WINONA, Minn. (Maxwell Field) - Winona State quarterback Drew Abner completed 19 of 29 passes for 390 yards and two touchdowns, as the Warriors rolled up 646 yards of total offense in a 47-13 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference victory over Bemidji State. Abner’s 390 passing yards were part of a 646-yard effort for the Warrior offense, the most yards ever surrendered by a BSU defense.

Abner hit Brian Hynes, who entered the contest leading the nation in receiving yardage at nearly 158 yards per game, from 82 yards out for a Winona State touchdown on the fourth Warrior snap from scrimmage, and after BSU went three-and-out the Warriors blocked a punt and recovered at the BSU one-yard-line. The Warriors needed three plays to punch it in, and from there the outcome was never in question.

Winona State extended its lead to 35-0 before BSU was able to break up the shutout and get on the board. After Derek Malone had scored his third rushing touchdown of the day to put the Warriors up 35-0, BSU marched 74 yards in 11 plays and BSU senior quarterback Nathan Sannes (Fertile, Minn.) found Chad Christianson (Hudson, Wis.) from 11 yards out. BSU missed the PAT kick and trailed 35-6.

After surrendering a safety and a 22-yard Mike Salerno field goal which made the score 40-6, BSU again assembled an 80-yard scoring march, and again Sannes eventually hooked up with Christianson for the score - this time from six yards out. The PAT pulled BSU within four touchdowns, 40-13, but the Beavers were able to run just five plays from scrimmage in the game’s final 8:55 and could get no closer.

Carey Rottman capped the afternoon with a four-yard run, and the PAT gave Winona State the game’s final 47-13 margin.

The loss overshadowed another strong outing from Sannes. He completed 26 of 41 passes for 308 yards and two touchdowns. He was intercepted once and sacked just one time on 42 pass plays. Sannes completed passes to eight different receivers, including a game-high eight receptions by sophomore Anthony Schreiber (Berkeley, Ill.).
Christianson caught six passes for 73 yards and was on the receiving end of both Sannes touchdown throws. The two scoring grabs give Christianson seven touchdown receptions this season,

Sannes extended his school-record streak of consecutive games with a touchdown pass to 17, and the two scores give him 19 for the season and 43 for his career. The 19 touchdown passes this season are seventh-most in BSU history, and his 43 career scoring passes rank him third. HIs 308-yard effort marks the second 300-yard performance this season for Sannes, and it made him the fifth passer in Bemidji State history to reach 4,000 yards for his career. Sannes now has 4,272 career yards, third-most in BSU history.

The 390-yard passing effort from Hynes fuelled a Winona State offense which assembled four touchdown drives of 80 or more yards, including drives of 95 and 99 yards. Factoring in a 217-yard, four-touchdown day from the Warrior ground game and 39 yards from backup quarterback Aaron Boettcher gave Winona State 646 yards of total offense - the most ever allowed by a BSU defense. The Warriors edged the previous record of 633 yards, set in a 62-6 loss to Michigan Tech on Oct. 5, 1974.

In BSU’s two NSIC losses this season, the Beavers have allowed 112 points and 1,254 yards of total offense.

Bemidji State dropped to 25-41-1 in its all-time series with Winona State and extends BSU’s series-long losing streak against the Warriors to nine consecutive meetings. BSU has not defeated the Warriors since Oct. 14, 1995, and is winless in its last 10 trips to Winona dating back to Aug. 9, 1986. BSU head coach Jeff Tesch has yet to defeat Winona State in his career (0-9); it remains the only NSIC program Tesch has yet to defeat during his tenure at Bemidji State.

Bemidji State falls to 4-2 on the season with the loss, and sees its NSIC record fall to 1-2. Winona State improved to 5-2 and remains unbeaten in NSIC play at 3-0. The Beavers are back in action Saturday, Oct. 15, when they will travel west to tackle the Minn.-Crookston Golden Eagles. Opening kickoff is slated for 1:30 p.m. Central time at Ed Widseth Field in Crookston, Minn.

NOTES: Winona State scored in each of the game’s four quarters and has now scored in 24 consecutive quarters against Bemidji State dating back to 1998... Bemidji State has allowed 40 or more points to an NSIC opponent twice in the same season (also: 55 vs Concordia-St. Paul, Sept. 24) for the first time since 2003... Winona State has scored 30 or more points against BSU in 10 of the last 18 meetings.

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