BEMIDJI – A pair of turnovers, a missed field goal, zero first-half points and a few untimely penalties. It’s not exactly a winning recipe for a football team.
But Bemidji State’s defense did just enough against Michigan Tech throughout the game to give its offense an opportunity to win it in the end. And quarterback Sam McGath and wide receiver Brice Peters took full advantage of that opportunity.
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After a failed possession from the Huskies in overtime kept the game tied up at 13 apiece, it was the Beavers’ turn with the ball. Following a short 4-yard rush from Jayden Washington, McGath heaved a pass to a streaking Peters in the endzone, connecting for a 21-yard game-winning touchdown.
“Football is a team effort,” Peters said. “The defense carried us through it all, but I’m just super proud of our offense, how we handled adversity, how we kept pushing, trusting in each other, trusting in Coach Pike to draw up the good plays. … The execution at the end (was) beautiful.”
Peters had himself a day, grabbing two touchdowns and 72 yards on five receptions.
“That kid’s a dog,” BSU head coach Brent Bolte said. “He’s a really good player, he’s a great leader, one of the best humans I’ve been around. … He works hard, just a natural leader of men.”
Bemidji State, though, almost didn’t have to rely on McGath and Peters’ overtime heroics to clinch the victory.
Down 13-10, Michigan Tech had the ball with 3:48 left. Quarterback Alex Fries made a few clutch passes, including a 10-yard completion on fourth-and-7, to march his offense into Bemidji State territory.
After a 12-yard completion, a Beavers personal foul handed the Huskies a free additional 15 yards on the play, pushing the visitors all the way to the BSU 20-yard line.
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Michigan Tech drained the clock with the prime field position and nailed a 32-yard field goal as time expired to force overtime.
It was just one of the self-inflicted errors the Beavers committed in their season opener.
“It was a grinder,” Bolte said. “That was a tough game (against) a good squad. We’ve got a lot of things to clean up. We made too many errors on our own behalf, especially self-inflicted penalties, just things that are inexcusable — late hits, personal fouls — just frustrating as a head coach with that veteran of a group of guys. … But (I’m) extremely happy with the way we popped back and found a way to get it done at the end.”
A good chunk of those errors came courtesy of the offense in the first half.
In the waning minutes of the first quarter, McGath floated a pass into the endzone on a corner route to cap off what was hitherto the best drive of the night. However, the ball hovered a bit too long, and MTU’s Sam Ahern flew in for the interception.
With just over three minutes left in the second quarter, McGath lost a fumble on a scramble attempt, handing possession to the Huskies near midfield.
McGath entered the locker room at halftime with a pair of turnovers trailing 7-0.
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However, after a shaky first start, McGath seemed to settle in and find his footing in the second, axing the turnovers and moving the offense with more efficiency.
“I’m proud of the offense,” Bolte said. “It would’ve been easy to pack it up at halftime and put your tail between your legs.”
McGath finished with 195 passing yards, 29 rushing yards, two touchdowns and one interception.
“We’re a relatively new offense,” Peters said. “(With a) new quarterback, (we’re) gonna have some quirks to fill out (with the) offensive line getting back from the injuries last season. … We were good, we stayed together. There was positivity during halftime, that was all we needed.”
It wasn’t all the offense in the first half, though. Even the defense struggled on the opening drive. To avoid the stellar quartet of BSU players along the defensive line, the Huskies found success with quick passes and screens.
On the eighth play of that initial drive, Fries lobbed a pass to a racing Ethan Champney, who paced the Beavers’ defenders for a 27-yard touchdown.
That was Michigan Tech’s only touchdown of the night. After that, Bemidji State’s defense clamped down.
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“(Michigan Tech is) methodical,” Bolte said. “They want to dink and dunk and move the ball, sprint out and just get the ball to the playmakers best they can. And they were able to do that. We didn’t play great on the first drive. But after that, really, they had two scoring drives — two field goals. …Normally, when you hold a team to 13 points, you’re not in overtime.”
The Gang Green Defense forced stop after stop, allowing just 280 yards of total offense. The unit finished with three sacks and collected four quarterback hurries, six tackles for loss and four pass breakups.
Perhaps the most important pass breakup of the game came courtesy of defensive lineman Cade Barrett in overtime.
Facing third-and-8 at BSU’s 12-yard line, Fries fired a pass across the middle of the field in an attempt to keep the drive alive. Barrett stuck his hands up and batted the pass away, forcing an incompletion.
Michigan Tech missed the ensuing 27-yard field goal attempt, allowing McGath and Peters to end the night on Bemidji State’s first offensive possession of overtime.
“They were doing a lot of quick pass and screen game stuff,” Barrett said. “(Defensive line coach Darius Carey) told us to get into the tackles and get our hands up. … The ball’s coming out quick, you might not have time to actually get to the QB. … It just worked out.”
The Beavers have an extended week of preparation before their next test against Minnesota State – one of the highest-rated NSIC teams this fall. Bemidji State will kick off conference play in Mankato at 6 p.m. on Sept. 7.
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“We obviously have some stuff to clean up,” Barrett said. “Feels good to get the W, obviously, but now we’re onto a better team in Mankato, so we have to fix those little things and get going this week.”
Bemidji State 19, Michigan Tech 13 (OT)
MTU 7 0 3 3 0 – 13
BSU 0 0 3 10 6 – 19
First quarter – MTU TD, Ethan Champney 27-yard catch from Fries (Kucharski PAT), 7-0 MTU
Second quarter – No scoring.
Third quarter – MTU FG, Kucharski 30-yard kick, 10-0 MTU; BSU FG, Prondzinski 22-yard kick, 10-3 MTU
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Fourth quarter – BSU FG, Prondzinski 21-yard kick, 10-6 MTU; BSU TD, Brice Peters 4-yard catch from McGath (Prondzinski PAT), 13-10 BSU; MTU FG, Kucharski 32-yard kick, 13-13
Overtime – BSU TD, Brice Peters 21-yard catch from McGath, 19-13 BSU
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