The Minnesota State Moorhead football team was back on the practice field Tuesday for the first time since snapping a school-record 16-game losing streak last weekend.
First-year Dragons coach Chad Eisele was smiling. Players were jovial.
And, for the first time in a year-and-a-half, talk centered on victories instead of defeats.
"As soon as the final bell sounded last week we were committed to starting a new streak. A positive streak," said senior running back Yvan Salazar, who ran for 168 yards in the Dragons' 37-16 win against Southwest Minnesota State on Saturday. "Confidence is at an all-time high."
And why not?
ADVERTISEMENT
MSUM (1-5) not only stopped the drought, it stepped on it, ground it into dust and tossed it into the trash can.
The Dragons - who finished 0-11 for the first time in school history last season - ran for a season-high 234 yards, returned a pair of interceptions for touchdowns and scored on a blocked punt against the Mustangs.
For the first time this season, the Dragons scored first, scored often and overcame all adversity thrown its way.
"We were getting breaks, getting calls," fifth-year senior wide receiver Derek Blackburn said. "We haven't had a lot of things go our way the last two years. If the offense made a mistake, the defense came up big."
Many of those big defensive plays belonged to true freshman free safety Josh Jones. Recruited out of California by Eisele and defensive coordinator Damon Tameo, Jones returned an interception and a blocked punt for touchdowns in the win.
The interception return gave MSUM a 16-10 lead early in the third quarter.
"I felt I could make an impact," said Jones, who came to MSUM after he failed to get NCAA Division I offers. "But I didn't expect to make that much of an impact during that game."
Eisele said he felt the Dragons were on the verge of ending the streak before the game started after an impressive week of practice.
ADVERTISEMENT
MSUM decreased the length of practices by about 15 minutes and made them more intense with the first-team offense and defense squaring off early each day.
"It was the best week I have been a part of in my five years," Blackburn said.
That intensity carried over to the game for offensive linemen Aaron Cribb, Ted Hall, Bert Nelson, Ethan Simonson and Keith Ferris, who plowed Mustang defenders into the turf to pave the way for Salazar's career day. The Dragons ran for 4.8 yards a carry against Southwest despite entering the game with a 2.2 average.
The Dragons hope the revamped running game continues to churn out yards Saturday against Concordia-St. Paul. MSUM hosts the Golden Bears at 1 p.m. Saturday at Alex Nemzek Stadium. The Bears (5-2) crushed Minnesota-Crookston 73-13 last week. "I never thought it would feel good being 1-5," Eisele said. "We just feel so good for the kids right now. It's great to get the monkey off our back and now we can stop talking about the streak. "That's a very good thing."
Readers can reach Forum reporter Heath Hotzler at (701) 241-5562
