Nov. 15—BEMIDJI — Late in the fourth quarter on a gusty Saturday at Chet Anderson Stadium, the Bemidji State football team was desperately trying to put the game away.
The Beavers led U-Mary 28-7 late in the third quarter, but the always-unpredictable Marauders’ offense found a rhythm, scoring two unanswered touchdowns to come within seven of the tie.
Up 28-21, the BSU running game kept finding holes in the U-Mary defense. But with three minutes to go, the Beavers wanted to go for the dagger, much like they did for their first win of the season against Northern State.
They decided to call for a pass and put the game into redshirt freshman Bart McAninch’s hands.
There was a question whether McAninch would be ready for Saturday’s game, but he ended up making the start. But outside of a 31-yard touchdown to Elliott Lowney in the second quarter, McAninch and the offense emphasized the running game all day.
On second down in U-Mary territory, McAninch went back to pass, catching the Marauders’ defense off guard. He spotted a streaking Drayton Leyman downfield and threw a dime to the redshirt senior.
Lehman walked in for a 37-yard touchdown, officially ending the Marauders’ comeback in BSU’s 34-21 victory.
“They knew we were going to run the ball. I’m like, ‘No, let’s put it away. Let’s put it on ice and give the kid the opportunity,'” head coach Brent Bolte said. “What a great throw, nice catch. … Proud of those guys for making the play when we really needed it there.”
Bolte’s message all week was to win one for the seniors. While it got close, players like Jacob Drietz are glad to end their careers with a win, even though they’re not used to ending the season this early.
“It feels a little weird being done now, since we’ve been to the playoffs so much the last few years,” Drietz said. “It’s been nice this week to take in everything and know that this is it.”
Even without their leading tackler, Caden Bolte, Drietz and the Beaver defense were a brick wall, at least in the first half.
BSU held the Marauders scoreless, shutting down passes and gadget plays to help the Beavers go up 21-0 at the half.
So what exactly was the defense doing right in the first half?
“Everything,” Drietz said. “We were just dialed. We were communicating well on the back end, tackling in the open field, making big plays when we needed to.”
Then came the second half.
The U-Mary offense came out of the half firing on all cylinders. QB Jordan Polo Solomon threw a long 33-yard touchdown pass to Luke Bodine for the Marauders’ first points on the scoreboard.
BSU responded right away, with running back Mitch Olson bookending a 66-yard drive with a 1-yard touchdown to put the Beavers up 28-7.
Then U-Mary found its rhythm. Solomon found Ethan Heinrich for a 28-yard touchdown in the third quarter. Solomon then himself found an opening and caught a 25-yard touchdown from running back Hudsen Sheldon to make it a one-possession game, 28-21.
“We were just a little bit undisciplined,” Drietz said of the defense in the second half. “Some of our communication lacked at times. Just dumb things we did to ourselves, but we locked in and stopped them when we needed to.”
One of those important stops was in the fourth quarter, forcing U-Mary to punt after McAninch lost a fumble on a design run.
It was the only blemish on the BSU ground attack, which dominated the U-Mary defense.
Antonio Brown had the second-longest run of the day — a 23-yard pickup — until he left the game with an injury in the first quarter.
Isaiah Tisdle stepped in and picked up two first-half touchdowns — a two-yard touchdown in the first quarter and an explosive 13-yard run into the end zone in the second quarter. Tisdle ran for 84 yards on 17 carries before he got injured in the third quarter.
As Bolte put it, he had no other option than to throw in freshman Mitch Olson.
Olson found the holes his teammates had been taking advantage of. He led the Beavers in rushing with 15 carries, 88 yards and a score.
“I don’t know who would have been the next guy (if Olson got injured),” Bolte said. “But he’s good, Tisdle is really good and (Antonio Brown’s) really good, so we have a really talented group of running backs.”
McAninch, meanwhile, ended the day 10-for-16 for 162 yards and two touchdowns.
Bemidji State (4-7) ends its season with its worst record since 2014, when it went 3-8 under head coach Jeff Tesch. It’s Bolte’s first losing season as head coach since taking the job in 2016.
Coming off of the most successful postseason in program history, Bolte looks back on the season with some disappointment. But he feels his young team has learned a lot this season, and sees some really strong playmakers that can lead BSU back to a winning record.
“For the team, you don’t know how incredible it is to fight through as much adversity as they did,” Bolte said. “They fought through just high expectations and then just low results early.
“We just had so many games that we felt like we could have won. … But we’re young, and hopeful we can learn from it.”
As players like Drietz have suited up for the Beavers one last time, they hope BSU can get back to its winning ways without them next season.
“It’s kind of a cliche, (but) leave a place better than you found it,” Drietz said. “We really came together through these last few weeks and finished on a strong note. The seniors have set the standard, and I think we did a good job showing that at the end of the year.”
Bemidji State 34, U-Mary 21
BSU 7 14 7 6 — 34
UM 0 0 14 7 — 21
First quarter — BSU TD, Tisdle 2-yard run (Mantelli PAT), 7-0 BSU.
Second quarter — BSU TD, Tisdle 13-yard run (Mantelli PAT), 14-0 BSU; BSU TD, Lowney 31-yard catch from McAninch (Mantelli PAT), 21-0 BSU.
Third quarter — UM TD, Bodine 33-yard catch from Polo Solomon (Henninger PAT), 21-7 BSU; BSU TD, Olson 1-yard run (Mantelli PAT), 28-7 BSU; UM TD, Heinrich 28-yard catch from Polo Solomon (Henninger PAT), 28-14 BSU.
Fourth quarter — UM TD, Polo Solomon 25-yard catch from Sheldon, (Henninger PAT), 28-21 BSU; Lehman 37-yard catch from McAninch (Romak 2-point attempt no good), 34-21.
Penalties: Bemidji State 10; U-Mary 12.
