BOX SCORE

ST. CLOUD, Minn. – St. Cloud State took advantage of three Southwest Minnesota State first half turnovers to build a 21-point halftime lead and went on to earn a 24-6 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference victory on Saturday afternoon in St. Cloud, Minn. SMSU finished the game committing a season-high four turnovers.

The victory was SCSU's sixth straight and improves the Huskies, which received votes in this week's Top 25 poll, to 6-1 overall, 6-0 NSIC. SMSU falls to 3-4 overall, 2-4 NSIC. Today's game was the first meeting between the schools since 1984.

The game was SMSU's lowest scoring contest since Sept. 30, 2006, when it lost 20-0 to the University of Mary.

SCSU was led by quarterback Phillip Klaphake, who rushed for 134 yards and one touchdown on 12 attempts, while completing 23 of 33 pass attempts for 320 yards and one touchdown. SCSU's Fred Williams caught seven passes for 89 yards and one touchdown.

Running back Gannon Moore paced the SMSU offensive attack with eight receptions for 150 yards and one touchdown. Warren Matthews rushed for a team-high 42 yards on six carries in the opening half for the Mustangs, but did return for the second half with an injury. Quarterback Ryan Ratekin finished the contest completing 23 of 40 passes for 256 yards and one touchdown, but was intercepted twice.

John Kersbergen recorded a game-high nine tackles with one sack to lead the SMSU defense. SMSU was without its leading tackler, Nick DeCaneva, who missed his second straight game with an injury.

Following a punt on SMSU's first possession, SCSU quickly scored the game's first points as Klaphake connected on a 4-yard touchdown pass to Williams with 12 minutes and 21 seconds left in the quarter capping a three-play, 46-yard drive. Williams is SCSU's all-time leader in both receptions and receiving yards.

SMSU put together a solid drive on its next possession, moving from their own 20-yard line to the SCSU 23-yard line in eight plays, but facing third and 13 from the SCSU 26-yard line, Ryan Ratekin was intercepted ending the drive.

The Huskies took advantage of the miscue and built a 14-0 lead as Klaphake scrambled for a 33-yard touchdown run with 5:48 left in the quarter to finish off a 5-play, 77-yard drive.

Trailing 14-0, SMSU put together another strong drive and moved the ball down to the SCSU 17-yard line, but facing third and 10, Ratekin fumbled the snap and the ball bounced right into the hands of the Huskies' Josh Popanda, who returned the fumble 78 yards for a touchdown to push the lead to 21-0 with 14:35 left in the half.

SMSU moved the ball to the SCSU 29-yard line following the fumble return, but another Ratekin interception, this time at the 17-yard line, ended the drive.

The Mustang offense controlled the clock in the opening half, running 38 plays for 143 yards and racking up 20:49 time of possession, compared to just 9:11 for the Huskies. SMSU picked up five first downs in the opening quarter, but were held to just three first downs combined in the second and third quarters.

The score remained 21-0 until the fourth quarter when SCSU pushed the lead to 24-0 with a 21-yard field goal by Tyler Aldridge.

SMSU put together one of its best drives of the second half on its next possession, moving from its own 20-yard line down to inside the SCSU 20-yard line, but Bret Ballantine fumbled at the SCSU 12-yard line for SMSU's fourth turnover of the game.

Following a SCSU punt, SMSU put up its only touchdown of the game as Ratekin dropped a screen pass to Moore, who broke free for an 80-yard touchdown reception, the longest play by SMSU this season, to cut the lead to 24-6 with 2:36 left in the game.

Southwest Minnesota State will continue NSIC play next Saturday, Oct. 23, at Upper Iowa (1-6, 1-5 NSIC) in Fayette, Iowa. Kickoff is slated for 1 p.m.