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SMSU FOOTBALL: Mustang defense forces four turnovers in victory

ST. PAUL — The Southwest Minnesota State football team returned to the win column on Saturday afternoon, forcing four turnovers, while Jesse Sherwood rushed for 178 yards and a touchdown, to help SMSU earn a 34-24 victory over Concordia-St. Paul at Sea Foam Stadium in NSIC football.

SMSU improves to 1-3 overall, while CSP drops to 1-3 overall. The victory was SMSU’s first since defeating St. Cloud State on Oct. 19, 2019, snapping a seven-game skid.

Sherwood is the first SMSU player to rush for more than 150 yards since Max Simmons versus Upper Iowa in 2018. Duce Reynolds added 51 yards rushing and a touchdown to help the Mustangs close the game with 241 yards rushing.

SMSU closed the game with 311 yards of offense with just 70 yards passing but amassed 217 of the total yards in the final 30 minutes.

Andrew Haidet finished the game completing just 5 of 6 passes for 70 yards but completed a huge 53-yard touchdown pass to help SMSU rally from a 17-10 halftime deficit.

Onte Burns, the NSIC’s leading tackler, closed the game with eight tackles, while teammate Gage Roberson added eight stops. Marshawn Reese finished with seven tackles with Anthony Sola chipped in with six stops. Burns now has racked up 202 tackles in his career.

The SMSU defense forced four punts and had an interception return for a touchdown on CSP’s first five drives of the second half.

The SMSU defense came through in a big way on the game’s first play as Jordan White stripped and recovered a fumble setting up the Mustang offense at the CSP 42-yard line. The SMSU offense, highlighted by a Sherwood 26-yard run to the 2-yard line, was able to take advantage of the turnover as Reynolds scored from one-yard out on third-and-goal with 12:47 left in the opening quarter. Carter Dicker booted the PAT to make the score 7-0.

Following punts by both teams, CSP countered with a 91-yard drive capped with Sam Henson booting a 24-yard field goal with 1:49 left to cut the SMSU lead to 7-3.

SMSU answered on its next drive with Sherwood breaking free for a big 45-yard run to set up the Mustangs at the CSP 15-yard line. SMSU failed to put the ball in the end zone, but Dicker drilled a 37-yard field to push the lead to 10-3.

On the ensuing kickoff, SMSU once again forced a turnover with Evan Oetter recovering a fumble at the CSP 16-yard line. SMSU would later move the ball down to the 1-yard line and had first-and-goal, but a penalty and poor snap moved the ball back to the CSP 24-yard line. SMSU was forced to settle for a 41-yard field goal attempt by Dicker, but the kick was missed wide left to keep the score 10-3.

CSP used the momentum on the ensuing drive, which included converting a key third-down play, with Connor Cordts completing a 49-yard touchdown pass to Jake Shepley with 9:48 left in the half to tie the game at 10.

SMSU would go three-and-out on its next drive and CSP followed with an impressive drive to take its first lead of the game. Moving the ball 83 yards on 13 plays, Cordts closed the drive with an 18-yard touchdown pass to Jaheim Arnold with 25 seconds left in the half to give the Golden Bears a 17-10 lead at halftime.

SMSU, which ended the half with minus-four yards passing, struck quickly with the passing game to open the second half. Haidet found Paddy Devlin for a first-down pass and catch on third-down and one play later Haidet connected on the 58-yard touchdown pass to Zeke Robinson to tie the game at 17.

The Mustang defense force a pair of Golden Bear punts in the third quarter to allow SMSU to regain the lead late in the third quarter. SMSU moved the ball inside the CSP 20-yard line, but the drive stalled before Dicker came through drilling a 34-yard field goal to make the score 20-17 with two minutes left in the quarter.

The SMSU defense came through in an even a bigger way early in the fourth to add to the lead. The SMSU offense was stopped on fourth-and-1 from its own 29-yard line. But two plays later, Hunter Bohannon intercepted a tipped pass and returned it 80 yards for a touchdown and push the lead to 27-17 at the 10:43 mark.

Following the fourth CSP punt in the second half, SMSU was able to expand the lead as Sherwood broke free for a 56-yard touchdown run to push the score to 34-17 with 5:33 remaining in the game.

CSP finally broke free for a late touchdown pass to make it a 10-point deficit, but CSP’s on-side kick failed and SMSU was able to run out the clock, secure the victory, and snap CSP’s three-game winning streak in the series.

Southwest Minnesota State continues road play next Saturday, Oct. 2, with a match-up versus Upper Iowa with kickoff set for 3 p.m. in Fayette.

— Content courtesy

of SMSU Athletic

Communications

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