MANKATO, Minn. --- No. 1 Minnesota State posted 595 yards of offense Saturday afternoon at Blakeslee Stadium as it defeated the Minot State Beavers 62-13.

With the win, Minnesota State improves to 7-0 on the season, while Minot State drops to 1-6. The Mavericks have now won their last 20 NSIC games.

The Mavericks more than doubled the Beavers offensive output as they notched 305 rushing yards and 290 passing yards. The Beavers managed 241 yards of total offense, with 183 yards coming through the air. MSU's 595 yards of offense are the most since the Mavericks recorded 607 yards of offense against Midwestern State last season in the NCAA Tournament.

Nine Mavericks carried the ball at least once, including junior Nate Gunn who posted a team-best 82 rushing yards, while sophomore Justin Taormina added 69 yards. Both junior Ian Pribyl and sophomore JD Ekowa ran for a touchdown as well. This is the second time this season that the Mavericks have rushed for more than 300 yards in a game.

All three Maverick quarterbacks threw at least one touchdown pass Saturday afternoon as they combined to for 290 yards and five touchdowns. Ekowa completed nine passes for 168 yards and two touchdowns, while junior Ryan Schlichte threw for 111 yards and two touchdowns. Freshman Brevin Kaiser completed one pass for an 11-yard touchdown as well. Schlichte is now 10th all-time at Minnesota State with 3,363 passing yards and sixth all-time in touchdown passes with 38.

Seven Mavericks caught at least one pass, including junior Shane Zylstra who led the MSU receiving corps with eight catches for 132 yards and three touchdowns. This is the third time this season that Zylstra has recorded more than 100 receiving yards in a game. Zylstra is now second all-time at Minnesota State in career touchdown catches with 31. He trails Josh Nelsen (1991-94) who caught 36 career touchdown passes. 

Junior Tyler Schmidt and sophomore Parker Gloudemans each caught a touchdown pass as well.

The Mavericks also got the job done on special teams as Taormina returned a Minot State kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown as time expired in the first half. This is the second time in as many weeks that the Mavericks have returned a kickoff for a touchdown. Senior Casey Bednarski also finished 2-of-2 in field goal attempts as he connected from 53 and 46 yards out. Bednarski's 53 yard field goal is his longest one this season.

The Maverick defense combined for nine tackles for, to go along with two sacks. Senior Michael Palme led the Mavericks with six tackles, while sophomore Jake Schaper recovered a fumble. Sophomore Chance Bowen recorded one sack and now has a team-leading nine on the season.

Minnesota State begins a two-game road trip on Saturday, Oct. 20, as it takes on Bemidji State. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.


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