MANKATO, Minn. – The No. 4 Minnesota State Maverick football team scored 28 points in the second quarter to take control against visiting Northern State, earning a 35-17 victory Saturday afternoon on a cool and rainy day in a battle between the final two unbeaten teams in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference.
The Mavericks improved to 4-0 overall and 3-0 in NSIC play, while Northern State fell to 3-1 on the season and 2-1 in league play.
The MSU defense forced three interceptions, while Maverick junior quarterback
Mitchell Thompson completed 9-of-9 passes for 114 yards and a touchdown. He also carried the ball 14 times for 65 yards and two touchdowns. The Mavericks finished with 396 yards of total offense, including 193 rushing and 203 passing.
Both Thompson and sophomore
Maximus Sims finished 14-of-19 passing with one interception.
NSU was led by the nation's second-leading rusher, Hank Kraft, who carried 13 times for 154 yards and a touchdown. He also had five receptions for 32 yards and attempted one pass, which was intercepted in the fourth quarter. Quarterback Ty Englehart completed 11-of-17 passes for 84 yards, a touchdown and an interception, while Joey Dube-Garrett was 6-of-19 for 80 yards and an interception. Louie Schawbe had three receptions for 60 yards.
Defensively, sophomore
Jefferson Mobry led the Mavericks with seven tackles, while
Sam Bossman recorded four tackles and two sacks for 11 yards.
Jason Dandridge, Emmanuel Spiyee and Mankato native
Nathan Drumm each recorded an interception for MSU. The Mavericks finished with five tackles for loss and two sacks.
The Wolves moved down the field on the opening possession, converting both a third-and-short and a fourth-and-short. On second-and-10 from the MSU 25, Kraft broke a couple of tackles on a handoff and raced into the end zone for his eighth rushing touchdown of the season, giving NSU a 7-0 lead. It marked the first time MSU had trailed all season.
Sims connected with sophomore
Hudson Dillon for 26 yards on third-and-14 to keep MSU's opening drive alive. On third-and-15, Sims' pass sailed high, forcing a fourth down and a punt. The Mavericks then forced the Wolves into a three-and-out on the ensuing possession.
MSU took over at its own 41 and moved to the Northern State 10 late in the opening quarter, highlighted by a strong run from junior
Sam Backer for a first down. Thompson then carried the ball to the three as time expired in the first quarter.
On the first play of the second quarter, Thompson scored on a tush push from Backer to tie the game at 7-7 with 14:53 remaining in the first half.
A bad snap over the head of Englehart resulted in a significant loss as the Maverick defense forced its second consecutive three-and-out, with NSU punting from its own end zone. The Wolves' punter then shanked the kick, giving MSU possession in plus territory at the NSU 40.
Sims moved the Mavericks to the NSU 28 with a first-down run, and another first down combined with a facemask penalty moved the ball to the 10. Sims then rolled out and connected with junior
Jalyn Thompson for his first touchdown as a Maverick, giving MSU a 14-7 lead with 10:54 remaining in the half.
Kraft answered with a 55-yard run on the first play from scrimmage of the ensuing drive, taking the ball to the MSU 20. On third-and-seven from the MSU 17, the Maverick defense came up with a stop to force a field-goal attempt. NSU's Jeremy Caruso connected from 35 yards, cutting the MSU lead to 14-10 with 8:21 remaining in the half.
The Mavericks responded with a six-play, 77-yard drive capped by some strong passing from Thompson, including a 30-yard touchdown strike to junior
Ishmael Emmanuel-Holloway. The score pushed MSU's lead to 21-10 with 5:08 remaining in the half.
MSU again forced the Wolves to punt with 3:46 remaining and had a chance to take advantage of a two-for-one opportunity after winning the coin toss for the fourth consecutive week.
Emmanuel-Holloway made a great grab to move the ball down to the NSU 1-yard line with 1:44 remaining. Backer then leaped into the end zone with 1:38 left to give the Mavericks a 28-10 advantage. MSU had scored 28 of the previous 31 points after trailing 7-0 early in the contest.
At halftime, MSU held a 266-133 advantage in total offense. The Mavericks were 12-of-16 passing for 175 yards and had 22 rushing attempts for 91 yards. MSU also held a 17-6 advantage in first downs while limiting NSU to 81 rushing yards.
Kraft accounted for 86 of those yards and the Wolves' lone touchdown. NSU had 52 passing yards on 5-of-16 passing.
Emmanuel-Holloway led MSU with four receptions for 68 yards and a touchdown, while Thompson and junior
Carter Henderson each had 21 rushing yards. Backer and Thompson each scored rushing touchdowns.
The Mavericks held NSU to 1-of-8 on third down in the first half, while MSU converted 3-of-5 third-down opportunities.
Thompson connected with Dillon for 15 yards down to the NSU 15 as the Mavericks opened the second half by controlling the clock. Thompson then ran 15 yards up the middle for his second rushing touchdown of the game, extending the MSU lead to 35-10 with 7:57 remaining in the third quarter.
The Mavericks used 12 plays to cover 75 yards while consuming 7:03 off the clock.
On third-and-one from the MSU 49, Kraft broke outside for 47 yards to the MSU 2. The Mavericks' defense then forced a fourth-and-goal from the two-yard line. Before the snap, MSU called its second timeout of the half.
Englehart rolled out and connected with Gavin Giesler for a touchdown, cutting the deficit to 35-17 with just over two minutes remaining in the third quarter. That score proved to be the final points of the afternoon.
The teams combined for four interceptions in the fourth quarter, with three by Northern State and one by MSU. Dandridge, Spiyee and Drumm each recorded an interception for the Mavericks, combining for 71 return yards. Neither team scored in the final quarter.
The Mavericks return to the road at Sioux Falls next weekend at 1 p.m., before returning home for Homecoming 2026 and Hall of Fame Weekend on Oct. 3 versus Concordia-St. Paul at 2 p.m. at Blakeslee Stadium.
