SMSU closes season hosting Winona State for Senior Day and ‘Battle for the Sledge’ game

All notes courtesy of SMSU athletics communications.

THIS WEEK

•The Southwest Minnesota State University football team (1-9, 0-9 NSIC, 0-5 NSIC South) concludes the season this Saturday hosting Winona State University (4-6, 4-5 NSIC, 2-3 NSIC South) at Mattke Field at The Schwan Regional Event Center in Marshall. Kickoff is slated for 12 p.m.

•SMSU is looking to break a nine-game losing skid since opening the season with a non-conference home victory over Valley City State (N.D.) on Aug. 27.

•Saturday’s match-up is a ‘trophy game’ as SMSU and WSU meet for the 10th ‘Battle for the Sledge’ game presented by Game One and Adidas.

•Saturday’s game will be the seventh for SMSU interim head coach, Levi Bullerman, who was named to the position on Sept. 20 following the retirement of head coach, Scott Underwood.

•A preview of WSU is located on page 4.

BROADCAST INFO

•Saturday’s game will be broadcast on 105.1 FM KARL with 14th-year SMSU play-by-play voice Ryan Rohlik.

•Live stats, radio broadcast (free) and video ($) can be found at SMSUmustangs.com.

SMSU vs. WSU Series Notes

(All-time results listed on page 18)

SMSU and Winona State meet for the 55th time on Saturday with WSU leading 34-20 … the teams first met on Oct. 10, 1970 … WSU holds an 8-1 advantage since the ‘Battle for the Sledge’ trophy was started in 2015 … WSU has won the last eight games after SMSU won three straight from 2013-15 … WSU leads 14-12 in games played in Marshall with WSU winning the last four … SMSU’s last win in the series came on Nov. 14, 2015 … WSU won last season in Winona, 30-6 … WSU has won 25 of the last 30 since 1994 … WSU has scored 30 or more points in 20 of the last 23 games … SMSU won seven straight in the series from 1987-93 … WSU won 13 of 14 games from 1994 to 2007.

The Last Time – SMSU vs. WSU

SMSU scored the game’s first touchdown, but Winona State answered with 30 straight points to earn a 30-6 victory in Winona on Nov. 15, 2025. SMSU senior linebacker Josiah Hedensten earned team MVP honors racking up a career-high 20 tackles with one pass break-up. WSU’s Jahmani Muhammad was named the Warriors’ MVP, rushing for a game-high 142 yards and one touchdown on 23 carries. WSU ended the game with 402 yards of offense and 18 first downs, while SMSU recorded 246 yards and 18 first downs. WSU rushed for 196 yards, while limiting SMSU to 22 yards on the ground. WSU’s Jackson Flottmeyer completed 16 of 23 passes for 203 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. Joe Sikma caught four passes for a game-high 118 yards and one touchdown. SMSU’s Drew Kluender, starting his second career game at quarterback and first of the season, completed 20 of 49 passes for 224 yards and one touchdown, while being sacked four times. Tryg Auten was his top target with six receptions for 88 yards. Jacob Honstetter lead SMSU’s rushing attack with 53 yards on 14 carries.

SMSU vs. WSU Series Information

Overall: WSU leads 34-20

In Marshall: WSU leads 14-12

In Winona: WSU leads 20-8

Last SMSU win: Nov. 14, 2015 (33-28)

Last WSU win: Nov. 15, 2025 (30-6)

Largest win for SMSU: 33 (47-14, 1991)

Largest win for WSU: 56 (56-0, 1975)

Longest win streak for SMSU: 7 (1987-93)

Longest win streak for WSU: 7 (2001-07, 2016-24)

Current win streak: WSU, 8

Bullerman vs. WSU: 0-0

Curtin vs. SMSU: 1-0

SMSU INTERIM HEAD COACH LEVI BULLERMAN

•Levi Bullerman was named interim head coach on Sept. 20 and is 0-6 during his tenure. Bullerman is in his ninth season on the SMSU coaching staff and fifth as defensive coordinator. He also coaches the team’s linebackers.

•He played linebacker at SMSU from 2005-09, where he was a four-year letter winner and three-year starter, playing in 44 games with 154 tackles and three interceptions. He served as team captain in 2009.

•Bullerman took over for Scott Underwood, who retired as head coach on Sept. 20. Underwood was in his fifth season as head coach with a record of 8-40. He was named the program’s 11th head coach on Jan. 7, 2022.

THE 10TH MEETING FOR THE ‘BATTLE FOR THE SLEDGE’

•Saturday will be the 10th annual ‘Battle for the Sledge’ trophy game, presented by Game One and Adidas. WSU has won the previous eight games since SMSU won the first meeting after the traveling trophy was established in 2015.

•The trophy is a seven-foot tall sledgehammer. In addition to the sledge trophy, Game One will also provide two MVP trophies to a player on each team.

•Here is the history behind the naming of the trophy game, ‘Battle for the Sledge’: During the 2008 season, during warm-ups of the WSU/SMSU game on Oct. 4, a WSU player brought a sledgehammer to mid-field while SMSU players looked on. SMSU went on to earn a 35-28 victory over WSU, snapping the Warriors’ seven-game winning streak in the series. Following the game, SMSU players ran over to the WSU sideline and grabbed the sledgehammer, celebrating the victory at midfield. With emotions running high for both teams, a WSU player went over to the SMSU sideline to get its sledgehammer back. SMSU eventually gave the sledgehammer back and a rivalry was born.

