Box Score

MARSHALL, Minn. – No. 5 University of Sioux Falls remained undefeated holding off Southwest Minnesota State 34-26 in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference football on Saturday night at the Schwan Regional Event Center.
 
USF (7-0 NSIC, 3-0 NSIC South) quarterback Luke Papilion had a strong game completing 20 of 34 pass attempts for 225 yards and two touchdowns, while also rushing for 92 yards and one touchdown.
 
SMSU (5-2, 1-2 NSIC South) signal-caller Blake Gimbel completed a career-high 38 passes on 52 attempts for a career-high 384 yards and three touchdowns.
 
USF finished with 483 yards of offense and 25 first downs, while SMSU recorded 479 yards and 32 first downs.
 
USF finished the night converting 10 of 17 third down conversions and also converted a big fourth down play late in the game. After SMSU cut into USF's lead midway through the fourth quarter making the score 34-26, USF took over with seven minutes and 59 seconds left in the game from its own 32-yard and basically ran out the clock converting a pair of third down conversions and one fourth down.
 
The USF defense, which entered the game ranked 37^th in Division II in total defense, sacked Gimbel six times in the game. It was the first time SMSU allowed more than five sacks in a game since Oct. 27, 2012.
 
Max Mickey led the Cougar rushing attack with 99 yards on 14 carries, while Josh Angulo had six receptions for 77 yards and one touchdown.
 
SMSU's receiving corps was paced by Nate Huot's eight receptions for 89 yards, while Ty Steffensen added seven catches for 58 yards. Ashanti Payne rushed 11 times for 64 yards to lead the Mustangs with teammate Davontay Stevens added 57 yards  and one touchdown on 19 attempts.
 
USF's Josh Butler recorded a game-high 13 tackles with one sack, two forced fumbles and three pass break-ups.
 
AJ Page and Tyler Flud each racked up 11 tackles for SMSU, while Flud also had an interception.
 
USF jumped to an early lead on its first drive of the game, moving 73 yards on five plays, with Papilion connecting on a 38-yard touchdown pass to Garrett Shutt with 13:16 on the clock.
 
SMSU answered with a long drive of its own on its opening drive as Gimbel tossed a screen pass to Stevens, who broke free for an 18-yard touchdown reception to tie the score with 10:19 remaining.
 
Both defensive units came through with strong play for the remainder of the quarter. Following a USF punt, SMSU picked up one first down and later moved to the SMSU 45-yard line, but on fourth-and-one, Stevens was stopped short of the first down to turn the ball over.
 
The SMSU defense then came through with a big play as Page belted Papilion on a pass attempt and Flud stepped in front of the pass for an interception at the SMSU 17-yard line.
 
SMSU once again picked up a first down and moved the ball to midfield, but on fourth-and-one, USF stuffed Stevens short of the first down marker giving the ball back to the Cougars. USF took advantage of the short field and scored five plays later as Papilion scored on a 1-yard touchdown run with seven seconds left in the quarter. The key play of the drive was a pass interference penalty on SMSU in the end zone on fourth-and-one from the 3-yard line to keep the drive alive.
 
USF added to the lead early in the second quarter as Papilion lofted a perfect 17-yard touchdown pass to Josh Angulo with 11:16 on the clock. Dallin Finley blocked the PAT to keep the score at 20-7 into halftime.
 
SMSU fumbled just passed midfield on its first drive of the second half and USF took advantage as Jonathon Witt capped an eight-play drive with a 3-yard touchdown run making the score 27-7.
 
The Mustangs answered back on its next possession with a key trick play. Facing fourth-and-eight from the SMSU 43-yard line, Wells took the snap and ran nine yards for the first down to keep the drive going. Gimbel completed the drive with a 4-yard touchdown pass to Tommy Steidler making the score 27-13 with 9:09 remaining in the third.
 
Following a USF punt that pinned SMSU at the 1-yard line, the Mustang offense came through with its longest drive of the season. SMSU converted a pair of third-down conversions on the ensuing drive with Steven closing off the 99-yard drive with a 2-yard touchdown to trim the deficit to 27-19 with 35 seconds left in the third following a poor snap on the PAT.
 
The SMSU defense forced a three-and-out to start the fourth quarter, but the USF defense came back with a three-and-out of its own to set up its offense at the SMSU 42-yard line.
 
USF took advantage of the field position and scored in four plays with Justin Fulks capping the drive with a 21-yard touchdown run with 12 minutes left in the game.
 
SMSU wouldn't go away and put together another impressive drive, covering 62 yards in 11 plays with Gimbel completing an 11-yard touchdown pass to Davion Shelton at the 7:59 mark of the fourth quarter.
 
Papilion and the Cougar offense then iced the game with an impressive 17-play, 43-yard drive that took nearly eight minutes off the clock to seal the win.  
 
Southwest Minnesota State will travel to Fayette, Iowa, next Saturday, Oct. 24, to battle Upper Iowa (5-2 NSIC, 2-1 South) University with kickoff slated for 6 p.m.