Copy of Minot Daily News Story (link)

Smothering performance

By MICHAEL LINNELL, Sports Editor mlinnell@minotdailynews.com

Minot State University never gave Black Hills State any room to breathe. Call it what you want — smothering, swarming, stifling — the Beavers were all over the Yellow Jackets from the opening kick.

The Beavers intercepted BHSU starting quarterback Drew Hodgs six times and returned one for a score as MSU earned first-year head coach Paul Rudolph his first win in a 30-14 trouncing of No. 21 BHSU in Dakota Athletic Conference football Saturday at Herb Parker Stadium.

“We were pumped up with the big crowd and homecoming,” MSU defensive back Adrian Smith said. “We were so ready.”

Smith got the Beavers rolling as he intercepted Hodgs and returned it to the BHSU 4 on the first Yellow Jackets' series in the first quarter. That set up a 23-yard field goal by MSU's Mike Fox. Smith, however wasn't done. On the next series, he stepped in front of a pass and returned it 50 yards for the score, side stepping a would be tackler at the BHSU 6, before heading into the end zone.

“I wasn't going to let anybody catch me,” Smith said. “I had an offensive lineman to beat to get in and I wasn't going to let him stop me either.”

The Beavers led 10-0 before could get its second first down.

“We didn't give them any breathing room,” Rudolph said. “It is like a weight lifted off this team's shoulders, that's the perfect analogy.”

The Beavers defense forced three turnovers and three punts in the first half, limiting BHSU to just 84 yards in total offense in the half.

“The guys just came together,” said MSU defensive back Nick Marshall. “We have confidence in each other. You can't be a team of five guys, it has to be 11.”

MSU looked to be in the Yellow Jackets' playbook most of the afternoon as neither the BHSU running game nor the passing game got on track until late in the game.

“Coaches, coaches, coaches. They put together the plan and we went out and executed it,” Smith said. “We knew what was coming and made the plays.”

“We have been ready to go each week, but this time we were able to get the whole team going,” Marshall said of the defense. “It feels great to get back to the home field and get these new unis on (MSU changed to a red home jersey for the game) and to get this great crowd going.”

MSU, on the other hand, didn't accumulate big offensive numbers, but wore down the Yellow Jackets defense as the game went on. Benefitting from that was junior running back Nick Banks. Banks finished with a game-high 103 yards on 23 carries and scored a touchdown.

“The line. The line came together and made the holes,” he said when asked what started to work. “I am getting more comfortable with the offense and the line is really blocking.”

Rudolph believed the resurgence in the running game was two-fold.

“First, getting Bart (MSU sophomore Bart Archdekin) back made a big difference. It put guys back at their comfortable positions and he is a guy who can lead them up front,” he said. “And, second, our offensive linemen were in better condition then their defensive guys.”

Banks was key on a late first-half drive. He carried four times, totaling 42 yards, including a 5-yard plunge for the score. The drive, however, was set up with MSU's best offensive series — that didn't result in points. The Beavers put together a 13-play drive that spanned 6:12 of the second quarter that started on the MSU 5, resulting in a punt. That punt, by Mike Fox, was downed at the BHSU 2 and MSU was able to hold the Yellow Jackets and force a punt of their own.

“Yeah, it was our best drive and we didn't score,” Rudolph said. “I told the guys when they came off the field that it was a great drive. That changed about 90 yards of field position.”

BHSU's head coach John Scott gambled early in the second half and went for a fourth-and-1 from the Yellow Jacket 23. The gamble backfired as MSU's Martel Pope stopped Tanner Ehrlich for a loss, turning the ball back to the Beavers. MSU wasted little time as MSU quarterback Jon Meier called his own number from the 1 six plays later.

“MSU was real aggressive and dared us to throw. Drew will get the attention because of the six picks, but things are still a blur to him at times,” Scott said. “We need to find the right combinations around him.”

Pope had a hand — his right, to be specific — in the final MSU score. Pope picked off Hodgs one handed and returned it to the BHSU 43. Meier finished the drive off with a 6-yard pass to Johnny Lester after he scrambled away from a sack and hit Lester while the receiver was on his back in the end zone.

The Yellow Jackets (0-1 DAC, 1-3 overall) tried to make a game of it with two scoring plays late in the fourth quarter and Hodgs, who threw for 305 yards, showed some of the potential the BHSU coaches believe the freshman has.

“I was happy with the way he competed,” Scott said. “I'll take that any day.”

Meier finished with 115-yards passing with two touchdowns, one throwing and one rushing for MSU (1-0 DAC, 1-3 overall). Julius Ceasar was his favorite target with three catches for 42 yards. The Beavers are on the road next week as they travel to Rapid City, S.D. to take on South Dakota Mines starting at 1:30 p.m. MDT.