Box Score MANKATO, Minn. --- Things were clicking all day long for the fifth-rated Minnesota State football team as it cruised to a 31-0 shutout victory over the #12 St. Cloud State Huskies Thursday evening in Blakeslee Stadium.

With the win, MSU improves to 1-0 on the season, while SCSU fails to 0-1. The Mavericks have now won 19 consecutive NSIC games at Blakeslee Stadium.

MSU's shutout of the Huskies is its first shutout since the 2012 season when it blanked MSU Moorhead 24-0 at Blakeslee Stadium. A total of 6,022 fans witnessed Minnesota State's shutout of SCSU, marking the fifth biggest crowd in program history.

The Maverick offense accounted for 393 total yards of offense, including 270 yards on the ground. Senior Andy Pfeiffer led the way with 128 rushing yards and a touchdown, while junior Connor Thomas added 97 rushing yards and one touchdown.

Sophomore Ricky Lloyd and sophomore Nick Pieruccini combined for 123 passing yards, with Lloyd notching 91 passing yards and two touchdowns.

While the Maverick offense was doing its thing, the MSU defense kept the SCSU offense from getting any traction all night long as the Huskies managed just 235 yards of total offense, including 67 passing yards. The Mavericks also forced three turnovers as they recovered a fumble, to go along with a pair of interceptions.

Junior Tyler Henderson led the defense with nine tackles, while junior Josh Gordon added six tackles, including one sack, to go along with one fumble recovery. Freshman Cory Brent and junior Justin Otto each recorded an interception.

MSU opened the scoring late in the first quarter as Lloyd connected with senior Austin Rieder on a five-yard touchdown pass to give the Mavericks the early lead.

Junior Alden Haffar followed with a 51-yard field goal early in the second quarter to give MSU a 10-0 lead, before Lloyd connected with junior Bryce Duncan on a 20-yard touchdown pass to put the Mavericks up 17-0 heading into halftime.

The Mavericks increased their lead to 24-0 after a 62-yard touchdown run by Pfeiffer with 3:30 left in the third quarter. Thomas added the final touchdown of the game with a six-yard touchdown run with 7:51 left in the fourth quarter.

The Mavericks return to action on Saturday, Sept. 13, as they hit the road to take on the MSU Moorhead Dragons. The opening kickoff is set for 1 p.m.



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