Photo courtesy of SMSU Athletic Communications: Southwest Minnesota State University’s Josiah Hedensten (22), Gideon Ervasti (2) and Aiden Planer (35) combine to tackle Jamestown’s Zach Hammett (24) during a Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Division II football game on Saturday in Jamestown, N.D. The Mustangs picked up a 12-7 win over the Jimmies, snapping a 12-game losing streak to get into the win column for the first time since 2023.

JAMESTOWN, N.D. — Points were hard to come by in the Southwest Minnesota State University football team’s matchup against Jamestown in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play on Saturday. A total of 2 points were scored in the first half of the game, but the Mustangs mustered enough offense to claim a 12-7 victory for their first win since 2023.

Five minutes into the first quarter, SMSU punter Mason Carver boomed a 41-yard punt to pin the Jimmies at their own 3-yard line. The Mustang defense took advantage of the long field and forced a 3-and-out. Yet, a high snap on the punt attempt sailed over the head of Jamestown punter Kobe Irmen and out of the back of the end zone to give the Mustangs a safety and a 2-0 lead.

Parker Knutson was a first-team All-NSIC honoree for the Mustangs last year after recording five interceptions and has continued to develop as a ballhawk in his sophomore campaign. The SMSU corner came away with a pair of interceptions in Saturday’s win, giving him four through the first two games of the season.

The Mustangs also recovered a pair of Jamestown fumbles in the game to finish with a plus-four advantage in the turnover battle.

Trailing by 5 points with 7 minutes left in the game, Jamestown marched its way into SMSU territory. Yet, Knutson came up with an interception in the end zone to give SMSU the ball back with five minutes left to play. The Mustangs went on to punt it back to the Jimmies in the final minute, but Jamestown muffed the punt and offensive lineman Tyler Nebelung dove on the loose ball to ice the game and allow SMSU to kneel out the final seconds.

The win snaps a 12-game losing streak for SMSU after its winless 2024 campaign. The Mustangs’ last win came on Nov. 11, 2023, when the Mustangs picked up a 28-10 victory over Sioux Falls in their season finale.

Macloud Crowton completed a 40-yard pass attempt to Colin Maher on the Mustangs’ first possession of the second half to set up SMSU’s first offensive points, coming on a 25-yard field goal from Carver after the offense stalled out at the 7-yard line.

On SMSU’s second possession of the second half, Crowton got his first passing touchdown at the NCAA level, hitting Jerid Fearing for a 22-yard gain and a 7-0 Mustang lead. Crowton had a series of big completions to set up the touchdown, including a 22-yard completion to Jake Anderson to start the drive and a pair of completions of at least 10 yards to Tryg Auten and Tariq Parker to keep the chains moving.

Parker got just one carry for a one-yard loss in his SMSU debut against Moorhead, but he shined as the lead back for the Mustangs on Saturday against Jamestown. The junior transfer from Davenport (Mich.) racked up a team-leading 85 rushing yards on 23 carries in the game, as well as two catches for 27 receiving yards.

Linebacker Gideon Ervasti put together a well-rounded effort to lead the Mustangs on defense. In addition to recovering a fumble and recording a game-high six tackles, Ervasti also broke up a pass and tied Amarion Meshack and Logan Booth with a team-leading four solo tackles. Booth and Meshack each also had a tackle-for-loss in the game, as did Josiah Hedensten.

Jamestown broke up the Mustangs’ shutout bid with nine minutes left in the second half. Nicholas Martinez started the drive strong with three straight completions, including one to Zach Hammett for 10 yards and another two to Ethan Hoffman for a total of 38 yards to set the Jimmies up just outside of the red zone. SMSU’s defense limited the Jimmies on the run and forced an incompletion to set up a fourth-and-2 from the 10-yard line, but Martinez found Hammett again for a touchdown to cut SMSU’s lead down to 5 points.

Crowton completed 10 of his 17 pass attempts for 153 yards in the game, taking just one sack. Maher and Fearing finished as his leading receivers, with three catches for 50 yards for Maher and two for 34 and a touchdown for Fearing.

Martinez’s arm kept the Jimmies in the game. The junior quarterback completed 21 of his 32 attempts for 260 yards, a touchdown and a pick, while Cole Hentges completed one of his four attempts for 12 yards and an interception.

The Jimmies finished the day outgaining SMSU 358-232 in terms of total offense, including an 86-79 edge in rushing yards and a 272-153 advantage in passing yards. Yet, their susceptibility to turnovers left SMSU with the win.

Nate Burke caught four passes for 122 yards for Jamestown, while Hoffman added another four receptions for 49 yards. Hammett led the Jimmies on the ground with 21 attempts for 53 yards while Martinez scrambled nine times for 45 yards.

SMSU (1-1) hosts UMary (1-2, 0-2 NSIC) for its next game on Saturday at 1 p.m. at Mattke Field. The Mustangs and Marauders were tabbed 12th and 13th, respectively, in the NSIC preseason coaches poll, ahead of just Jamestown.

Still, the Marauders have been scrappy early in the season. Hosting No. 9 Augustana on Saturday — ranked second in the NSIC preseason poll — the Marauders came up just shy of an upset after Augustana scored 14 points in the final five minutes to defeat UMary 21-20. The Vikings’ go-ahead touchdown came with 17 seconds remaining in the game.