Crookston.

The Beavers ran 72 plays for 603 yards on the afternoon, marking the team’s fifth consecutive game with at least 400 yards of total offense. It was BSU’s highest single-game offensive output since Sept. 11, 2004 when the Beavers rolled up 658 total yards in a 50-43 loss at Chadron State. It marked just the fourth time since the start of the 1999 season BSU put up 600 or more yards of total offense.

The offensive outburst was fuelled by Bemidji State’s biggest rushing day in five years. Behind a 165-yard, three-touchdown effort from senior Alvaro Carvajal (San Francisco, Calif) and a 104-yard day from sophomore Tyler Olson (Alvarado, Minn.), the Beavers finished with 358 yards on 46 carries. It marked BSU’s biggest single-game rushing total since Nov. 4, 2000 when the Beavers rushed 52 times for 360 yards in a 70-0 victory over Minn.-Morris.

The performance marked a much-needed return of the Bemidji State rushing game, which had struggled through BSU’s first six games of the season. Not only did the 100-yard efforts by Carvajal and Olson mark the first time since Oct. 13, 2001 the Beavers had seen two backs go over 100 yards in the same game, they marked the first 100-yard performances by a BSU running back since Oct. 30, 2004 at MSU-Moorhead - a streak of eight games.

Carvajal set the tone for the afternoon right away, rushing for two touchdowns in the first quarter. He bolted 62 yards for a touchdown on the game’s second snap from scrimmage, and capped an eight-play, 87-yard scoring march with a five-yard run with 9:00 to play in the frame.

Chris Zellmer found Jordan Grafsgaard from 12 yards out two plays after the Beavers lost a fumbled punt, helping pull the Golden Eagles within 14-7 early in the second quarter. But Carvajal’s third touchdown of the day came 6:03 later, as he scored from six yards out to put the finishing touch on an 11-play, 62-yard drive.

After a Golden Eagle punt on their ensuing drive, BSU quarterback Nathan Sannes (Fertile, Minn.) hooked up with true freshman wideout George Kadlec (Lockport, Ill.) on an 82-yard bomb, and the extra point put BSU ahead 27-7.

Crookston drew as close as 27-14 after R.J. Rollins scored on a 46-yard scamper with 4:08 to play in the second, but the Beavers shut out the Golden Eagles in the second half and cruised to the victory.

Sannes threw his second touchdown of the afternoon to Erick Newman (Naperville, Ill.) with 8:24 to play in the third and placekicker Michael McDonald kicked two fourht-quarter field goals for the game’s final 40-14 margin.

Sannes completed 15 of 25 passes for 245 yards and two touchdowns, running his school-record streak of consecutive games with a touchdown pass to 19. He has thrown a touchdown pass in every start of his career. He became the sixth BSU quarterback to throw for 2,000 yards in a single season (2,001), and his 20th and 21st touchdown passes of the season have him tied for fifth on the BSU season list.

The victory continued BSU’s historic domination of Minn.-Crookston. The Beaves improved to 11-1 in 12 all-time meetings with the Golden Eagles and picked up its seventh consecutive win in the series. BSU has scored 40 or more points three times in the last five games in the series.

Bemidji State improves to 5-2 on the season with today’s victory, and sees its NSIC record even at 2-2. Minn.-Crookston remains winless at 0-8, 0-4 in NSIC play.

NOTES: Alvaro Carvajal’s three rushing touchdowns gives him 15 for his career, tied for seventh on the BSU career list... Carvajal went over 1,000 yards for his career (1,059), becoming the 12th back in school history to rush for 1,000 career yards; he is 11th on the BSU career list and needs 109 yards to move into BSU’s career Top 10... Nathan Sannes improved his career passing total to 4,517 yards, moving him past Marty Follis (4,230, 1989-92) into second place on BSU’s career list. He needs 483 yards to join Geoff Martinson (5,293, 1998-2001) as the only Beavers with 5,000 career passing yards.


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