BOX SCORE

WINONA, Minn. – Winona State's Curtis Dewberry rushed for 154 yards and three touchdowns, while teammate Rayon Simmons rushed for 200 yards, to lead the Warriors to a 47-20 victory over Southwest Minnesota State on Saturday in Winona, Minn.

WSU (5-4, 5-3 NSIC) finished the game with 344 yards rushing and 543 yards of total offense.

SMSU (3-6, 3-5 NSIC) held a 14-13 lead with just under six minutes left in the first half, but WSU scored 24 unanswered points on its next four possessions to build a 37-14 lead.  The Warriors scored on six straight possessions from late in the second quarter until midway through the fourth quarter to put the game away. 

SMSU was led by Gannon Moore, who rushed for 63 yards on 14 carries and tied a career-high with three touchdowns.  Tyler Erickson caught a game-high seven passes for 68 yards.  Tyler Pescong finished the game completing 23 of 36 passes for 199 yards.

Winona State opened the game's scoring as Ryan Williams intercepted Peschong on the second play of the game at the WSU 47-yard line and returned it 53 yards for a touchdown with 14 minutes and 16 seconds left in the opening quarter.  WSU missed the extra point attempt to keep the score at 6-0.

WSU added to the lead later in the quarter as Curtis Dewberry capped a 6-play, 77-yard drive with a 1-yard touchdown run to extend the lead to 13-0 with midway through the quarter.

SMSU wouldn't quit and answered with a 13-play, 75-yard drive with Moore finishing the drive with a 1-yard run to cut the deficit to 13-7 with 40 seconds left in the first quarter. 

The Mustang defense forced a pair of WSU punts in the second quarter and the SMSU offense was able to take advantage and take its first lead of the game.  SMSU put together a 10-play, 71-yard drive with Moore scoring on a 3-yard run with 5:50 left in the half to take a 14-13 lead.

WSU rallied back with a touchdown with 2:21 left in the half on a Dewberry 3-yard run and then added to the lead with a Thomas Kinney 30-yard field goal as time expired to give the Warriors a 23-14 halftime lead.

Peschong completed 17 of 21 pass attempts for 171 yards in the opening half.  

WSU opened the second half with a seven-minute drive and scored to extend the lead to 30-14 on a Dewberry touchdown run.  Following an SMSU punt, the Warriors pushed the lead to 37-14 on a 40-yard touchdown reception by Tyler Speer with 3:43 remaining in the third quarter.

SMSU trimmed the lead to 37-20 on an 18-yard touchdown run by Moore with 1:23 left in the quarter, but that was as close as the Mustangs would come as WSU added a field goal to begin the fourth quarter.

Phil Breidall led the Mustang defense with 11 tackles, while John Kersbergen added 10 tackles.

SMSU will return to Marshall next Saturday, Nov. 5, taking on Minnesota State, Mankato (7-2, 7-1 NSIC) in the final home game of the season.  Kickoff is slated for 1 p.m. at the Regional Event Center.