WAYNE, Neb. –The Southwest Minnesota State University football team’s struggles continued on Saturday when they fell on the road to Wayne State in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play, 51-6. The Wildcats outrushed SMSU by 218 yards and built a 5-0 advantage in the turnover battle to run away with the win.

SMSU finished the day with a net loss of 75 yards on the ground. The Mustangs had five players log a carry in the game, and Zander Wolf was the only one to finish with positive yardage after taking his one carry for five yards.

The Wildcats, meanwhile, ran for 143 yards. Akeem Knox led the attack with 11 carries for 50 yards while Jason Jones, Dawson Forgy and Brennan Hayes each had at least 20 yards. The Wildcats averaged 3.5 yards per carry in the game.

By the end of the first quarter, Wayne State built a 23-0 lead. Brady McGill threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to Dane Petersen, a five-yard touchdown to Forgy and connected with Colton Andrews for a 64-yard bomb. The Wildcats also tackled the Mustangs for a safety with two minutes left in the frame.

SMSU’s lone points of the game came while trailing 44-0 in the third quarter, when Drew Kluender found Wolf for a 15-yard touchdown pass. SMSU wasn’t able to get the extra point, bringing the score to 44-6.

Macloud Crowton started for the Mustangs but was pulled from the game in the third quarter. He completed 10 of his 27 passes for 90 yards and a pair of interceptions, and ran the ball nine times for a net loss of 32 yards.

In relief of Crowton, Kluender completed five of his 20 attempts for 43 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions. He also carried the ball seven times for a net loss of one yard.

Forgy helpd the Wildcats continue to pull away in the second quarter, bringing in a pass from McGill for a 42-yard touchdown. Clyde Hinton then strip-sacked Crowton and Kaden Sutton returned the fumble 39 yards for a touchdown, and a two-yard touchdown run by Hayes brought the Wildcats’ lead to 44-0 at the break.

McGill completed 11 of his 19 pass attempts for 178 yardsand four touchdowns for the Wildcats. He did not take a sack, while SMSU’s quarterbacks combined to take six.

On the receiving end of those passes, Andrews, Forgy and Bondersen each had at least two receptions and at least 40 yards, led by 57 from Colton.

Cornerback SaMaury Alexander was SMSU’s leading tackler, tying Cam Enright with five solo tackles and leading the team outright with nine total tackles. Enright also had a team-leading 1.4 tackles for loss while Parker Knutson was the head of the secondary with two passes broken up.

David Ola-Kazeem led the SMSU receiving corps with three catches for 29 yards while Colin Maher had three for 24. The Mustangs had nine players catch a pass in the game, with seven of them having at least 10 receiving yards.

Southwest Minnesota State University falls to 1-3 overall and in conference play with the loss. The Mustangs will next go on the road to Malosky Stadium on Saturday, taking on No. 13 Minnesota Duluth at noon.

The Bulldogs defeated the Mustangs 62-0 when the two met last season in Duluth. The Mustangs have lost 11 of their 12 meetings against Duluth since 2000, the lone win coming by a score of 42-38 in Marshall in 2016. The Mustangs are 2-17-1 against the Bulldogs all-time in Duluth.