Minnesota State and Augustana face-off at the Blake

Mavericks and Vikings highlight big matchup in the NSIC

Aaron Young
Staff Writer

The Minnesota State Mavericks will face the Augustana Vikings Saturday at the Blakeslee Stadium.

Their last meeting was an absolute classic and arguably the game of the century for Mavericks football. Both teams gave it everything they had, but ultimately, only one team could win and it was the Mavericks with a score of 38-36.

They come into Saturday ranked third and once again are looking to set the record straight that they should be in the No. 1 team. 

This time around, the Mavs are hoping this game isn’t as close as the last one. Judging by their previous match against Southwest Minnesota State University, they shouldn’t be as concerned.

However, Augustana opened its season with an absolute blowout, defeating Upper Iowa Peacocks 52-0. The Vikings put up 411 yards of offense. 294 of those yards were in the air. 

They will be led by senior quarterbacks Ryan Schlichte and JD Ekowa who combined for total of 207 yards against the Mustangs. Their leadership has definitely shown on and off the field. 

On the ground, Nate Gunn will be getting the ball after his monstrous game, where he ran for 247 yards and 3 touchdowns. In the air, Brandon Zylstra will continue to add onto his record setting season, where he now leads in receiving yards. 

As for the defense, Zach Robertson and Destyn Woody are going to look to sack the QB more. Juniors Parish Marrow and Cole Schroedermeier came away with an interception each in the win over SMSU and will be looking to add on to that total.

It’s a well-built defensive unit and they will need to be on its toes if they want to squash any potential Augustana victory.

Header photo by Mansoor Ahmad | MSU Reporter.