Bemidji State Football Finally Finding Stride with McAninch at Quarterback

BSU football is finding its stride after starting the season 0-5. Before the team’s bye last weekend, the Beavers won two straight games: a 24-21 homecoming victory over Northern State followed by a 26-21 upset win on the road at Wayne State.

The resurgence could be attributed to a few things, but finding consistency at the quarterback position seems to be top of the list. Through the beginning of the season, the Beavers grappled with a duel QB system that did not pan out. Third-string quarterback Bart McAninch worked his way to the top of the depth chart ahead of Bemidji State’s game at Minot State and has been the starter ever since.

“The first game I started, I definitely made some rookie mistakes,” he said. “But now, I feel like I’ve settled in. A little less nerves than right away. And you know, I’m just having fun.”

“His first start was against Minot; he had some opportunities to probably go down and win the game and it came up short, but I think he learned from it,” said head coach Brent Bolte. “And I think you saw that when we beat [Northern State]. I think he managed the game well down at Wayne State. … [H]is three starts were 2-1 with a chance to probably be 3-0, so I’m proud of him for doing that.”

This Saturday, McAninch will start again for Bemidji State when they host an unfamiliar opponent, the University of Jamestown, who just joined the NSIC this season.

“They’re going to play really hard,” said McAninch of the Jimmies. “They’re a solid team. And we just got to execute like the last couple of games and we’ll be good.”

The two teams have only played four times in program history, in 1941, 1949, 1950, and 1956, and BSU won all four meetings. Kickoff is Saturday, October 25 at 1 p.m. at Chet Anderson Stadium.