Box Score

MANKATO, Minn. – No. 1 ranked Minnesota State racked up 518 yards of offense and pulled away in the second half to earn a 49-13 victory over Southwest Minnesota State in the season opener for both teams at Blakeslee Stadium on Thursday night.
 
MSU, which finished 13-1 last season, rushed for 268 yards on 39 carries, with Nate Gunn leading the way with 119 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries.
 
Ryan Schlichte completed 11 of 15 pass attempts for 201 yards and two touchdowns to pace the Mavericks offense. MSU's other quarterback, JD Ekowa, rushed for 91 yards and one touchdown, while also completing 5 of 11 passes for 49 yards and one touchdown.
 
SMSU closed the game with 335 yards of offense and 23 first downs, but converted just 4 of 15 on third-down.
 
SMSU quarterback Blake Gimbel, who missed the final seven games of the 2017 season, returned to the field tonight and completed 34 of 49 passes for 279 yards and one touchdown. Gimbel has now recorded 59 career touchdown passes moving into a tie with Josh Shudlick for third all-time in team history.
 
Daniel Davis caught a game-high seven passes for 63 yards to pace the Mustangs, while Connor Wilkie, Carter Kirk and Trey Sachs all finished with six receptions.
 
SMSU closed the game with 45 rushing yards on 30 attempts with Sachs leading the way with 33 yards and one touchdown on 13 carries. Max Simmons added 29 yards on eight attempts.
 
Alex Ney racked up a team-high nine tackles to pace the Mustang defense. Hunter Cushman and Cory Hollowell both had five tackles and one pass break-up. The SMSU defense finished with three sacks as Brad Bahlmann and Tahjee Smith each had one sacks, while Onte Burns and Shane Ratkovich each had a half a sack.
 
SMSU opened the game with an impressive first drive of the season, moving the ball 65 yards on 17 plays and taking more than seven minutes off the clock. The drive stalled at the MSU 10-yard line and SMSU wasn't able to take an early lead as Skyler Crew missed a 27-yard field goal attempt wide left to keep the game scoreless.
 
MSU quickly answered on its opening drive as Nate Gunn capped a 80-yard drive on six plays with a six-yard touchdown run to make the score 7-0 with 5:27 remaining in the first quarter.
 
The SMSU defense forced MSU to punt on its next two drives, but the Mavericks were able to add to the lead with 9:26 left in the second quarter as Vance Barnes broke free for a 43-yard touchdown run to make the score 14-0.
 
MSU would later extend the lead to 21-0 with 5:10 remaining in the half as Trevor Nissen caught a 12-yard touchdown pass from Ryan Schlichte.
 
It remained 21-0 late into the first half, before the SMSU defense forced a three-and-out, setting up the Mustang near midfield with 2:08 on the clock. Gimbel picked up a first down with a 21-yard pass to Davis and later used a first down run by Simmons to move the ball to the MSU 30-yard line. One play later, Gimbel fired a 30-yard touchdown strike to Wilkie to cut the deficit to 21-7 at halftime.
 
MSU used a big SMSU penalty to keep its opening drive of the second half alive and build a three-touchdown advantage. Facing fourth-and-seven from the SMSU 37-yard line, the Mavericks completed a 32-yard pass down to the SMSU five-yard line. Three plays later Gunn scored on a 1-yard touchdown to give MSU a 28-7 lead.
 
SMSU had a tremendous chance to cut the lead in half late in the third, but a penalty stalled the drive. Daniel Davis scored on an 18-yard reverse, but the play was nullified due to a chop block. The MSU defense then forced a pair of sacks and an incompletion to force SMSU to punt near midfield.
 
MSU quickly answered on its next drive as Shane Zylstra caught an 11-yard touchdown pass from Schlichte to cap a quick three-play, 80-yard drive and push the lead to 35-7 late in the third quarter.
 
SMSU answered back with its own touchdown drive as Sachs scored his first career touchdown on a three-yard run to make the score 35-13 with 12:10 left in the game.
 
MSU would add a 51-yard touchdown run by Ekowa early in the fourth quarter and then used a muffed punt by SMSU to score another late touchdown for the game's final margin.
 
Southwest Minnesota State opens its home season on Saturday, Sept. 8, facing Wayne State College for the annual Ag Bowl with kickoff set for 6 p.m. at the Schwan Regional Event Center. WSC lost at home to Winona State, 41-28, on Thursday night.