Photo by Jake McNeill: Southwest Minnesota State University wide receiver Colin Maher (9) celebrates with teammate Zander Wolf after Maher hauled in a long reception during a Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference football game against Minnesota State University–Moorhead on Sept. 6 at Mattke Field in Marshall. SMSU will host UMary on Saturday at 1 p.m.

MARSHALL — Coming off its first win since the 2023 season last week against Jamestown, the Southwest Minnesota State University football team will look to continue stringing together wins when it hosts UMary at Mattke Field for a Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference matchup on Saturday at 1 p.m.

Mustangs look for

momentum after drought-ending win

The Mustangs defeated NSIC newcomer Jamestown 12-7 last week to end a 12-game losing streak. The Mustangs scored each of the game’s first 12 points.

Mason Carver led SMSU to an early lead with a 67-yard punt to down the Jimmies at their own 3-yard line, setting up a safety on a snap out of the back of the end zone to make the score 2-0 at halftime, and nailed a field goal to make the score 5-0. Quarterback Macloud Crowton also threw his first NCAA touchdown pass to Jerid Fearing.

“I think any time you get the opportunity to experience success for the hard work you put in, we’re hopeful that it acts as a motivator to continue working hard at that level,” SMSU head coach Scott Underwood said. He added that last year’s winless campaign made things harder for the players and coaching staff, but that it’s important to remain self-motivated in order for the team to continue putting itself in a position to improve.

Parker gets ground game rolling

Tariq Parker got his first for the Mustangs in place of an injured Jacob Honstetter last week and looked comfortable in the role from the jump. The junior transfer from Davenport University (Mich.) accounted for 85 of the team’s 79 rushing yards — the rest of the team combined for a loss of six yards — on 23 attempts after taking one carry for a one-yard loss in his SMSU debut a week prior against Minnesota State University-Moorhead.

Underwood noted that it had been a while since Parker had received enough carries to get a feel for the game, and said he felt Parker got stronger as the game progressed.

“He probably hasn’t had that many carries in a game for a while, and I think he started to feel comfortable behind our line, the scheme, and the cuts he had to make,” Underwood said. “Seeing the field and doing those things are no different than a quarterback that has that type of vision when they get into a rhythm. We feel like Tariq got to that rhythm of running the ball and knowing how physical he had to be with it.”

While SMSU pulled out the win against Jamestown last week, it didn’t come easily. The Jimmies finished with a 281-152 edge in passing yards and a 358-232 advantage in total offense in the game. Still, SMSU’s ability to generate turnovers allowed the Mustangs to pull out the win.

Knutson continues to shine in secondary

The Mustangs finished last week’s game with a plus-4 turnover margin, coming on two fumble recoveries and two interceptions. Sophomore cornerback Parker Knutson came away with both of the interceptions, bringing his season total to four over the season’s first two games. Dating back to last season, Knutson has had seven picks in his last seven games and nine picks in his last 13, Underwood noted.

“It’s a pretty amazing stat. It tells you that he’s feeling the game real well. He’s a great student of the game,” Underwood said of Knutson.

“He does a great job of anticipating what he’s going to get, and then by technique and playing hard… He’s the captain of our secondary, he’s always in good communication and just play after play, he seems to show up.”​

Key battle for conference standings

SMSU and UMary were ranked neck-and-neck in the NSIC coaches’ preseason poll. Just ahead of the last-place Jamestown Jimmies, the Mustangs were ranked 13th in the 14-team conference while UMary was tabbed 12th.

To date, SMSU has put together a 1-1 record on the season, with both games being conference matchups. UMary enters Saturday’s game at 1-2 (0-2 NSIC).

UMary has won each of its last two games against the Mustangs and three of the last four, including a 15-6 win over the Mustangs in Marshall last season. SMSU last beat UMary in Marshall on Sept. 17, 2016, claiming a 47-23 blowout victory.

Marauders playing gritty

The Marauders were beat down in their conference opener on the road against Wayne State, 42-7, but put together a strong performance against Augustana, ranked ninth in Division II, last week.

UMary held the lead against a top-tier Vikings team for nearly the entire game. The Marauders led 17-0 at halftime, and maintained that lead until the Vikings converted a 19-yard touchdown pass and the ensuing extra points with 17 seconds left in the game to hand UMary a 21-20 loss.

“They’re very talented and they had numerous opportunities to beat Augustana in different situations. It didn’t quite work out in their favor, but through three quarters or even late in the fourth, they were in control of the game, just a couple of things that they couldn’t finish off,” Underwood said. “It shows you the talent level they have and what they’re doing in continuing to work for it. For us, it’s just another NSIC game of a team that showed last week that you can beat anybody at any time.”

Through three games, UMary has played four different quarterbacks. Quin Hafner started most recently, completing five of his eight attempts for 56 yards, a touchdown and an interception, while Hudsen Sheldon took over and completed seven of his 11 attempts for 100 yards. Ryan Blair started UMary’s lone win against Midland, throwing for 303 yards, four touchdowns and two interceptions on 37 attempts, while Jordan Polo Solomon completed 21 of his 34 attempts for a touchdown and an interception against Wayne State.

Amid the quarterback struggles, the ground game has been strong. Hudson ran for 108 yards on 13 carries last week, while Xavier Brackenridge took 29 carries for 133 yards. Through the first three games of the season, Brackenridge has accumulated 206 yards on 4.6 yards per attempt, but is yet to find the end zone.

Where to watch

Ryan Rohlik continues his 13th season as the Mustangs’ play-by-play voice on 105.1 FM KARL, while live video and stats can be found online at SMSUmustangs.com. Tickets are also available on the university’s website, with reserved seating starting at $20, general admission at $15 and K-12 student tickets at $5.