Photo by Marsha Grimes-Rose Southwest Minnesota State defensive lineman Avery Johnson (99) pursues Minnesota State Moorhead quarterback Jack Strand during the Mustangs’ 34-17 loss to the Dragons in Marshall on Saturday afternoon.

MARSHALL — Minnesota State Moorhead’s 20-point second quarter was too much for the Southwest Minnesota State football team to overcome in their 34-17 loss to the Dragons on Saturday afternoon.

The Mustangs led 7-0 heading into the second frame when the Dragsons got everything going their way. Tyson Powell started the momentum shift with a one-yard touchdown run to tie up the game three minutes into the second quarter. From there, McKale Pierson returned Mason Carver returned a bobbled snap from the 10-yard line to the endzone for a touchdown and Brady Perryman caught a 2-yard touchdown pass from Jack Strand to put the Dragons up 20-9 at halftime.

Josiah Hedensten blocked Jacob Schroeder’s kick attempt after Pierson’s touchdown and Jalani Jefferson recovered the ball and returned it 85 yards for 2 points. Jefferson’s return marks the Mustangs’ first defensive 2-point score since Joel Wipperfurth in 2004.

Avery Johnson led the SMSU defense with four tackles for loss became the first Mustang with three sacks in a game since 1998. Two of the sacks came in the fourth quarter and the other was a strip sack in the first, recovered by Cam Irvin at the Moorhead 10-yard line. The play set up Donny Austin’s 5-yard run to put SMSU up 7-0. Austin finished the day with 21 carries for 82 yards.

Hedensten and Thomas Mergen finished the da with eight tackles each. Mergen also had an 11-yard sack in the second quarter.

Both teams’ secondaries were full of ballhawks on the day. Jefferson, Hunter Bohannon and Jason Samec each had an interception on the day while Amarion Meshack broke up another two passes for the Mustangs. On the Dragons’ side, Jake Bettcher, Jared Kallenbach and Pierson each had a pick as well. None of the interceptions turned into points on the following drive, though Kallenbach’s interception with seven seconds put the final touches on the win for MSU Moorhead.

In addition to their three interceptions apiece, Strand threw for 349 yards on 51 attempts for the Dragons while Marcus Martin threw for 220 yards on 29 attempts for SMSU. Martin was also the Mustangs’ second-leading rusher with 28 attempts.

Moorhead had all momentum coming out of the locker room at halftime and they didn’t let up. Within two minutes of the second-half kickoff, Flynn Ridgeway ran for a 38-yard gain to set up a 4-yard touchdown pass from Strand to Ryan Bieberdorf. Ridgeway totalled 67 yards on the ground on seven carries on the day.

The Mustangs responded with a 13-play, 66-yard drive — capped off by a 14-yard touchdown pass to Dustin Pampel. Martin then completed a 2-point conversion attempt to Albert Lemon to cut the Dragons’ lead to 27-17.

Yet, Moorhead capitalized on Ridgeway’s second touchdown of the game to increase their lead to 17 points.

Pampel finished the game with five catches for 42 yards while Peter Osman had four catches for a team-high 60 yards. On the Moorhead side, Gage Florence caught 15 passes for 119 yards while brought in three receptions for 82 yards, including a 70-yard gain in the fourth quarter to set up Ridgeway’s game-sealing score. Gage is the Division II receptions leader with 10.8 per game, two more than the No. 2 Ben Noland out of South Dakota Mines.

The loss is the Mustangs’ seventh in a row since defeating Bemidji State in their season opener. They now sit at 1-7 on the season (1-6 NSIC) and will head East to Mankato to face Minnesota State (7-1, 6-1 NSIC) on Saturday at 1 p.m.