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SMSU FOOTBALL: Mavericks march past Mustangs, 54-7

Photo by Brennen Rupp SMSU’s Boyer Bouman (2) hands the ball off during their game against Minnesota State University, Mankato on Thursday. The Mustangs fell to the Mavericks 54-7.

MARSHALL – The Southwest Minnesota State University Mustangs couldn’t get the chains moving consistently Thursday evening against the fourth ranked Minnesota State University Mankato Mavericks. With the offense stuck in neutral the visiting Mavericks handed the Mustangs their fifth straight loss, 54-7.

The Mavericks took the opening kick and marched down inside SMSU’s 10-yard line. It was a bend, but don’t break mentality for the Mustangs as they held the Mavericks to a field goal.

The Mustangs took over at their 11-yard line following a penalty on the ensuing kickoff. The Mustangs promptly went three and out under the direction of Boyer Bouman, who was making his first career start for the Mustangs.

The Mustangs appeared to be on the cusp of keeping the Mavericks off the board with the Mavericks facing a third and 18. The Mavericks delivered a blow when Ryan Schlichte hooked up with Shane Zylstra for 33 yards to put the Mavericks up 10-0 with 4:28 remaining in the first quarter.

SMSU missed an opportunity to get on the board when they missed a field goal. The Mavericks took over at the 20-yard line and quickly got into SMSU’s territory. The Mustangs than forced a fumble and Alex Ney recovered it to put a halt to MSU’s drive.

In the second quarter the Mustangs once again came up with another red zone stop to hold the Mavericks to a field goal. Casey Bednarski’s second field goal of the night put the Mavericks up 13-0 with 6:57 left in the first half.

The Mustangs offense started to show signs of life late in the first half when they got into MSU’s territory. On a critical fourth and two from MSU’s 39-yard line the Mavericks stuffed the Mustangs short of the sticks.

Following the fourth down stop the Mavericks marched down the field to set themselves up for a field goal attempt. Bednarski connected on a 51-yard field goal as time expired to give the Mavericks a 16-0 lead at the half.

The Mustangs started the second half with the ball and got into MSU’s 10-yard line. That’s when the Mavericks came up with another critical fourth down stop. On fourth and goal from the one-yard line the Mavericks stuffed the Mustangs to keep them off the board.

On the very next play Justin Taormina took it 89 yards for a touchdown to put the Mavericks up 23-0 with 9:40 left in third quarter.

Following an SMSU three and out the Mavericks added another touchdown to go up 30-0 with 7:50 left in the third quarter.

With 5:53 left in the third quarter the Mavericks blocked an SMSU punt to set themselves up inside SMSU’s five-yard line. On third and goal Schlichte found Tyler Schmidt to put the Mavericks up 37-0 with 5:05 left in the third quarter.

On the final play of the third quarter the Mavericks blocked their second punt of the quarter and recovered the ball at the one-yard line. On the first play of the fourth quarter Jace Franklin crossed the goal line to put the Mavericks up 44-0.

With 11:52 left in the game, JD Ekowa scored on a 38-yard rushing touchdown to put the Mavericks up 51-0.

The Mustangs finally broke through thanks to Max Simmons. The sophomore running back crossed the goal line with 9:01 left in the game to make it a 51-7 game.

With the loss the Mustangs are now 2-6 overall. They’ll look to snap their five-game losing streak next week when they hit the road to take on Upper Iowa University.

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