Slippery Rock, Pa. --- The #4 Minnesota State football team defeated #8 Slippery Rock Rock in the semi-final round of the NCAA Tournament Saturday afternoon at Mihalik-Thompson Stadium, by a score of 58-15.

The postseason victory puts the Mavericks at a 14-0 overall record, while The Rock finish their season with a 13-1 record. MSU will now travel to McKinney, Texas for the NCAA Division II National Championship game against #20 West Florida.  The game will be played next Saturday with kick-off scheduled for 2:00 p.m.

The Mavericks wasted zero time looking for a big play with Ryan Schlichte connecting with Shane Zylstra for a 27 yard strike down the right sideline.  While the drive ultimately stalled out resulting in a Minnesota State punt, on third down, The Rock quarterback Roland Rivers III threw a pass to the right side that Cole Schroedermeier anticipated and was able to snag the ball out of the air for an interception.  With the short field, Nate Gunn was able to pound the ball on the inside to earn the first touchdown of the game with 10:13 on the clock in the first quarter, followed by a two-point conversion that Brevin Kaiser ran in giving MSU an 8-0 lead. 

The Rock immediately responded with a 12 play 73-yard drive resulting in a touchdown pass and a two-point conversion to tie the game at 8-8.  Once again, the Mavericks responded with 6 play 75-yard drive highlighted by a pass from Schlichte to Parker Gloudemans for 40-yards followed by another touchdown run from Gunn and successful two-point conversion from Kaiser.

After a couple of stalled possessions, Slippery Rock was forced to punt from their own two-yard line resulting in Minnesota State getting the ball at The Rock's 27-yard line.  On the next play JD Ekowa hit Zylstra for a 27-yard touchdown, and after a Luke Williams extra point, the Maverick lead was 23-8.

With time running out in the first-half, Minnesota State was forced to punt, and the Slippery Rock returner called for a fair catch but misjudged the ball, touching it and allowing MSU to fall on the ball and gain a new first down at The Rock's 20-yard line.  On the first play after the turnover, Justin Arnold took an end-around to the edge all the way to the endzone, with the PAT giving the Mavericks a 30-8 lead at the half.

The second half saw Slippery Rock score after an interception from the Mavericks, and after the extra point, the MSU lead was down to 30-15.  As they had all game however, the Mavericks swiftly responded and on the first play after the kickoff, Schlichte once again found Zylstra on a deep post for 73-yards and a touchdown.

Minnesota State would go on to score three more touchdowns, one from Gunn, a 75-yard run from Kaleb Sleezer and a rushing score from Nyles Williams, to finalize the 58-15 win.

On offense, Zylstra finished the game with four catches for 152 yards and two touchdowns.  His four catches ties him with Tywan Mitchell for the Maverick record in career receptions with 216. 
Schlichte passed for 178 yards and a touchdown on five completions while Ekowa completed five passes for 72 yards and a touchdown.

Sleezer finished with the most rushing yards, 79, to go along with a touchdown while Gunn recorded three scores on the day and 60 yards.  With those three touchdowns, Gunn now holds the career scoring record for Minnesota State, passing Sam Brockshsus, with 380 points scored.

On the defensive end of the field, Garret Jansen led the way with eight tackles while Zach Robertson recorded seven, including two for a loss.  Brayden Thomas continued his recent hot streak with a sack and a pair of tackles for a loss.

As a team, the Mavericks out-gained The Rock 463 yard to 310, including passing for 250 yards compared to 199.  Minnesota State also forced three turnovers, two interceptions and a fumble recovery, while forcing Slippery Rock to punt the ball nine times.