Box Score McKINNEY, Texas --- It came down to the very end Saturday evening in McKinney, Texas, but it was #20 West Florida that was able to hang on to the 48-40 win over the #4 Minnesota State in the NCAA DII Championship game.

MSU finishes its season with a 14-1 record, while UWF finishes with a 13-2 record.

The first quarter proved to be the highest scoring opening quarter this season as the Mavericks and the Argonauts both reached end zone on each of their two drives. The 28 combined points scored by MSU and UWF in the first quarter tied an NCAA DII Championship record.

UWF opened the game with a 13-play 72-yard drive to go up 7-0. The drive was capped off by a five-yard touchdown pass from Austin Reed to Kevin Grant. The Mavericks would then answer right back on their opening drive of the game to knot up the score with 6:09 left in the first quarter. MSU's opening drive was capped off by a 38-yard touchdown pass from senior Ryan Schlichte to senior Justin Arnold.

The Argonauts kept the scoring going on their following drive as they once again reached the end zone. After converting on a third and 25, UWF moved up to the MSU 12 before Reed connected with Ka'Ron Ashley on a 12-yard touchdown pass to put UWF up 14-7. The Mavericks again responded with as they went 68 yards on seven plays. Junior JD Ekowa connected with junior Parker Gloudemans on a 49-yard touchdown pass, before senior Nate Gunn ran into the end zone from two yards out.

The scoring continued in the following quarter as the Argonauts took a 38-21 lead into halftime. The 59 combined points in the first half set an NCAA DII Championship record.

The second quarter saw Reed complete three touchdown passes, all to Quentin Randolph from two, 34 and 48 yards out. Austin Williams also connected on a 31-yard field goal.

MSU's lone score of the second quarter came via a six-yard touchdown carry by Gunn. The Mavericks' second to last drive of the second quarter was stopped on a fourth and goal from UWF two yard line.

In total, the Mavericks tallied 292 yards of offense in the first half, including 207 passing yards. Arnold led the MSU receiving corps with 76 receiving yards, while Gunn led the Maverick rushing attack with 56 yards.

Reed finished the first half with 399 passing yards and five touchdown passes. Quentin Randolph led the Argonaut receiving corps with eight catches for 241 yards and three touchdowns. 

The third quarter featured just two scores as West Florida held a 45-29 lead. Austin Reed completed an eight-yard touchdown pass to Tate Lehito to put the Argonauts up 45-21. Five minutes later, freshman Kaleb Sleezer recovered a punt and returned it 15 yards for the touchdown. Schlichte later connected with sophomore Jalen Sample on the two point conversion try to bring the score to 45-29 in favor of UWF.

Both teams exchanged field goals to open the fourth quarter as Austin Williams connected on a 30-yard field goal, before sophomore Luke Williams connected on a 24-yard field goal to bring the score to 45-32 with just under 10 minutes to go in the game. The Mavericks then pulled within a score of the Argonauts as Schlichte hooked up with Zylstra on a seven-yard touchdown pass with 4:03 to go. Schlichte then completed the two point conversion as he connected with Arnold to bring the score to 48-40 in favor of UWF.

The Mavericks then stopped the Argonauts on their ensuing drive and took over on their own 20 with 2:21 to go. The Mavericks managed to advance all the way down to the UWF 17, which included five straight passes from Schlichte to Arnold, but they could not reach the end zone as the Argonauts held on to the 48-40 win.

MSU finished the game with 562 yards of total offense, including 419 passing yards. Schlichte completed 24 passes for 309 yards and two touchdowns. Arnold led the Maverick receiving corps with 13 catches for 154 yards and a touchdown, while Zylstra caught 11 passes for 145 yards and a touchdown. Schlichte also notched 57 rushing yards, while Gunn tallied 56 rushing yards and two touchdowns.

Junior Cade Johnson led the Maverick defense with eight tackles and an interception. Junior Cole Schroedermeier and junior Jack Leius each recorded seven tackles also.

Reed finished with 523 passing yards and six touchdown passes. Tate Lehito tallied 13 catches for 139 yards and a touchdown, while Randolph posted 10 catches for 254 yards and three touchdowns.

Sharod Oliver led the Argonaut defense with 10 tackles, while Chanler Ferguson tallied nine tackles, including one sack.


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