WINONA, Minn. – Bemidji State University Beavers football fell to the Winona State University Warriors Saturday afternoon in Winona. The Beavers grabbed four touchdowns but fell by a field goal, 31-28.
The Beavers came out of the gates swinging when they found their spot in the endzone on the opening drive. A rushing attempt from
Jayden Washington at the WSU 35-yard line ended with a celebration in the endzone, followed by
Connor Mantelli grabbing the extra point kick. Wayne State answered back around eight minutes later, with 3:30 remaining in the first quarter, to tie it up at seven each.
The second and third quarters followed a similar script with both teams grabbing two touchdowns a piece.
Sam McGath and
Aundreus Griffin combined for a 10-yard touchdown through the air in the first and
Jarrett Gronski grabbed his own on a nine-yard rush in the third. The Beaver special teams unit struggled to stop the Warrior punt returners this afternoon, allowing WSU to grab a 64-yard punt return in the third quarter and claim their first lead of the day. After the Beavers tied the game back up, the Warriors were able to pull ahead again and keep their lead in the fourth quarter when WSU landed a field goal through the uprights midway through the quarter. Winona State grabbed one more touchdown to make it 31-21 late in the fourth quarter, but Bemidji State closed the gap a slight amount with a touchdown with 18 seconds remaining.
Sam McGath went 21-39-0 this afternoon with 231 yards through the air and one passing touchdown. On the receiving end,
Brice Peters marked five receptions for 84 yards and
Drayton Lehman found seven receptions for 65 yards. Dre Griffin marked the sole receiving touchdown for the Green & White. The Beavers' rushing game marked three touchdowns, one each from
Jayden Washington,
Jarrett Gronski and
Sam McGath.
Defensively,
Marco Cavallaro dominated for the Beavers, marking nine tackles and one tackle for a loss of two yards. Behind him,
Marcus Hansen tallied seven tackles with two tackles for a loss and
Colton Hinrichs found six tackles.
Stephen Hoffman also grabbed two sacks for three total yards and forced one fumble. Creating a big momentum change,
Kamron Gothard marked an interception which led to the Beavers driving back down the field and scoring.
The team will be back at the Chet on Nov. 2 when they host (RV) Wayne State College at 1 p.m. The following weekend, the Beavers head to Moorhead, Minn. to take on the Minnesota State University Moorhead Dragons for the annual Battle Axe rivalry game. The regular season ends on Nov. 16 when the Beavers host No. 25/20 Augustana University.
For more information on the Bemidji State Football program, tickets or schedules, visit BSUBeavers.com, follow the Beavers on X (@BSUBeaversFB), like them on Facebook (facebook.com/BSUBeavers) and like them on Instagram (@BSUBeaversFB).
Located on the shore of Lake Bemidji, Bemidji State University sponsors 15 varsity athletic programs with NCAA Division I men's and women's hockey membership in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association and Western Collegiate Hockey Association, while its 13 NCAA Division II programs hold membership in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC).
