MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. (HHH Metrodome) - It was a tale of two halves for the Bemidji State football program in its season finale at the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Merchants Bank Metrodome Classic. The first half was all BSU, as the Beavers dominated behind an aerial onslaught led by wide reciever Anthony Schreiber (Berkeley, Ill.) and led 28-10 heading into the locker room. It was a polar opposite second half, however, as Wayne State (Neb.) dominated every phase of the game, scored 28 unanswered points and rallied for a 38-28 victory over the Beavers.

BSU set the tone for the first half, taking the opening kickoff and driving 89 yards in nine plays to grab the game’s first score. BSU quatterback Nathan Sannes (Fertile, Minn.) was pressured and tossed a 33-yard fade to Alvaro Carvajal (San Francisco, Calif.) in the back of the end zone to help put BSU up 7-0.

The teams then traded scores, with Wayne State sandwiching a 21-yard touchdown pass from Travis Dietz to Jake Robinson and a 26-yard Oscar Cervantes field goal around a 24-yard touchdown pass from Sannes to Schreiber to have BSU with a 14-10 with 4:29 to play in the second quarter.

BSU then exploded for two touchdowns in the final 40 seconds of the second quarter, both on touchdown passes from Sannes to Schreiber. The duo led the Beavers on a 61-yard march which took seven plays, taking just 1:09 off the clock to pick up BSU’s third touchdown of the half on a 20-yard toss.

Wayne State quarterback Travis Dietz was intercepted on the second play of the ensuing drive, leaving BSU with a first down at its own 17 with 24 seconds to play in the second quarter. Rather than sitting on a 21-10 lead, BSU went for the jugular and charged down the field in just four plays. Sannes found Schreiber three times on the drive to encompass all 83 yards, capped by an arcing 35-yard toss which ended in the end zone with no time left on the clock. The blitzkrieg helped BSU take a 28-10 lead into halftime.

Schreiber and Sannes completely dominated the first half, as Schreiber hauled in 15 passes for 227 yards and three touchdowns and Sannes completed 21 of 30 passes for 300 yards and four scores.

The second half was a 180-degree turnaround for BSU on both sides of the ball.

After pouring in 361 yards of total offense on 44 plays in the first half, BSU struggled to put up 112 yards on just 26 snaps in the second half and managed just four first downs.

Conversely, Wayne State, which managed just 114 yards in the first two quarters with two turnovers, blew up for 375 yards and 28 unanswered points in the second half.

The rally began with 3:05 remaining in the third quarter, when Tyler Chambers put the finishing touches on a 12-play, 64-yard drive with a four-yard scoring dive to pull the Wildcats within 11 points, 28-17. The score sparked a run of three consecutive Wildcat drives to end in touchdowns, while BSU’s offense was struggling through a string of four consecutive drives which covered fewer than 20 yards.

The Wildcats snagged the lead for good, 31-28, when Dietz hit Marquez McCray from 29 yards out with 5:57 to play in the fourth quarter, and BSU’s final two drives of the game ended in Sannes interceptions as the Wildcats completed the stunning comeback.

The loss snaps BSU’s school-record three-game winning streak in the Metrodome Classic, snaps a two-game winning streak over Wayne State in the Dome and drops the Beavers to 5-7 all-time against the Wildcats. Wayne State had not defeated Bemidji State since a 12-7 win in 2002.

Bemidji State ends its 2005 regular season at 7-3, 4-3 in NSIC play, snapping a streak of six consecutive seasons in which it had posted at least five victories in conference play. It had been the second-longest active streak in the NSIC, trailing only Winona State (9). Wayne State ends its season at 4-7, 4-3 in the NSIC.

NOTES: Sannes ends his career with a touchdown pass in 21 consecutive games... Sannes set BSU single-season records for attempts (320), completions (186), touchdowns (27) and total offense (2,869), and finished second in passing yardage (2,643)... He set BSU career records for completions (368) and total offense (5,782), and tied the BSU career record for touchdown passes (51)