The No. 13 (AFCA) and No. 10 (D2Football.com) University of Minnesota Duluth football team flew past the Bemidji State University Beavers in their final regular-season home matchup and senior day celebration inside James S. Malosky Stadium Saturday afternoon.

Redshirt freshman tight end Luke Dehnicke earned his fifth game of the season over 100 receiving yards, finishing with 140 yards in five receptions to help push his single-season reception yards over the 1,000 mark. He now has 1,058 total yards this season and is trailing the program's record of 1,201 (D.J. Winfield, 2008).

UMD won the coin toss and deferred the first kickoff of the game, only to recover the fumble on that kickoff with Caden Healy securing it at the BSU 27-yard line. The Bulldogs didn't waste time and scored four plays later with Kyle Walljasper rushing for 11 yards in the first touchdown of the game with 12:36 left in the first quarter.

Bemidji scored on the following drive to tie the game after an eight-play drive for 75 yards. The Bulldogs got the ball back with seven minutes to go and proceeded to drive 59 yards, which included a 36-yard rush by Walljasper to get onto the BSU 23-yard line. Walljasper finished the drive with a pass to Dehnicke for a six-yard touchdown to mark a 14-7 lead with a kick from Drew Henson.

With 4:52 remaining in the first quarter, UMD would shut down the BSU offense with another fumble recovery four plays in, this time with Jayce Walrath securing it. The next UMD drive took them into the second quarter, where Walljasper fumbled the ball on a 23-yard rush to allow BSU to start their offense on its own 26-yard line.

The Beavers' next drive was halted five plays in when Mojo Weerts and Mark Rendl sacked Connor Carver on third down to force a punt with 10:56 to go. Both teams failed on the next two drives, but UMD then drove 78 yards with help from a 42-yard breakout rush from Ryder Patterson to the BSU 25-yard line. Walljasper finished the drive with an eight-yard rush to mark a 21-7 lead with 2:54 to go before halftime.

Bemidji turned on the gas to go on a quick two-minute drive for 60 yards to chip down the Bulldog lead to 21-14. The offense then killed off the rest of the clock to start with possession in the third quarter.

On the first drive of the third quarter, the Bulldogs sealed off a 77-yard drive with a rushing touchdown from Francis O'Malley to push back ahead 28-14.  After BSU scored on the following drive, Walljasper connected with Dehnicke for a 69-yard touchdown pass. This pass reception helped Dehnicke reach his 1,000th receiving yard as a redshirt freshman.

With UMD firmly in control of the game at 35-21, the third quarter ticked by without any more scoring. The fourth quarter saw both teams score in the final eight minutes, which included a touchdown rush from Patterson for a 42-28 final score.

Bemidji had success in forcing Walljasper's lowest completion percentage of the season, with a final percentage of 53.8. He threw for 138 yards with two touchdown passes and rushed for a gain of 173 yards with two touchdowns on the ground. The team's overall rushing game towered over BSU's 171 yards with 292 yards (6.6 avg.). On defense, Walrath led the team in total tackles with seven solo. Weerts and Rendl each reached the quarterback once and split a sack, while Alan Pearson broke through once as well. The group's sacks combined for a loss of 30 yards.

On special teams, Jadon Apgar kicked for 271 yards (54.2 avg.) with Henson taking two for 52 yards. Henson also had three punts for a total of 110 yards (36.7 avg.) with one within the 20-yard line. DaShaun Ames led the returns with three for 70 yards (23.3 avg.).

The Bulldogs now look towards their final regular-season matchup on the road in Minot, North Dakota, against Minot State University on Saturday. The matches next weekend will determine the champion status of both the North Division and the overall NSIC.

FAREWELL, SENIORS
UMD says goodbye to its 15-member senior class following today's match. Since 2022, this class has posted an impressive overall record of 42-13. That group includes quarterback Kyle Walljasper, defensive lineman Mojo Weerts, linebacker Luke Humbert, defensive lineman Gavin Skelton, defensive lineman Gus Taylor, defensive tackle Josiah Walker, defensive back Alex Sylvester, linebacker Joshua Gonleh, defensive back Tyrone McCoy, defensive back Isaiah Hampton, wide receiver DaShaun Ames, wide receiver Tyler Collien offensive lineman Tait Kongsjord, offensive lineman Joey Grillo, and offensive lineman Jake Raines.