BOX SCORE

MARSHALL, Minn. – Minnesota State moved into sole possession of first place in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference with a 38-0 victory over Southwest Minnesota State on Saturday in Marshall.

MSU (8-2, 8-1 NSIC), ranked No. 9 in this week's NCAA region rankings, holds a one-game lead over Minnesota Duluth, St. Cloud State and Wayne State.  MSU plays at Minnesota Duluth next Saturday.

The shutout was the second of the season for MSU, as the Maverick defense held the Mustangs to 241 yards of total offense.  It was the first time SMSU (3-7, 3-6 NSIC) has been shutout since Sept. 30, 2006, to the University of Mary (20-0). 

MSU's Andy Pfeiffer rushed for a game-high 126 yards and one touchdown on 20 carries, while teammate Jon Wolf finished with 118 yards and one touchdown on 14 carries.  On a windy day in Marshall, MSU quarterback Jon Wolf completed 6 of 14 pass attempts for 111 yards and two touchdowns.  

MSU finished with 395 yards of total offense and finished 7 of 11 on third-down conversions.

Gannon Moore led the SMSU offense with 66 yards rushing on 19 carries, while Cody Condon finished with a game-high six receptions for 46 yards.  Tyler Peschong completed just 18 of 40 pass attempts for 168 yards and was intercepted three times.

SMSU played without its leading rusher, Warren Matthews and two defensive starters, end Mark Schollmeyer and Joe Stupka, who all missed the game due to injuries.

MSU opened the game's scoring with four minutes and 10 seconds left in the opening quarter on a 33-yard field goal by Daniel Padilla, his 14th field goal of the season.

Following punts by both teams, SMSU moved the ball 51 yards on its next possession to the MSU 25-yard line, but Mike Wenk's 44-yard field attempt was blocked by Brad Memnitz to keep the score 3-0.

The Mavericks took advantage of the blocked kick and drove 65 yards on 12 plays, closing the drive with a 5-yard run by Jon Daniels with 38 seconds left in the first half to take a 10-0 halftime lead.

MSU took advantage of the wind in the third quarter, pinning the Mustangs deep in their own end several times.  MSU's average field possession in the third quarter on four possessions was the SMSU 36-yard line.

SMSU was forced to punt on its first drive of the half, but the SMSU defense came through forcing a fumble and taking over at the SMSU 47-yard line.  SMSU failed to take advantage of the turnover and was forced to punt.

MSU, taking over on its own 25-yard line, converted a big third-and-seven from its 42-yard line with a Wolf 42-yard run to keep the drive alive.  The Mavericks finished the drive with a 34-yard touchdown pass to Mike Richter with 9:01 left in the third quarter.

On SMSU's next possession, the Mustangs failed to convert on a fake punt at their own 22-yard line and MSU scored three plays later on a Pfeiffer 6-yard run to extend the lead to 24-0.

MSU added a pair of touchdowns in the final quarter, a 19-yard touchdown reception by Dennis Carter and a 52-yard run by Wolf, for the final margin.

The Mustang defense was paced by Phil Breidall, recording a team-high seven tackles and recovered one fumble.  Tate Bunkers, making his first career start at safety, finished with six tackles and one interception,

Saturday's game was the final home appearance for 10 Mustang senior players.

Southwest Minnesota State concludes the 2011 season next Saturday, Nov. 12, with a 5 p.m. match-up versus Concordia, St. Paul at the Metrodome in Minneapolis.