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Sophomore quarterback John Larson threw for a career-high five touchdowns and ran for another score as the University of Minnesota Duluth kicked off its 2018 home schedule in dominating style with a 60-7 triumph over Minnesota State University-Moorhead Saturday evening at James S. Malosky Stadium.

An overflow Military Appreciation Night crowd of 5,132 saw the No. 24 Bulldogs parlay each of their first four drives into touchdowns while racking up 261 total yards in the opening quarter alone. UMD led 28-0 after the first quarter and 36-0 at halftime en route to posting its 17th consecutive victory over the Dragons (0-2) and improving to 35-0 all-time in NSIC North Division games (a run which dates back to 2008). The Bulldogs have outscored the opposition 109-10 in 2018 and that represents the most points ever generated by a UMD club in the opening two games of any of the program's 86 seasons.

Larson ran 20 yards for a touchdown on UMD's initial series of the game and then hooked up with a trio of wide outs -- senior Jason Balts (73, 6 and 5 yards), redshirt freshman Johnny McCormick (32 yards) and senior Nate Ricci (15 yards) -- before calling it a night early in the second half. He wound up completing 15 of 19 passes for 281 yards (with no picks) in addition to rushing for a game-high 90 yards on just nine carries. McCormick also hooked up with junior quarterback Mike Rybarczyk on a 25-yard scoring strike with 5:17 to go in the third quarter while junior running back Tory Adams accounted for the final Bulldog touchdown (a 19-yard run).

UMD outgained the Dragons in total yards (580-194), rushing yards (222-58) and passing yards (358-136) and forced two turnovers while giving up none. Senior cornerback Tareq Abulebbeh paced UMD with five total tackles and had one of the team's five quarterback sacks. Sophomore outside linebacker Nate Pearson had four stops, one sack, two quarterback hurries and forced -- and recovered -- one fumble.

"I thought we played very efficiently tonight," said Larson. "The defense was unreal and it was just a great win for us."

Next up for the Bulldogs is another NSIC North Division assignment this Thursday against St. Cloud Sate University.