> Box Score

MINOT, N.D. – Davontay Stevens rushed for a career-high 164 yards and one touchdown on 27 carries to lead Southwest Minnesota State to a hard-fought 21-20 victory over Minot State in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference football at Herb Parker Stadium.

Stevens scored on a 1-yard touchdown run with 11 minutes and 45 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter to give SMSU the lead at 21-20 and the eventual victory.

Blake Gimbel—making his first career starter at quarterback for SMSU—completed 23 of 42 passes for 210 yards and two touchdowns. Ty Steffensen caught a team-high six passes for 45 yards, including his first career touchdown reception.

Minot State had a chance to regain the lead, taking over with 6:57 remaining in the game, and moved the ball down to the SMSU 41-yard. But on second-and-nine, SMSU junior safety Caleb Leichtnam—playing his first game at SMSU—stepped in front of a Lucas Romanski pass for an interception at the SMSU 29-yard line.

The SMSU offense then took over—running out the final 3:30—behind six straight rush attempts by Stevens, to seal the victory.

Leichtnam led the SMSU defense with 12 tackles, while Alex Burton, Jonathan Cross and Tyler Flud each recorded seven tackles.

The Mustang offense recorded 429 yards on 87 plays, including 237 yards rushing. The Beavers finished with 368 yards of offense on 56 plays. SMSU finished the night 10 of 18 on third-down, while MISU was 5 of 10.

SMSU opened the game with an impressive 12-play, 75-yard drive capped with a Gimble to Nate Huot 9-yard touchdown pass with 10 minutes and 52 seconds left in the quarter. The PAT was missed to keep the score 6-0.

MISU took its first lead of the game with 12:48 remaining in the second quarter on a Romanski 38-yard touchdown pass to Porter Sturm to make the score 7-6. Romanski entered the game in the first quarter, replacing MISU injured starting quarterback Zac Cunha.

SMSU responded on its ensuing drive to regain the lead, using a pair of MISU penalties—one on fourth down and another on third down—to keep the drive alive. SMSU moved the ball 79 yards on 14 plays with Austin Wells capping the drive with a 24-yard field goal to make the score 9-7 with 7:18 left in the half.

MISU didn't trail for long, putting together an 85-yard drive, with Romanski sprinting free on a bootleg for an 8-yard touchdown run with 2:55 remaining the half to make the score 13-9 after a missed PAT.

SMSU had another answer before halftime to jump back into the lead. Starting at their own 25-yard with 2:55 left in the half, the Mustangs once again took advantage of a Beaver penalty to keep the scoring drive moving. Facing third-and-16 from the Beavers 35-yard line, Gimbel sprinted for a 10-yard gain, but a personal foul on MISU gave SMSU a first down at the 17-yard line. A few plays later, SMSU faced second-and-2 from the nine-yard line with just nine seconds remaining in the half. Following an incomplete pass running the clock to five seconds left, SMSU elected to turn down the field goal attempt and Gimbel made it count, firing a 9-yard touchdown pass to Steffensen as time expired to make the score 15-13 at halftime after the PAT was missed.

Both offensive units struggled for much of the third quarter, but MISU was finally able to break through to take back the lead. Following a successful fourth-and-2 conversion at the SMSU 35-yard line, the Beavers connected on a 33-yard touchdown pass from Romanski to Sturm to make the score 20-15 after three quarters of play.

The Mustangs countered with one of its biggest drives of the game, moving the ball 76 yards on 12 plays. Stevens closed the scoring drive plowing across for a 1-yard touchdown run to make the score 21-20 with 11:45 remaining. SMSU failed on the two-point conversion to maintain the one point lead. The key plays of the drive came was a five-yard pass from Gimble to Dalton Jones on third-and-three from the SMSU 31-yard line. One player later, Stevens ripped off a 34-yard run down to the MISU 30-yard line.

Southwest Minnesota State opens its five-game home schedule on Saturday, Sept. 12, taking on Bemidji State University for the annual Ag Bowl. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. at Mattke Field at the Schwan Regional Event Center.