MANKATO, Minn. --- The Minnesota State football team continues its season at Blakeslee Stadium Saturday as it hosts #4 Sioux Falls. The opening kickoff is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.
Our History: The 2016 season marks the school's 90th season playing football. The Mavericks are 436-382-28 (.531) in 846 games since their inception as a varsity sport in 1922. Minnesota State is in its ninth season in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference and owns a 78-12 (.866) record in league action. Over the course of its history, MSU has claimed 21 conference championships, including 16 NIC titles. The Mavericks have also made nine appearances in the NCAA Tournament. MSU owns a 7-9 overall record in NCAA postseason play.
Grabbing the Reins: The 2016 season marks the seventh season with Head Coach Todd Hoffner on the sidelines. During his seven seasons at Minnesota State, Hoffner has compiled a 64-18 (.780) record, including four trips to the NCAA Tournament in 2008, 2009, 2014 and 2015.
Against the Cougars: Saturday's game between the Mavericks and the Cougars represents the sixth meeting between them. The Mavericks own a 4-1 all-time record against USF, including a 44-3 win last season at Sioux Falls. MSU is currently on a four-game winning streak against the Cougars.
During their 2015 meeting, senior
Nick Pieruccini had a career game against the Cougars as he completed 21 passes for 374 yards and three touchdowns. He also ran in two touchdowns. Senior
Virgil Hammond led the Maverick rushing attack with 95 rushing yards, while senior
Brent Esser led the MSU receiving corps with 165 receiving yards and a touchdown. Junior
Ty Dennis recorded 102 receiving yards as well.
On defense, senior
Mat Andriano led the Mavericks with eight tackles, to go along with a fumble recovery, while senior
Marcus Gooden and junior
Corey Brent each recorded an interception
For USF, Luke Papilion recorded 165 passing yards, but he threw three interceptions. Papilion also led the USF rushing attack with 68 yards, while Brady Rose led the receivers with eight catches and 69 receiving yards. Josh Butler led the USF defense with 11 tackles.
Last Week for the Mavericks: Minnesota State won its 15th straight game against Southwest Minnesota State as it defeated the Mustangs 35-20 at Blakeslee Stadium. As a team, MSU recorded 410 total yards of offense, while it held SMSU to 358 yards of offense.
Senior
Ricky Lloyd completed 19 passes for 229 yards and four touchdowns for the Mavericks. Junior
Ty Dennis caught five passes for 74 yards and a touchdown, while junior
Erik Fuller recorded five catches for 48 yards and two touchdowns.
On defense, senior
Mat Andriano led the Mavericks with 10 tackles and a fumble recovery. Sophomore
Zach Dodge recorded a game-high three sacks, while senior
Ruben Ibarra notched eight tackles.
Concerning the Mavericks: Through eight games this season the Mavericks have tallied 3,339 yards of total offense and are averaging 34.8 points per game.
MSU has tallied 1,449 yards on the ground this season, with seniors
Virgil Hammond and
Nick Pieruccini leading the way with 509 yards and 482 yards, respectively. Pieruccini also has four touchdown carries.
Through the air, Minnesota State has tallied 1,890 passing yards and 25 touchdown passes. Pieruccini has thrown for 1.071 yards and 15 touchdowns.
The Maverick defense has allowed 3,090 yards of total offense this season, along with 22.1 points per game.
Senior
Ruben Ibarra has posted 72 tackles this season, with senior
Marcus Gooden following right behind with 63. Junior
Evan Perrizo has tallied a team-leading 10 tackles for a loss as well.
Last Week for the Cougars: Last weekend, Sioux Falls defeated Concordia-St. Paul 51-17 at home to improve to 8-0 on the season.
The Cougars tallied 432 yards of total offense against the Golden Bears, including 249 rushing yards.
Quarterback Luke Papilion threw for 141 yards and two touchdowns against CSP, while Max Mickey led the USF rushing attack with 128 rushing yards and two touchdowns. Kyle Athman caught two touchdown passes as well.
On defense, Michael Mehling led USF with 11 tackles and a sack. Tosin Adedeji recorded an interception as well.
Concerning the Cougars: On the season, Sioux Falls has tallied 4,353 yards of offense, including 2,731 rushing yards. USF is averaging 43 points a game, and is giving up an average of 22.4 points a game.
Quarterback Blake Gimbel has thrown for 1,508 yards and 12 touchdowns this season, compared to 10 interceptions. Max Mickey is leading the USF rushing attack with 1,161 yards and 12 touchdowns. Papilion has tallied 711 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns as well.
Brady Rose leads the USF receiving corps with 570 receiving yards. Josh Angulo has caught a team-leading seven touchdown passes as well.
Michael Mehling leads the USF defense with 71 tackles. Clifford Redmond has posted a team-leading four interceptions, while Westly Johnson has notched 6.5 sacks.
