BOX SCORE
MARSHALL, Minn. - Southwest Minnesota State opened the Cory Sauter era in style on Thursday night defeating Northern State 28-24 in the season opener for both teams. Sauter, who served as an assistant coach for the past two seasons, is the fourth Mustang coach in history to win his coaching debut.
SMSU jumped out to a 21-0 third quarter lead only to see NSU rally to trim the score to 21-14 early in the fourth quarter, but the Mustangs put together a 12-play, 76-yard drive to extend the lead to 28-17 with two minutes and 36 seconds and seal the victory.
Ryan Ratekin passed for 333 yards and three touchdowns, while completing 21 of 30 passes. Ratekin's favorite target was Lester Lewis, who had a career night with seven receptions for 156 yards and two touchdowns. Bret Ballantine added five receptions for a career-high 110 yards.
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