SENIOR DAY ON SATURDAY

•Saturday will be ‘Senior Day’ as the SMSU program will honor nine fifth year players in a pregame ceremony. The fifth year players recognized will be: Julius Brown, Sam Campbell, Jr., Josiah Cowan-Beck, Macloud Crowton, Eniedi Isuk, Avery Johnson, Amarion Meshack, Isaiah Rheaume and Sylvester Walker, Jr.

SMSU OPENING DRIVE TIDBITS

•SMSU ranks first in Division II in both fewest penalty yards per game (26.5) and fewest penalties (37).

•SMSU rushed a season-jhigh 48 times for a season-high 245 yards, averaging 5.1 yards per carry, in last week’s game at CSP. It was the first time SMSU rushed for more than 200 yards since Sept. 7, 2024, versus Minot State.

•SMSU finished last week’s game with a season-high 541 yards of total offense. It was the first time SMSU finished with more than 500 yards since the 2018 season.

•Sophomore linebacker Hunter Hanegraaf ranks 16th in the country in tackles for loss (1.4), 37th in solo tackles (4.6) and 59th in tackles (8.6). He also ranks fifth in the NSIC (league games only) in tackles (7.9) and tackles for loss (1.28).

•Senior linebacker Aiden Planer ranks 10th in the NSIC in tackles for loss (0.89) and 15th in tackles (6.2).

•Junior safety Keegan Patterson begins the final week ranked tied for third in the NSIC with three interceptions in nine conference games. He has a team-leading four interceptions overall on the season.

•Sophomore running back Emmanuel Diers scored his first career touchdown last week with a 62-yard run. It’s the longest run from scrimmage this season for the Mustangs.

•Sophomore quarterback Tommy Hoffman made his third career start in last week’s game at CSP. He passed for a career-high 248 yards while completing 12 of 19 passes.

•Fifth year wide receiver Sam Campbell caught a career-high six passes for 62 yards at CSP.

•Junior wide receiver Ryan Kronbach scored two touchdowns last week, which included an 81-yard reception and a 1-yard run.

•SMSU was not called for penalty two weeks ago versus Minnesota State. It was the first time since the 2009 season SMSU did not commit a penalty in a game.

•Freshman wide receiver Cooper Murphy caught a career-high six passes for a career-best 144 yards and two touchdowns versus Wayne State on Sept. 26. Murphy is the first SMSU player to have more than 100 yards receiving in a game since Colin Maher on Oct. 25, 2025.

•SMSU limited Valley City State to 26 yards rushing in the season opener. It was the first time SMSU held an opponent to less than 50 yards rushing since the final game of the 2009 season.

•Fifth year Macloud Crowton started at quarterback in the season-opening victory versus VCSU. It was the first time since 2018 that SMSU had the same quarterback start the first game of the season in back-to-back seasons. Blake Gimbel was the last Mustang to start back-to-back season openers in 2017 and 2018.

SMSU SEASON NUMBERS

•Sophomore running back Emmanuel Diers leads SMSU in rushing with 333 yards on 36 carries. Sophomore running back Josh Lancifort ranks second with 256 yards on 90 carries.

•Senior wide receiver Tryg Auten has caught a team-high 38 passes for a team-leading 365 yards.

•Freshman wide receiver Cooper Murphy ranks second with 26 receptions for 318 yards and two touchdowns.

•Senior wide receiver David Ola-Kazeem has amassed 22 catches for 290 yards and one touchdown.

•Sophomore quarterback Tommy Hoffman has played in six games with three starts and has completed 69 of 120 passes for 946 yards with four touchdowns and nine interceptions.

•Junior quarterback Drew Kluender has appeared in four games making two starts and has completed 38 of 73 passes for 432 yards with three touchdowns and four interceptions.

•Fifth year quarterback Macloud Crowton, who has played in seven games with five starts, has completed 72 of 141 passes for 673 yards with six interceptions.

•Junior safety Keegan Patterson leads the team with four interceptions.

•Sophomore linebacker Hunter Hanegraaf has racked up a team-high 81 tackles with 14 for loss.

•Senior linebacker Aiden Planer ranks second on the squad with 58 tackles, including nine for loss.

•Sophomore linebacker Jack Meier is third on the team with 52 tackles and has amassed eight tackles for loss.

•Fifth year defensive end Avery Johnson is tied for fourth on the team with 6.5 tackles for loss.

SCOUTING WINONA STATE

•Brian Curtin is in his second season as head coach after serving as an assistant coach at WSU for more than 20 years. Curtin has a record of 10-11 during his tenure as head coach. He joined the WSU staff in 1997 and has served in a variety of roles, mostly as the defensive coordinator.

•WSU is coming off a dominate 55-7 home victory over UMary last Saturday. The Warriors held the Marauders to 11 first downs and 177 yards of total offense. WSU senior linebacker Blake Schraufnagel earned NSIC Defensive Player of the Week accolades on Monday after recording 10 tackles, including four for loss, 2.5 sacks and a forced fumble.

•Sophomore quarterback Jacob Sampson completed 17 of 20 passes for 229 yards and five touchdowns in last week’s win. For the season, Sampson has completed 133 of 207 passes for 1,393 yards with 13 touchdowns and three interceptions.

•Sophomore running back Jahmani Muhammad has rushed for a team-high 601 yards on 113 carries with three touchdowns.

•Sophomore wide receiver Jake Schultz has a team-high 52 receptions for 542 yards and three touchdowns.

•Sophomore wide receiver Nolan Ginskey has 36 receptions for 426 yards and a team-leading seven touchdowns.

•Senior linebacker Ethan Doucette leads the defense with 75 tackles with nine for loss.

•Schraufnagel has 65 tackles with 10 tackles for loss and five sacks.