It wasn’t an unexpected result, but it was still eye-popping as #3 MSU-Mankato broke their one-week-old scoring record, set last week against UMary with 75 points, beating Minnesota Crookston 81-0 in an NSIC game played at the Alerus Center in Grand Forks.
Minnesota State started their opening drive at their own 39-yard line and needed just five plays and 1:55 to reach the end zone with a Ryan Schlichte 3-yard run, giving the Mavericks a 6-0 lead after the PAT failed.
UMC’s first drive ended with a three-and-out, and the Mavericks quickly scored on their next drive, failing to convert the two-point conversion as Minnesota State’s lead grew to 12-0 less than five minutes into the game. The Golden Eagles ensuing drive ended with a missed 47-yard field goal, which was the closest Minnesota Crookston came to scoring all night.
The Mavericks continued to roll the rest of the night, clearing their bench before halftime and focusing on staying healthy as they prepare for a national title run in four weeks.
The box score tells the story of this game. Minnesota State ran for 402 yards and threw for 276 yards accumulating 678 yards of total offense while averaging 10.9 yards per play. To put it simply, averaged a first down every time they snapped the ball. Although Minnesota Crookston held the ball for 35:24 of the game, the Mavericks punted just twice and scored touchdowns on 12 of their 16 drives, including seven straight touchdown drives starting in the second quarter and continuing through the Mavericks’ first drive in the fourth quarter. MSU-Mankato was dominant in every phase of the game, and the final score reflected that with the Mavericks scoring their most points in school history winning 81-0.
Minnesota Crookston falls to 0-8. The Golden Eagles travel to Duluth next Saturday to take on UMD at 1:00 P.M. on KROX. Minnesota State Mankato improves to 8-0 and will host Wayne State on Saturday for their final home game of the regular season.
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final | |
| MSU-Mankato | 18 | 21 | 28 | 14 | 81 |
| UMC | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
1st Quarter-
13:05 – MSU – Ryan Schlichte 3 yard run (run failed)
10:07 – MSU- – Shane Zylstra 39 yard pass from J.D. Ekowa (pass failed)
3:09 – MSU – Nate Gunn 9 yard run (pass failed)
2nd Quarter–
14:21 – MSU- Shane Zylstra 5 yard pass from Ryan Schlichte (Luke Williams kick)
4:10 – MSU – Nate Gunn 5 yard run (Luke Williams kick)
0:36 – MSU- Nate Gunn 5 yard run (Luke Williams kick)
3rd Quarter –
12:19 – MSU – Justin Taormina 7 yard run (Luke Williams kick)
10:25 – MSU – Kaleb Sleezer 50 yard run (Luke Williams kick)
8:10 – MSU- Cullen Gahagan 35 yard pass from Brevin Kaiser (Luke Williams kick)
1:54 – MSU – Justin Taormina 1 yard run (Ashton Garner kick)
4th Quarter –
11:20 – MSU – Justin Taormina 30 yard run (Ashton Garner kick)
7:17 – MSU – Chase Devitt 3 yard run (Luke Williams kick)
