The Mustangs hosted the game against Minnesota State Mankato Mavericks on Oct. 31. MSU had lost only 1 game prior to the meeting and has been ranked within the top five in division two since the beginning of the season.

SMSU won the opening coin toss and elected to differ to the second half, meaning MSU would receive the opening kickoff. The Mustangs defense held tough and forced the Mavericks to punt on their first drive.

The two defenses continued to force one another to punt throughout the first quarter. Finally, with 13:33 left in the half, SMSU broke through as Austin Wells converted on a 21 yard field goal for the first score of the game, putting the Mustangs up by three.

With less than a minute in the first quarter, MSU got the ball back and drove down the field and scored putting them in the lead 7-3.

After a few first downs, SMSU turned the ball over on downs to MSU, who scored again extending their lead by another seven points. MSU would score once more right before half to make the score 21-3 going in to halftime.MSU took all the momentum going in to halftime, and maintained it after the break.

On the Mustangs first possession of the second half, the offensive struggles continued as they were forced once again, to punt back to the Mavericks high powered offense. On the very next play, MSU took the ball in to the end zone for a fifth time, extending their lead to 35-3.

Finally, the Mustangs offense found some answers to the Maverick defense, as they drove down the field for a touchdown pass. After the extra point was kicked through the uprights, the score was 35-10.

It seemed as though MSU’s offense could not be stopped. They scored yet again as time expired in the third quarter. The score was 41-10 entering the 4th quarter.

After turning the ball over, SMSU gave up one more score before they put in the backups with 10:21 left in the game. The score was 48-10.

MSU blocked as SMSU punted and recovered for one last score. With little time left, SMSU running back Beale ran it in to make the score 55-17.

Though the Mustangs lost this game, it was not all a bad day. Quarterback Blake Gimbel broke an SMSU record in this game of most completions by a sophomore in a season. Also, left guard Joe Grant caught his first ever pass after the ball was tipped up in the air by MSU.