MINOT – The University of Mary took the lead twice in the second half Saturday, the last time with 1:53 to play. It wasn't enough to keep the Big Lake Trophy in Bismarck. Matyas Bily caught a 28-yard touchdown pass from Jett Lundeen with 44 seconds remaining, and a 51-yard field goal try by John Girard on the final snap missed as the Beavers held on for a 34-31 win at Herb Parker Stadium.
UMary had won the previous two Big Lake Trophy games, according to the university's athletics recap.
How it was decided
The Marauders scored the first 10 points on a 25-yard Girard field goal and a 1-yard run by Carl Henry early in the second quarter. Minot State answered with two Brandon Hines Jr. touchdown runs, the second set up by an interception at the UMary 30, and led 14-13 at the half after Girard hit a 40-yarder with four seconds left.
The Beavers went up 20-13 on a reverse, with Matt Shinn throwing a 25-yard touchdown pass to Lundeen. UMary came back with a 74-yard drive capped by Ryan Blair's 4-yard touchdown pass to Andrew Trandahl, and Hudsen Sheldon ran in the two-point conversion for a 21-20 lead. Jack Stouffer recovered a Minot State fumble on the next play from scrimmage, and Girard's 36-yard field goal made it 24-20.
Lundeen's 1-yard run with 11:33 left gave Minot State a 27-24 lead. After a UMary defensive stop, a 12-yard punt return by Jaquwan Brackenridge Jr. and a 15-yard unnecessary roughness penalty on Minot State gave the Marauders the ball at the Beavers' 29. They had to convert on fourth down twice: Blair found Brackenridge for 8 yards on fourth-and-8, which the university's recap said was ruled a first down after a replay review, and Sheldon ran for 5 yards on fourth-and-1. Henry scored from the 1 with 1:53 to go for a 31-27 lead.
Minot State needed just five plays to go 80 yards. Lundeen hit Shinn for 37 yards to the UMary 33, then found Bily for the go-ahead score. Starting at its own 25, UMary got a 31-yard catch from Desmond Duffy, a 13-yarder from Brackenridge and a 2-yard catch from Ethan Heinrich to set up Girard's final attempt from 51 yards with two seconds left.
By the numbers
Blair completed 25 of 36 passes for 324 yards and a touchdown without an interception, per the box score. Karsyn Jablonski caught six passes for 127 yards, and Brackenridge added seven catches for 71 yards. Henry finished with 15 rushing yards on 12 carries and two touchdowns. Girard went 3-for-4 on field goals.
The Marauders outgained Minot State 358-342 and held the ball for 36:37, compared with 23:23 for the Beavers. They went 7-for-7 on fourth down and scored on all five red-zone trips. But UMary managed only 34 rushing yards and converted 3 of 16 third downs, while Minot State ran for 194 yards. UMary was penalized 12 times for 99 yards, a high total for a team the university's recap called one of the least-penalized in the nation coming into the game.
Lundeen completed all seven of his passes for 123 yards and ran for 61 yards. Hines had 74 rushing yards and two touchdowns, according to the box score. On defense, Christopher Federico led UMary with 13 tackles and Abram Jopp had 11.
What's next
The loss was UMary's third in a row. The Marauders are 3-6 overall and 2-6 in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference, and Minot State is also 3-6, with a 3-5 conference record.
UMary's last road game of the season is at Winona State at 1 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 7. The Marauders then return to the MDU Resources Community Bowl to host Bemidji State at 1 p.m. on Nov. 14, which is Senior Day and the final game on the 2026 schedule.
