Box Score
MANKATO, Minn. – No. 5 Minnesota State, Mankato forced five turnovers including a key turnover to stop a Southwest Minnesota State drive at the MSU 1-yard line midway through the third quarter to earn a 42-32 victory on Saturday in Mankato.
MSU, which is ranked No. 1 in the region, improves to 9-0 overall, 8-0 NSIC. SMSU suffered its fifth loss in a row and drops to 3-6 overall, 2-6 NSIC.
SMSU held a 25-21 halftime lead and drove to the MSU 1-yard line on its opening drive of the second half with the possibility of taking a 32-21 lead. The Maverick defense though forced SMSU's Gannon Moore to fumble and recovered in the end zone to end the SMSU threat. MSU then scored the game's next 21 points to earn the victory.
MSU's Jake Aberg rushed for 81 yards and two touchdowns to pace the Maverick offense while Steve Pachan completed 13 of 22 passes for 190 yards and one touchdown.
SMSU quarterback Ryan Ratekin completed a career-high 34 passes on 55 attempts for 368 yards and three touchdowns, but was intercepted four times. Blake Wilson tied a career-high with 10 receptions for 141 yards and one touchdown.
SMSU started the game strong as the Mustang defense forced an MSU punt on its opening possession and the Mustang offense responded with a 10-play, 79-yard scoring drive capped by a Ryan Ratekin 8-yard touchdown pass to Wade McDonough. The extra point was missed to keep the score at 6-0. SMSU picked up five first downs on the drive with Ratekin completing 6 of 8 passes for 62 yards.
MSU answered back with a scoring drive of their own as Ernest Walker plowed across from eight yards out to make the score 7-6 with 3:18 left in the opening quarter.
The SMSU offense was then forced to punt on its next possession but Mustang punter Cody Rejda pinned the MSU offense at its own 15-yard line. On MSU's first offensive play, the Mustang defense stepped up and put SMSU back in the lead as Levi Bullerman intercepted MSU quarterback Steve Pachan and returned it 15 yards for a touchdown to put SMSU up 12-7 with 41 seconds left in the first quarter.
Following another MSU punt, the SMSU offense moved the ball towards midfield but a tipped Ratekin pass was intercepted and the Mavericks returned the ball down to the SMSU 15-yard line. Four plays later MSU regained the lead with 11:28 left in the first half as Walker scored from four yards out to put the Mavericks on top 14-12.
SMSU came back once again moving the ball 89 yards on 11 plays with Ratekin capping the drive with a 5-yard scoring strike to Shane LaDage. Charlie Klaverkamp booted the PAT and SMSU pushed the lead to 19-14 with 6:18 left in the half.
MSU used its quick strike offense and once again regained the lead moving 63 yards in just four plays with Julian Phipps taking a screen pass and breaking free for a 16-yard touchdown reception with 4:24 on the clock.
The Mustang offense, which amassed 252 yards in the first half, including 247 through the air, again moved the ball down the field and used a personal foul penalty on MSU to retake the lead. SMSU covered 85 yards on 11 plays with Ratekin putting SMSU back in the lead with a 13-yard touchdown pass to Blake Wilson with 42 seconds left in the half.
McDonough and Wilson each finished with six receptions for 82 yards and one touchdown in the opening half. SMSU and MSU both finished 4 of 6 on third-down conversions in the first half.
SMSU opened with the ball in the second half and put together a great drive moving to the MSU 1-yard line but on first-and-goal from the 1, Mustang running back Gannon Moore fumbled and the Mavericks recovered in the end zone to end the SMSU scoring threat.
MSU picked up a first down on its possession of the second half but was forced to punt. On the ensuing punt, SMSU was called for a penalty on the return and had to start its next drive at the 5-yard line. The offense was forced to punt after three plays and MSU took advantage of a short field following the punt to score in one play on a Jake Aberg 28-yard touchdown with 6:15 left in the third quarter.
MSU then forced another turnover, as Ratekin was intercepted at the MSU 49-yard line. The Mavericks took advantage of the SMSU miscue and scored seven plays later as Aberg broke free for a 16-yard touchdown run to extend the MSU lead to 35-25 with 3:22 remaining in the third. The Mavericks then forced another SMSU turnover, this time intercepting Ratekin at the SMSU 5-yard line. MSU scored four plays later on a Walker 1-yard run with 12:42 left in the fourth quarter.
The Mustang offense finally broke through and scored its first points of the second half as Zach Wysong scored from 2-yards out to cap an SMSU scoring drive of 58 yards in just six plays to trim the MSU lead to 42-32 with 9:27 left in the fourth. The Maverick offense then finished off the game by driving the ball to the SMSU 1-yard line to run out the clock and earn the victory.
SMSU finished with 381 yards of offense and 23 first downs, while MSU ended the game with 384 yards and 18 first downs.
The Mustang defense was led by Aaron Diggs, who racked up a career-high 14 tackles, while Levi Reiff added 11 tackles. Matt Carmody tied a career-high with nine tackles including two for loss.
SMSU will conclude the 2009 road season next Saturday, Oct. 31, at Northern State. Kickoff at Swisher Field is set for 2:30 p.m.
