MANKATO, Minn. --- It proved to be another defensive struggle between #1 Minnesota State and #9 CSU-Pueblo, but it was the Mavericks that were able to come away with the 24-10 victory Saturday afternoon at Blakeslee Stadium.
With the win, MSU improves to 12-0 on the season, while CSUP finishes its season with an 11-2 record. The Mavericks now own a 10-10 all-time record in NCAA Tournament action.
The first quarter saw little in the way of offense as both teams combined for 101 yards of offense in the opening 15 minutes. The second quarter saw the Mavericks come alive as they tallied 17 points and 190 yards of offense, 142 of which came through the air, to take a 17-0 lead into halftime.
The Mavericks broke the ice with just under 10 minutes to go in the second quarter as junior
Ryan Schlichte connected with junior
Shane Zylstra on a 52-yard touchdown pass. The game remained locked at 7-0 until the closing minutes of the half, but the Mavericks drove into red zone with less than three minutes to go. The ThunderWolves were able to hold the Mavericks to field goal as senior
Casey Bednarski connected from 22 yards out.
After kicking off to CSUP after the field goal, the Maverick defense kept CSUP in check and forced another punt, which saw the Mavericks take over on the CSUP 49 with 1:55 to go in the half. Eight plays later, sophomore
JD Ekowa hooked up with junior
Justin Arnold on a 15-yard touchdown pass to give MSU a 17-0 lead into halftime.
The start of the second half saw the Mavericks keep the CSU-Pueblo offense in check as the ThunderWolves were forced to punt on their opening possession of the half. The Mavericks would take over on their own 31 and then proceeded to drive 69 yards down field for the touchdown to go up 24-0 with less than 10 minutes to go in the third quarter. Junior
Nate Gunn carried the ball six times on the MSU scoring drive, including a three-yard touchdown carry to close out the drive.
Trailing 24-10 with 9:12 to go, CSU-Pueblo was finally able to reach the end zone on its following drive. Starting on their own 34, the ThunderWolves drove 66 yards for the touchdown that included a 27-yard touchdown run by Bernard McDondle to bring the score to 24-7. CSUP got its offense back on the field quickly as it intercepted an MSU pass and took over on the CSUP 34. The ThunderWolves managed to get to the Minnesota State five yard line on their following drive but the Maverick defense held them to a field goal as Mitchell Carter connected from 22 yards out to bring the score to 24-10 with just over two minutes to play in the third quarter.
Neither team was able to reach the pay dirt the rest of the way as the Mavericks locked down the 24-10 win.
As a team, the Mavericks tallied 329 yards of offense, including 187 passing yards. The ThunderWolves managed 291 yards of offense, with 200 coming through the air.
The Maverick defense came up with three turnovers in the game, including a pair of interceptions. Both junior
Jack Curtis and sophomore
Cade Johnson recorded an interception, while senior
Michael Palme recovered a fumble. Curtis also broke up four passes. Junior
Zach Robertson led the team with 10 tackles. Robertson, along with juniors
Jordan Bergren and
Alex Goettl each recorded 1.5 tackles for a loss as well.
Gunn paced the Maverick rushing attack with 114 yards and a touchdown. This is the seventh time this season he has rushed for more than 100 yards in a game.
Schlichte and Ekowa each threw one touchdown pass. Zylstra caught four passes for 90 yards and a touchdown, while Arnold caught six passes for 75 yards and a touchdown.
Brandon Edwards finished his game with 172 passing yards, but he threw two interceptions. McDondle led the CSUP rushing attack with 66 yards and a touchdown, while Kevin Ribarich caught five passes for 55 yards.
Jackson Wibbels and Tanner Draper led the ThunderWolves with nine tackles each, while Darius Williams recorded two interceptions.
Minnesota State continues its season in the third round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday Dec. 1, as it hosts #6 Tarleton State at Blakeslee Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 12:00 p.m.
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