Box Score

MARSHALL, Minn. – No. 18 ranked Winona State displayed why it has one of the top defensive units in the country, forcing five turnovers and limiting Southwest Minnesota State to 178 yards of offense, in earning a 45-7 victory in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference football on Saturday at the Schwan Regional Event Center.
 
WSU, which is ranked No. 4 in this week's NCAA Super Region 4 rankings and improves to 9-1 overall, 5-1 NSIC South, finished the game with 315 yards offense and retained the "Battle for the Sledge" traveling trophy for the second straight season.
 
WSU quarterback Owen Burke completed 11 of 20 pass attempts for 126 yards and two touchdowns to pace the Warriors offense. Eric Birth racked up 82 yards rushing on 16 attempts while teammate Isaiah Frandsen caught a team-high four passes for 46 yards.
 
SMSU, which falls to 2-8 overall, 0-6 NSIC South, was held to less than 200 yards of offense for the first time since 2010. The five turnovers was the most committed by SMSU since the 2014 season.
 
Quarterback Boyer Bouman completed 20 of 33 passes for 67 yards with Max Simmons and Nate Huot each catching five passes for the Mustangs. Ashanti Payne led the SMSU rushing attack with 61 yards and one touchdowns on 13 carries.
 
The last time SMSU was held to less than 100 yards passing came during the 2008 season.
 
Romario Gayle led the Warriors defense with a team-high eight solo tackles with three for loss and forced one fumble.
 
Alex Ney continued his outstanding season for the Mustangs recording six tackles including one for loss while also forcing one fumble and recovering a fumble.
 
The game started in a big way for SMSU on the game's opening possession as Michael Griffin forced a fumble at the WSU 32-yard line which was recovered by Ney. Four plays later Payne broke free on an 11-yard touchdown run on third-and-one to give the Mustangs a 7-0 lead with 12:26 left in the first quarter.
 
WSU came right back to tie the game on its next drive picking up a pair of fourth-down conversions during the 11-play, 57-yard drive. Burke capped the drive with a 20-yard touchdown pass to Devon Moore to tie the game at 7-7 midway through the first quarter.
 
SMSU was forced to punt on its next drive and WSU's Jake Balliu gave the Warriors their first lead of the game returning the punt 79 yards for his second touchdown return of the season. Balliu in the process became WSU's single-season punt return yardage leader.
 
WSU added to the lead later in the quarter as Trey Telez intercepted a Bouman pass in the end zone for a defensive touchdown to make the score 21-7 after one quarter of play.
 
WSU pushed the lead to 28-7 in the second quarter as Landon Jacobson plowed across the goal line on an 8-yard touchdown run with 3:17 remaining.
 
Following an SMSU punt, WSU closed the half with a Burke 6-yard touchdowns pass to Tanner Gran to make the score 35-7.
 
Carter McCauley booted a 23-yard field goal in the third quarter, before Sam Santiago-Lloyd closed the scoring early in the fourth quarter on a 2-yard touchdown run.

Linebacker Alex Ney was named game MVP for SMSU, while defensive back Romario Gayle was named game MVP for WSU. 
 
Today's game was the final home appearance for SMSU seniors  Ashanti Payne, Nate Huot, Bilal Louzati, Vernel Wingate, Michael Rivera, Daniel Halverson, Jordan Clark, Matt Overgaard, Austin Hilgert, Drake Zabloudil, Ty Bird, Chase Onken, Elias Mensah, Aaron Van Dyk and Alex Werner.
 
Southwest Minnesota State closes the season next Saturday, Nov. 11, facing Concordia-St. Paul in St. Paul, Minnesota, with kickoff set for 1 p.m.