ABERDEEN, S.D. – Northern State scored on five straight possessions in the first half while also adding a blocked punt for a touchdown to build a 41-16 halftime advantage and go on to earn a 55-23 victory over Southwest Minnesota State on Saturday night at Dacotah Bank Stadium.
 
NSU earns its second straight victory and improves to 5-2 overall, while SMSU drops its fifth straight and is now 1-6 overall. The contest, despite both teams members of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference, was a non-conference game.
 
SMSU finished the game with a season-high 28 first downs and rushed for a season-high 162 yards, while closing with 362 yards of offense.
 
SMSU senior linebacker Josiah Hedensten racked up a game-high 13 tackles and in the process became the eighth Mustang to reach 300 in a career. He has amassed 307 in 40 career games ranking sixth in team history.
 
SMSU's Macloud Crowton completed 19 of 37 passes for 200 yards and two touchdowns but was intercepted three times. He also rushed for 41 yards. Tryg Auten was his top target with a career-high seven receptions for a career-high 92 yards and two touchdowns.
 
Jacob Honstetter rushed for a team-high 67 yards for the Mustangs, while Tariq Parker added 43 yards on the ground.
 
Wyatt Block led the Wolves with 117 yards rushing on eight attempts. NSU finished the game with 526 yards of offense with 269 on the ground and 25 first downs.
 
The Wolves were 9 of 10 on third-down conversions in earning its fourth straight victory over the Mustangs since 2021. The Mustangs were 5 of 16 on third-down, but did finish 4 of 5 on fourth-down conversions.
 
NSU started the scoring with Carter Campbell scoring on a 29-yard touchdown pass from Brock Bagozzi less than two minutes into the game.
 
SMSU countered with a scoring drive on its first possession with Mason Carver booting a 36-yard field goal with 10:19 left in the first quarter to cap an eight-play, 46-yard drive.
 
The Wolves would add two more touchdown passes in the first quarter, one by Bagozzi and one by Daniel Britt, to build a 21-3 advantage. The NSU special teams would come through with a big play late in the quarter with Blake Clay returning a blocked punt 35 yards for a touchdown to push the advantage to 27-3 after 15 minutes of play.
 
NSU extended the lead to 34-3 early in the second quarter with wide receiver Zach Jorgensen tossing a 10-yard pass to Zach Kraft.
 
SMSU would put together a strong drive midway through the second quarter with Crowton connecting with Tryg Auten for a 14-yard touchdown pass to cap a seven-play, 60-yard drive and make the score 34-9 after a blocked PAT.
 
NSU answered with another touchdown as Bagozzi tossed his third scoring pass of the half to push the lead to 41-9 with 3:18 left in the half.
 
SMSU quickly answered before half moving 71 yards on 11 yards with Crowton firing a fourth-down 9-yard touchdown pass Auten with 20 seconds left to trim the NSU lead to 41-16 following Landon Hubbard's first career PAT.
 
NSU scored the lone touchdown in the third quarter with a 5-yard run before SMSU countered in the fourth quarter with Ryan Kronbach sneaking in for a 2-yard touchdown run, his first career score, with 10:48 left in the game. NSU capped the scoring with another short touchdown run midway through the fourth quarter.
 
The NSU defense finished the game with three interceptions and recovered one fumble. The SMSU defense picked up one turnover as SaMaury Alexander earned his first career interception in the final quarter.
 
SMSU returns to league play next Saturday, Oct. 25, facing No. 6/10 ranked and undefeated Augustana University (7-0, 6-0 NSIC) with kickoff slated for 1 p.m. at The Schwan Regional Event Center.