BEMIDJI, Minn. (Chet Anderson Stadium) -- The Bemidji State University football team played through the frigid weather conditions to cap the 2008 campaign with a 24-12 victory over Concordia University Saturday at Chet Anderson Field.

On a day that the school honored its nine seniors, George Kadlec (Sr., WR, Chicago, Ill.) and Terrell Phelps (Sr., CB, Lincolnton, N.C.) dressed for their last game in the Green and White but would not let their careers end without a win or before each left their mark on the program en route to the 300th victory in Beaver football history.

Kadlec led all receivers with nine catches for 149 yard and hauled in his 13th and 14th touchdown catches of his senior campaign. His two TDs extended his own single-season touchdown receptions mark and set a new standard for career TD catches surpassing Adam Noble (2001-2004) for the top spot on the list with 26. The senior went out with a bang recording three consecutive 100-yard games in his final three contest racking up 428 yards on 18 catches with six TDs.

Defensively, Phelps put the lid on a tremendous senior season breaking up three passes from his corner back position, the biggest of which came in the final two minutes of the first half diving in from of a sure Hayden Vavra touchdown catch. He finish the season with 18 passes defended--a new single-season record at BSU.

The record-setting day was not limited to only seniors, sophomore Aaron Roland (So., DB, Wahpeton, N.D.) logged his name in the record book with his fifth blocked kick of 2008, negating an extra point try on the Golden Bears' first touchdown of the day.

Despite allowing the Golden Bears to jump out to a 6-0, just six minutes into the game, on a nine-yard touchdown pass to Tyrone Ruffin, the Beavers bounced back to record 24 unanswered points to hold a 24-6 lead after two quarters of play.

The Beavers got on the board with 3:33 left in the first quarter as Derek Edholm (So., QB, Anoka, Minn.) found Kadlec form 24 yards out to cap an 11-play, 65-yard drive during which Edholm was 5-for-6. The score moved the senior wide out into a tie with Noble for BSU's all-time TD receptions mark and set him up for a record-breaking catch.

Bemidji State offense was back on the field just 1:33 later after the 'Gang Green" defense forced CU into a quick three-and-out. BSU would march 70 yards down the field in a possession that lingered into the second stanza Edholm would again connect with Kadlec for a 52-yard catch-and-run. An extra point by Paul Potemra (So., K/P, Poolesville, Md.) with put BSU up 14-6.

BSU would go up 24-6 on its next possession as senior running back Erick Newman, took the Beaver offense on his back and into the end zone. The Naperville, Ill. native rushed for 21 yard on four carries, including a five-yard TD plunge through the middle of the CU defense.

Potemra would put the Beavers up 24-6 with a 25-yard field goal with 2:27 to go in the half.

The BSU offensive attack froze up in the frigid, icy conditions, during the second half managing 88 yards in the final 30 minutes of play, but the Beaver defensive unit held the Golden Bears to 198 yards and just six points to solidify the win.

Edholm was an efficient 21-of-28 in the game for 256 yards and two touchdowns. He finished the season completing 76 passes without a interception dating--a streak that dates back to an Oct. 4th loss at St. Cloud State University. Edholm's favorite target, Kadlec led all receivers, while Newman carried the ball 23 times for 82 yards--both season-highs for the senior--to pace the Beavers' ground attack.

On the defensive side of the ball, Jake Anderson (Jr., LB, Karlstad, Minn.) paced a unit that held CU to only 88 yards on the ground, with a career-high 12 tackles (four solo) including a quarterback sack. Luke Knutson (Fr., LB, Bagley, Minn.), Bryan Wick (Jr., DT, Duluth, Minn.) and Andrew Eagan (So., LB, Sauk Village, Ill.) each added sacks in the game as the Beavers piled up seven tackles-for-loss.

The win is the third consecutive win over the Golden Bears and evens the all-time series between the teams to 5-5.

The end of the season also drops the curtain on nine collegiate careers at BSU. The senior class of Jeremy Gettel (Stewart, Minn.), Kadlec, Josh Karch (Moorhead, Minn.), Jason Kunz (Esko, Minn.,) Nathan Mahlik (Two Rivers, Wis.), Newman, Phelps, Dan Roscoe (Plymouth, Minn.) and Josh Williams (Downey, Calif.) closed the book on their Beaver football careers winning three of their last four games, posting four consecutive winning seasons on their home turf, were a part of 26 wins in the Green and White, and helped the Beavers to a perfect 8-0 NSIC slate, BSU's first conference championship in more than 40 years and its first ever trip to the post season with a Mineral Water Bowl appearance in 2006.

The Beavers complete the 2008 season 5-6 overall with a 4-6 mark in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference contests. The young BSU lineup matured each week as they settled into their new roles. The team showed signs of promise for the future finishing the season winning three of its last four contests and posting a 4-1 record at the Chet.

--bsu--