BOX SCORE

MANKATO, Minn. – Minnesota State, Mankato quarterback Jon Wolf, making his first career start, rushed for 101 yards and one touchdown, while passing for 136 yards and three touchdown to lead the Mavericks (6-4, 4-4 NSIC) to a 53-7 victory over Southwest Minnesota State (4-6, 3-5 NSIC) on Saturday afternoon in windy Mankato.

MSU picked up several key third-down conversions in the game and finished converting 11 of 16. The Mavericks finished the game with 299 yards rushing and 485 yards of total offense.

Taylor Brookins rushed for a game-high 116 yards and one touchdown to pace the Maverick offense.

SMSU, which has now lost two straight games, finished the game with 286 yards of offense. Warren Matthews led the Mustang offense with 64 yards rushing on 13 attempts. Quarterback Ryan Ratekin completed just 10 of 21 pass attempts for 132 yards before leaving the game in the third quarter with an injury.

MSU opened the game with a 52-yard kickoff return and moved the ball to the SMSU 12-yard, but on first down, MSU's Cody Rose fumbled and the ball was recovered by SMSU's John Kersbergen at the 14-yard line.

SMSU used the momentum and drove down the field to score the game's first points. SMSU opened its first drive with a 42-yard screen pass to Gannon Moore down to the MSU 44-yard line. The big play on the drive came three plays later, facing third and 11 from the MSU 45-yard line, Ratekin connected with Bret Ballantine on a 15-yard first down completion. Following a 10-yard run by Warren Matthews, Ratekin completed a 19-yard pass to Shane LaDage down to the MSU 1-yard line. Ratekin then completed the drive with a touchdown run to put SMSU up 7-0 following the PAT by Mike Wenk with 10 minutes and 50 seconds left in the opening quarter.

Following a punt into a stiff wind by the Mavericks on their next possession, SMSU took over in great field position at the MSU 37-yard line. SMSU couldn't capitalize though as Wenk's 37-yard field goal attempt hit the right upright keeping the score 7-0.

The score remained 7-0 into the second quarter before MSU took advantage of the wind and took its first lead of the game. Following an 11-yard Wenk punt, MSU started its scoring drive at the SMSU 38-yard line. Five plays later, Wolf capped the drive with an 8-yard touchdown run to make the score 7-6. On the PAT try, a botched snap was picked up by holder Adam Thielen who ran the ball into the end zone for a two-point conversion giving MSU an 8-7 lead with 12:33 on the clock.

MSU extended the lead to 11-7 with 5:41 left in the half on a season-long 42-yard field goal by Sam Brockhus.

SMSU picked up a pair of first downs on its next drive, moving the ball to the MSU 31-yard line, but the drive stalled as the Maverick defense stopped the Mustangs on fourth and eight from the 31-yard line.

The MSU offense then continued its strong second quarter moving the ball 69 yards on eight plays with Taylor Brookins completing the drive with a 10-yard touchdown run with 57 seconds left in the half to give MSU an 18-7 halftime lead.

The Mavericks converted six of nine third-down conversions in the opening half and rushed for 193 yards in building the 11-point halftime lead. Brookins rushed for 95 yards in the opening half, while Wolf finished with 94 yards.

SMSU was just two of seven on third-down conversions in the half and finished with 159 yards of offense.

MSU added to the lead on its first drive of the second half and again picked up a key third-down conversion to score the touchdown. Starting at its own 28-yard line, the Mavericks moved to the SMSU 18-yard line and faced third and six, but Wolf connected on an 18-yard touchdown pass to Thielen with 8:40 remaining in the third quarter to make the score 25-7.

Tyler Peschong took over for an injured Ratekin on SMSU's next drive and led the team down to the MSU 25-yard line, but Shane LaDage fumbled after catching a Peschong pass and the Mavericks recovered the ball at the 23-yard line.

MSU used the turnover and picked up a pair of third and long plays on its ensuing drive to push the lead to 25 points. Facing third and six from the 39-yard line, Wolf fired a perfect pass to Dennis Carter with 2:22 left on the clock to give MSU a 32-7 lead.

MSU added a late third quarter touchdown and two more in the fourth quarter to push the final margin to 53-7.

Levi Reiff led the SMSU defense with 11 tackles.

SMSU will conclude the regular season with Senior Day next Saturday, Nov. 13, hosting Concordia-St. Paul (7-3, 6-3 NSIC) at the Regional Event Center with kickoff slated for 1 p.m. SMSU will honor its 25 seniors prior to the game.