Mav football set for spring game
Mavericks offense and defense highlight another big season
Andrew Neururer
Staff Writer
Minnesota State football will not be playing their first regular season game till Sept. 7 against Southwest Minnesota State, but that doesn’t mean they can’t get some playing time in before then.
MSU will open things up Saturday, April 27 for their annual spring football game. The game will be held at 1 p.m at the Blakeslee Stadium. The game will be played with the current MSU roster split into two sides.
The spring game will be the Mavericks final event after a long few weeks of practices. Anyone will be able to come to the stadium and catch an early glimpse of the team that will be playing during the 2019 season.
There are some names to keep an eye on for the upcoming game. One name is quarterback Ryan Schlichte. He’ll be a senior this season and is eyeing a big season for this team. Last season he threw for a career high 1,914 yards. He had a down season in terms of touchdowns and interceptions, but his 19 touchdowns and 8 interceptions were still good. He had a career high 8.7 yards per pass attempts and 136.7 yards per game.
He will be the teams featured quarterback, but alongside him will be junior JD Ekowa. Ekowa isn’t the team’s main passer, but he is used a lot in running situations. Using his speed as a quarterback, he was able to rush for 380 yards and five touchdowns.
Senior running back Nate Gunn will be looking to finish his collegiate career with another successful season. During the 2018 season, Gunn was one of the top scorers on offense. He sliced up defenses with his 1,705 rushing yards and 22 touchdowns.
MSU has two wide receivers that have found success in recent years. Senior Shane Zylstra is one of those players. Younger brother of Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Brandon Zylstra, Shane Zylstra has found a lot of success in college. Using his bigger body, set at 6’5’’ and 220 pounds, he was able to dominate defensive backs with his size. Last season he had 1,261 receiving yards and 14 touchdowns.
On the other side of him is wide receiver Justin Arnold. He’s a senior this season and will be a threat on offense once again. Last year he racked up 766 yards and grabbed five touchdowns along the way.
Some players on the defensive end to watch is senior cornerback Jack Curtis, junior safety Cole Schroedermeier and junior defensive end Chance Bowen.
The team has talent on both sides of the ball and fans will see it on full display this Saturday for the Mavericks spring game.
Header photo from the Reporter Archives.