Marshall, Minn. --- Minnesota Duluth – the top-ranked team in the nation – used 32 second half points to turn a 14-13 deficit into a 45-21 victory over Minnesota State Saturday afternoon in of 438 fans in the Regional Event Center on the campus of Southwest Minnesota State University.

The game – which was originally schedule for Saturday in Mankato – was moved due to Marshall due to the large amount of snow dumped on the city of Mankato yesterday. 

“Our guys played hard and played together,” said head coach Todd Hoffner.  “Things snowballed a little bit in the second half and couldn’t get any first downs.  Hats off to Minnesota Duluth, they are the #1 team in the nation and they showed it.”

The Mavericks cracked the scoreboard first as sophomore kick returner Dennis Carter – playing against the school where he started his collegiate football career – returned the opening kickoff 93 yards for a touchdown.  The kick return marked the first special teams touchdown of the season for the Mavericks.

Carter’s touchdown marked the first time that Bulldogs had trailed since the opening season game against Central Washington.

Minnesota Duluth answered on the ensuing possession with an eight-play, 55-yard drive capped by a 25-yard touchdown pass from Chase Vogal to widoeut Josh Quiling.

After both teams traded empty possessions, Minnesota State answered with a seven-play, 38 yard drive which culminated with a nine-yard touchdown run by true freshman quarterback Jon Wolf.  Sophomore kicker Sam Brockshus added the PAT and MSU opened a 14-7 lead after the first quarter. 

Minnesota Duluth again answered the Mavericks on the ensuing drive, however this time the Minnesota State defense limited UMD to just three points as David Nadeau booted a 24-yard field goal with 10:41 remaining in the first half.

The Bulldogs then drained much of the second-quarter clock with a 16-play, 64-yard drive that chewed up 7:54 of the second quarter.  The drive was capped by Nadeau’s 25-yard yard field goal, which pulled the Bulldogs within one at 14-13.

After both teams traded punts to open the second half, UMD took the lead when DJ Winfield returned a 60-yard punt for a touchdown.  The Bulldogs converted on the two-point conversion and opened its first lead of the afternoon, 21-14, with 9:31 remaining in the third quarter.

Vogler and Quilling again connected on a touchdown pass – this time a nine-yard strike – with :56 yards remaining in the third quarter to double-up the Mavericks, 28-14, with 56 seconds remaining in the third quarter.

UMD added another touchdown when Forest Clements picked off an errant pass by Maverick senior quarterback Steve Pachan and returned it 65 yards for a touchdown.  The extra point was good and the Bulldogs extended their lead to 35-14 with 13:46 remaining in the contest.

Nadeau hit his third field goal of the game – this time a 26-yarder – with 8:20 remaining in the game extending the lead to 38-14 with 8:20 remaining in the game.

The Bulldogs returned another touchdown via an interception – this time a 35-yard return by Cody Eich.  The second defensive touchdown of the game pushed the UMD lead to 45-14 with 7:41 remaining.

Sophomore running back Chris Echols punched in a two-yard run with 4:53 remaining in the game to end a streak of 35 unanswered points for the Bulldogs.  Brockshus was good on the extra point and MSU cut the UMD lead to 45-21.

The touchdown was set up by an acrobatic catch by Wolf which gave MSU the ball on the two-yardline.

The Bulldogs finished the game with 309 yards of total offense, while MSU ran 52 plays for 208 yards.

Echols led MSU in rushing with 20 carries for 34 yards and a touchdown while Wolfe caught five passes for 51 yards.  Pachan completed 10-of-14 passes for 76 yards in the loss.

Defensively, senior Simon Cholometes led MSU with 10 tackles, eight of which were solo.

Minnesota State ends its season with a 6-5 record, including a 5-5 mark in the NSIC.  UMD improved to 11-0, 10-0 mark in the NSIC.

To view the game stats, click HERE