Box Score St. Cloud, Minn. --- Dante Steward’s three-yard touchdown run with 56 seconds remaining propelled St. Cloud State to a 26-21 victory over fourth-ranked Minnesota State Saturday afternoon at Husky Stadium in St. Cloud in front of 4,057.
St. Cloud State led for much of the game until Minnesota State redshirt freshman running back Jake Aberg's seven yard touchdown run with 14:28 remaining. Freshman kicker Sam Brockshus tacked on the extra point and MSU led 21-20.
Minnesota State then entered Husky territory late in the game but came up empty. Junior punter Gerard DeWet placed a beautiful punt to the five yard line, setting up the Huskie’s game-winning 95-yard drive.
“A lot of things hurt us down the stretch, they went 95 yards and deserved to win,” said head coach Todd Hoffner. “They made a lot of great plays to win the game. We have to bounce back and play better football. As coaches we have to put our players in better position to make plays.”
The Huskies jumped on board first in on its first possession as quarterback Derek Stripling punched in an nine-yard run capping a four-play, 46-yard drive. The extra point was blocked by junior defensive back Bryce Kinniry.
Minnesota State answered on the ensuing possession as senior running back Julian Phipps ran behind the right side of the offensive line for the score from a yard out. Brockshus added the extra point and MSU took a 7-6 lead.
The Huskies answered at the 3:50 mark of the first half as Stripling found Tyler Allery in the back of the endzone. The extra point was good and SCSU regained the lead 13-7.
Phipps added his second touchdown of the game at the 8:48 mark of the second quarter when Phipps ran along the right side for a 15-yard score. The touchdown capped a four-play, 55-yard drive for Minnesota State.
Minnesota State entered the redzone in both the second and third quarter and came away without points as the Huskies forced a fumble on the goal line and an interception on the one-yard line.
Aberg and Phipps each rushed over 100 yards in the loss. Aberg finished with 22 carries for 148 yards and a score while Phipps had 14 carries for 100 yards and two touchdowns. It marks the second time this season – and the seventh since 1981 – that Minnesota State has had at least two players eclipse the 100-yard mark in a game.
Defensively senior Jesse Graves led MSU with nine tackles and an interception. The interception – which was Minnesota State’s 28th of the season – established a new school record for single-season picks.
Offensively, MSU ran 72 plays for 350 yards, 286 of which came on the ground. St. Cloud State ran 63 plays for 327 yards.
Minnesota State (10-1, 9-1 NSIC) will await its postseason fate which will be announced tomorrow afternoon. The team has planned a viewing party at the Downtown Buffalo Wild Wings, beginning at 1:30 p.m.
To view the game stats, click HERE
