MINOT, N.D. – The Southwest Minnesota State football team opened the 2023 season with a come-from-behind 28-23 victory over Minot State on Thursday night at Herb Parker Stadium.
 
SMSU trailed 17-0 late in the first half before scoring 28 straight points to defeat MSU for the seventh straight time.
 
Trailing 17-14 late in the game, SMSU took its first lead of the game as Marcus Martin connected with Peter Osman for a 26-yard touchdown with 3:07 remaining in the game. The score capped a 12-play, 80-yard drive that amassed just over six minutes off the clock.
 
The SMSU defense forced MSU to turn the ball over on downs on the ensuing possession at the MSU 37-yard line. Donald Austin, who finished with a game-high 154 yards rushing on 26 carries, broke free for a 37-yard touchdown run to seal the victory with 2:09 left in the game.
 
Martin, which earned his first victory in the fifth career start, completed 13 of 28 passes for 225 yards and three touchdowns. Osman caught four passes for 71 yards and two touchdowns.
  
Josiah Hedensten, who amassed 12 tackles, led the SMSU defense, which forced two turnovers in the second half. Hunter Bohannon added two forced fumbles and recovered a fumble in the final 30 minutes.
 
MSU jumped out a 17-0 advantage in the first half taking advantage of a pair of Martin interceptions. The Beavers used the first interception of the game to take over at the SMSU 30-yard line midway through the opening quarter. In just two plays, Evan Lovett broke free for an 8-yard touchdown run to score the game's first touchdown and give the Beavers a 7-0 advantage.
 
MSU pushed the lead to 10-0 at the 8:25 mark of the second quarter on a 28-yard field goal by Nate Peterson.
 
Following Martin's second interception late in the first half, the Beavers used a big 35-yard pass completion and then a 16-yard scoring strike from Dawson Macleary to Daniel Stokes with 1:04 remaining to extend the lead to 17-0.
 
SMSU needed a spark in the final minute of the half and got it on the final play of the half as Martin found Osman on a 35-yard touchdown pass as time expired to make the score 17-7 following a Carter Dicker PAT. The final-second touchdown is the second straight game SMSU has thrown a touchdown to end the first half in Minot. During SMSU's 21-17 win in 2019, Paul Herrera connected on a 49-yard touchdown pass to Dakota Jaeschke on the final play. 
 
The SMSU defense came through with its first turnover of the season on MSU's first drive of the second half. Bohannon drilled a Beaver receiver to force a fumble and teammate Joe Buelow recovered at the SMSU 22-yard line. SMSU took advantage and moved down the field with Martin completing the drive with a 44-yard touchdown pass to Rashaan Palmer at the 7:04 mark to cut the deficit to 17-14. 
 
The SMSU defense came through with a big play on MSU's first drive of the fourth quarter as Gideon Ervasti stopped MSU running back Myles West for a 2-yard loss on third-down-and-1 from the MSU 39-yard line. The Beavers would be forced to punt with the Mustangs answering with the game-changing 80-yard scoring drive.
 
SMSU returns to action on Saturday, Sept. 9, for its first home game of the season taking on nationally ranked Bemidji State for the annual Ag Bowl, presented by Ralco, with kickoff slated for 5 p.m.