Photo by Sam Thiel SMSU’s Donald Austin carries the ball during their game against MSU Mankato on Saturday. SMSU fell to MSU Mankato 52-0.

MARSHALL — Turning the ball over makes it difficult to win a game in any circumstance. Tying a record in turnovers against a team that has won every game in the series makes for an even tougher outcome.

Minnesota State University, Mankato forced Southwest Minnesota State University football into a game-worst eight turnovers (five interceptions, three fumble recoveries) while putting 52 points on the board offensively to earn a 52-0 victory on Saturday at Mattke Field in the final home game of the season.

SMSU coach Cory Sauter said they knew it was going to be a challenging matchup and felt they were able to put together some solid drives on offense, but the turnovers ultimately hurt their chances.

“Mankato’s a really good program, they are way better than their 5-4 record they had when they came into this contest, they’re a very physical group, have a dynamic offense and a physical defense,” Sauter said. “We were able to move the ball at times which was good to see, but the name of the game is obviously continuing drives and being able to score points and we were stopped short many times as we got to the 20 or 30-yard line. We knew we were going to have to be somewhat aggressive to at least stay up with them and we tried to take some shots in there and leave no bullets in the chamber and wanted to give ourselves the best opportunity to score a touchdown. We had some turnovers, especially in the run game which is uncharacteristic of us, so you would love to see us eliminate those. I’m not saying we win the game but it certainly would make it much more competitive.”

MSU Mankato jumped out to a quick start, scoring on a 46-yard pass to make it 7-0 with 12:44 left in the opening quarter. The Mavericks weren’t done there, marching downfield on its next offensive possession before an 11-yard pass pushed their advantage to 14-0 with 8:24 left in the frame.

Both teams would trade empty possessions, with SMSU fumbling on back-to-back offensive trips before MSU Mankato scored on a 7-yard touchdown pass to make it 21-0 in the early stages of the second quarter. After another Mustangs three-and-out, the Mavericks took advantage, using a 10-yard pass to extend its lead to 28-0 with 9:31 left in the first half.

SMSU had an opportunity to get on the board on the ensuing possession, as a 50-yard pass from Andrew Haidet to BJ Phillips got the Mustangs to the Mavericks 27-yard line, but the MSU Mankato defense would force another fumble to keep SMSU out of the end zone. The Mustangs put together another long drive on its next possession, with a 14-yard pass from Haidet to Donald Austin getting SMSU to the MSU Mankato 25, but the Mavericks came up with an interception in the end zone. The Mavericks then drove down and kicked a 23-yard field goal to bring it to 31-0 going into the locker rooms.

The Mustangs started with the ball in the second half and used a 58-yard run by Austin to the MSU Mankato 20-yard line, but couldn’t capitalize and turned it over on downs. SMSU’s defense would force a fumble on the Mavericks’ first possession of the half but quickly gave the ball back on an interception. MSU Mankato then scored on a short touchdown run to make it 38-0 with 3:36 left in the third.

It would stay that way until the fourth, where the Mavericks pushed its lead to 45-0 with 12:09 left on another touchdown run of one yard. After both teams traded empty possessions, the Mustangs pieced together another long drive, but an interception by the Mavericks defense would be returned 87 yards for a touchdown to bring it to 52-0 with 1:41 left. SMSU had one final possession, but an interception in the end zone brought the game to a close.

Haidet completed 13 of his 29 pass attempts for 150 yards while Steven Nava completed 12 of his 24 pass attempts for 114 yards. Austin led in rushing with 76 yards on 10 carries while Blake Allen added 19 yards on the ground on five carries. Phillips led in receiving with 68 yards on three catches while Carter Damlo added 32 yards on three catches.

Defensively, Onte Burns led SMSU with nine total tackles while Marshawn Reese added eight total tackles, Adihia Bell had an interception and Anthony Sola had a fumble recovery.

Up next

SMSU (2-8, 2-8 NSIC) will wrap up the season next Saturday at Augustana University at 1 p.m. Sauter said defensively, they need to be able to stop the run and force teams into long-yardage situations as well as taking better care of the ball on offense.

“I think we’ve got to shore up our run stop on defense, being able to slow teams down and force them to take some of the lower-percentage throws,” Sauter said. “Offensively, it goes with any game, just being able to hold onto the ball period is going to be important for us. It’s something we’re always going to stress but it was very evident that we were moving the ball but we certainly just ended up giving them the ball when it was all said and done and that’s not going to win too many games if that’s the case.”

MSU Mankato 52, SMSU 0

MSU Mankato 14 17 7 14 – 52

SMSU 0 0 0 0 – 0

SCORING SUMMARY

First Quarter

MSU Mankato: Sample 46 yd pass from Ekowa (L. Williams kick).

MSU Mankato: Sample 11 yd pass from Ekern (L. Williams kick).

Second Quarter

MSU Mankato: Anger 7 yd pass from Ekowa (L. Williams kick).

MSU Mankato: N. Williams 10 yd pass from Ekern (L. Williams kick).

MSU Mankato: L. Williams 23 yd field goal.

Third Quarter

MSU Mankato: Cooper 4 yd run (L. Williams kick).

Fourth Quarter

MSU Mankato: Ekern 1 yd run (L. Williams kick).

MSU Mankato: Vinson 87 yd interception return (L. Williams kick).

Individual statistics

Passing (Comp-Att-Yds-TD): SMSU (Haidet 13-29-150; Nava 12-24-114).

Rushing (Att-Yds-TD): SMSU (Austin 10-76; Allen 5-19).

Receiving (Rec-Yds-TD): SMSU (Phillips 3-68; Damlo 3-32; Robinson 3-29; Jefferson 2-23; Austin 3-21).

Defense (Total tackles): SMSU (Burns 9; Reese 8).