WINONA — After scoring the game’s first touchdown, the Southwest Minnesota State University football team allowed 30 unanswered points on Saturday to close out the season with a 30-6 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference loss to Winona State in the Battle for the Sledge rivalry matchup. The Mustangs have not gone home with the trophy since 2015 after dropping eight consecutive matchups against the Warriors.

Josiah Hedensten capped off his Mustang career with 20 total tackles, including seven solo tackles, and a pass broken up. He was named the team MVP for the game after the game, and finishes his career ranking second in program history with 369 tackles after starting all 44 games as a Mustang.

Senior running back Jacob Honstetter got off to a hot start in his final start suiting up for the Mustangs, catching a 14-yard touchdown pass from Drew Kluender with two minutes remaining in the first quarter to give the Mustangs a 6-0 lead, following the missed extra point. Honstetter finished the day with 14 carries for 53 rushing yards, despite the rest of the team combining for a net-loss of 21 yards on the ground, and caught four passes for 19 yards.

SMSU got into its initial scoring after receiving a punt at its own 20-yard line. The Mustangs worked their way down the field with a series of short runs and passes, and a facemask penalty against Ethan Doucette moved the Mustangs into the red zone. Honstetter scored on next play.

SMSU went 3-and-out on the game’s opening drive, but Jake Schultz muffed the punt for Winona State. The Warriors were also called for roughing the kicker on the play, but SMSU opted to decline the penalty after Tyler Nebelung recovered the fumble at the Winona 28-yard line. Still, the Mustangs struggled to move the ball and Jake Anderson fumbled after hauling in a 30-yard reception to the Winona 7-yard line, and Doucette returned the fumble 26 yards. SMSU challenged the call, but it stood and the Warriors took over at the 33 before being held to a 3-and-out.

Jahmani Muhammad started to turn the tide for Winona with a 4-yard touchdown run to tie the game in the first minute of the second quarter. Jackson Flottmeyer hit Joe Sikma with a 38-yard touchdown pass five minutes later and ran in a seven-yard touchdown himself with two minutes remaining in the frame to give Winona State a 20-6 halftime lead.

Kluender completed 20 of his 49 pass attempts for 224 yards while Flottmeyer completed 16 of his 23 attempts for 203 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. The Warriors finished with 402 yards of total offense while SMSU finished with 246, with the Warriors’ 196 rushing yards on 4.3 yards per attempt giving them a stark advantage compared to SMSU’s 22 on 0.8 yards per attempt.

Tryg Auten and Colin Maher led SMSU’s receiving corps, with Auten hauling in six receptions for 88 yards and Maher making four catches for 53 yards. Sikma was the game’s receiving leader with four catches for 118 yards.

The Warriors continued to pile on points after the break. James Durst caught a one-yard touchdown in the final minutes of the third quarter and Evan Swanstrom hit a 34-yard field goal three minutes into the fourth quarter to cap off the day’s scoring.

SaMaury Alexander picked off Flottmeyer in the red zone in the fourth quarter to give SMSU possession at its own 19-yard line. The pick was Alexander’s second of the season.

Muhammad was the game’s rushing leader with 23 attempts for 142 yards.

In addition to Hedensten, Kaden Lunsford finished with 10 total tackles and six total tackles in his final game as a Mustang. The redshirt freshman announced on Twitter that he will be entering the transfer portal.

JoJo Parham and Cam Enright each had a sack in the game for SMSU, as well as two tackles for loss for Enright.

SMSU finishes its season at 1-10 on a nine-game losing streak. The Mustangs defeated Jamestown in the second game of the season to snap a 12-game skid and pick up their first win since 2023.