Mustangs power past Marauders
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BISMARCK, N.D. - Jesse Sherwood rushed for a career-high 205 yards and three touchdowns on 36 carries to help pace Southwest Minnesota State to a thrilling 31-28 road victory over the University of Mary Saturday afternoon.
Sherwood's performance was good for 13th on the Mustang's single-game rushing records list and marks his third straight game to start the season rushing for more than 150 yards. The Mustangs ran for 301 yards as a team and racked up 475 yards of total offense. It is the first time since the 2017 season the Mustangs have rushed for more than 300 yards in a game.
SMSU quarterback Justus McComb completed 16 of 30 pass attempts for 174 yards and one touchdown, while also rushing for 51 yards. Adrian Tolbert caught a team-high four passes for 53 yards and his first career touchdown to help the Mustang offense.
Onte Burns led the Mustang defense and finished the game with 12 tackles, including one for a loss. Alan Giron earned the team's first interception of the season to help set up a scoring drive.
The SMSU defense came through with the game's first big play forcing a fumble on the Marauders' second series. Jizreel Jeudy recovered the ball for the Mustangs in the red zone.
After a personal foul set the SMSU offense back to the 34-yard line, the Mustangs put up the first points of the game as McComb connected on a 21-yard touchdown pass to Tolbert to give SMSU a 7-0 advantage. It was the first career touchdown pass for McComb and the first career touchdown reception for Tolbert.
UMary would tie the game later in the first quarter as Logan Miller connected on a 12-yard touchdown pass to Collin Gapen at the 3:42 mark.
Umary tied the game later in the first quarter, but the Mustangs answered minutes later with a 71-yard drive capped off by a 3-yard touchdown run by Sherwood.
The second half started with UMary gaining all the momentum by forcing SMSU to a three-and-out on its opening drive and then blocking the ensuing punt to take over at the SMSU 10-yard line. The Mustang defense however came through in big way with a goal line stand and stopping the Marauders inside the 2-yard line.
The Mustangs were held to a three-and-out on their opening drive, but came through with a goal-line stand to stop the Marauders inside the 2-yard line. They then took a seven-minute, 98-yard drive to extend their lead late in the third, capped off by another touchdown from Sherwood.
Mary had a chance to tie the game after scoring another touchdown in the third quarter and forcing a SMSU punt in the fourth, but the Mustang defense stepped up once again as Giron stepped in front a Nelson pass for the team's first interception of the season.
McComb would connect with Aiden Ferguson on a pair of passes on the ensuing drive before Sherwood broke free for a 20-yard touchdown run to give the Mustangs a 14-point cushion at 28-14 with 9:34 remaining.
UMary would not go away and quickly scored midway through the fourth to make score 28-21. The Marauders attempted an onside kick moments later but failed to convert. The SMSU lead would expand later in the drive as Dicker booted a huge career-long 42-yard field goal with 4:59 left in the game to make the score 31-21.
UMary marched down the field one more time and tossed another touchdown pass with 2:47 remaining to cut the SMSU lead to 31-28, but SMSU recovered the second onside kick attempt and went on to ice the game.
SMSU, which earned its second straight victory under first-year head coach Scott Underwood, improves to 2-1 on the season. It is the first time SMSU has had a winning record during a season since 2017.
The Mustangs (2-1) return home Saturday at 5 p.m to take on Minot State University.