BEMIDJI, Minn. - Anthony Schreiber (Sr, WR Berkeley, Ill) fielded a Minot State University punt on his own 25 yard line and took it the distance to get the Bemidji State University football team on the board just 2:26 into the game Saturday. The Beavers would not look back as they went on to gain a 31-7 victory in front of 955 faithful fans at Chet Anderson Stadium.

On a day when the steady rain made gripping the ball difficult and the teams combined for six fumbles, the Beavers piled up a 24-7 lead by halftime and although the team struggled to generate a sustained drive in the second half, the BSU added a 10-yard run from Erick Newman (Jr., RB, Naperville, Ill.) to cruise to its fifth consecutive win over MSU in the annual "Beaver Bash" rivalry series.

The BSU defense, led by Robert Molstad (Sr. Champlin, Minn.), set the tone early limiting Minot State to just 26 yards in its first three possessions while the Beaver offense built a 14-0 lead just 13 minutes into the game after sophomore quarterback Cory Wardrope (Anchorage, Alaska) found George Kadlec (Jr, Chicago, Ill.) for a 20-yard touchdown strike. The touchdown catch was the ninth of Kadlec's career on just 21 catches.

The Beavers would build their lead to 17-0 with just over seven minutes remaining in the first half when freshman newcomer Paul Potemra (Poolesville, Md.) recorded his first collegiate field goal splitting the uprights from 35 yards out.

Minot State would get on the board just over four minutes later when Nick Banks busted through the line and broke a 65-yard touchdown run down the visitors sideline to make the score 17-7 and account for nearly all of his game-high 98 yards on the ground.

But the Beavers would add a score on the ensuing possession driving 78 yards capped by Wardrope's second TD pass of the day, this time to Kyle Jorganson (Jr., WR, Princeton, Minn.), before the time ran out on the half. The six-point catch-and-run was the first of Jorganson's collegiate career.

The second half was a stalemate.

The teams combined for just 205 yards of total offense as the defenses clamped down and turnovers came to the forefront. Each team's defensive unit picked off a pair of passes to change possession while MSU recovered its own fumble once and BSU covered two of its own miscues.

After a scoreless third quarter, BSU ate four-minutes and seven-seconds off the clock with an eight-play drive. Newman put an exclamation point on the drive and the game gaining the final 10 yards on the ground reaching the end zone on a second effort to bring the score to its 31-7 with just over four minutes to play.

Molstad and fellow senior Zach Christ (LB, Buffalo, Minn.) each notched 10 tackles on the day with Molstad leading the charge totaling four solo tackles and a pair of sacks. His two sacks help him climb into BSU top-10. He now has 12.5 sacks while with 3.5 tackles-for-loss, he moves into eighth on the career TFL list with 109.

Seth Iverson (Sr., Hatton, Minn.) piled up five tackles in the game (two solo) and his two quarterback sacks move him up the BSU's sack list into a tie with teammate Zach Stafford (Sr., DT, Fergus Falls, Minn.) who sat out for the second consecutive game due to injury, with 13.5 career sacks.

Senior Safety Jeremiah Johnson (Glidden, Iowa) also surpassed a milestone in the contest. With eight tackles, he became just the sixth player in BSU history to break the 300-tackles plateau.

In just his second collegiate game, Andrew Eagan (Fr., LB, Sauk Village, Ill.) piled up eight tackles (three solo) and slid under one of BSU's two interceptions.

BSU finished with 319 yards of total offense. Wardrope completed 16-of-24 passes for 193 yards and two touchdowns. His top target Schreiber hauled in six catches for 62 yards and accumulated a team-high 161 all-purpose yards while Newman rushed for 87 yards on 19 carries.

BSU has now won eight of nine all-time meetings with Minot State outscoring its North Dakota counterpart 320-109 since the teams first met in 1999.

The Beavers, 1-1, open the 2007 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference season Saturday (Sept. 15) when they host Minnesota State University Moorhead. The Dragons will pose BSU with its first test in defense of its 2006 conference championship as the Beavers look to extend their school-record long eight-game winning streak against NSIC opponents. The league match up is set for a 1 p.m. at BSU's Chet Anderson Stadium.

-bsu-