MSU football breaks a record in dominating fashion

The Mavericks improved to 8-0 after scoring 81 points against Minnesota Crookston

Andrew Neururer
Sports Editor

In back-to-back weeks, the Minnesota State Mavericks football team broke a new record for most points in a game. 

Last week, MSU defeated University of Mary and set the record at 74 points. A week later they have surpassed that total, after they took down Minnesota Crookston with ease, 81-0. 

The game kicked off with a 15-yard run by Ryan Schlichte, setting the Mavericks up 6-0 after they failed to convert on a two-point conversion.

The next two scoring plays also resulted in failed two-point conversions. However, junior JD Ekowa setup senior Shane Zylstra for a 39-yard touchdown. Later in the quarter, senior Nate Gunn found the endzone after a 9-yard run.

At the end of the first quarter, the Mavericks led Crookston 18-0.

To start the second quarter, Zylstra found the endzone for the second time from Schlichte. The star receiver finished with 128 yards and two touchdowns.

The following two scoring plays came from none other than Gunn, both on 5-yard runs. This put the Mavericks up 39-0 and he finished the game with 72 yards and three touchdowns. 

Beyond the 45-yard receiving touchdown from sophomore connections Brevin Kaiser to Cullen Gahagan, the rest of the game were rushing touchdowns. Junior Justin Taormina and redshirt freshman Kaleb Sleezer were the two that continued to pile up the score. 

Taormina would finish the game with 67 rushing yards and found the endzone three times. Sleezer was the leading rusher for both sides, gaining 135 yards and one touchdown. 

Passing wise, all three quarterbacks from MSU picked up a touchdown. Schlichte was the leading passer with 122 yards and Kaiser and Ekowa followed with 81 and 71 yards respectively. 

As great as the offense was, the same can be said about the defense. The passing defense was lockdown, only allowing UMC to gain 39 yards through the air. Senior Spencer Hermus was the lone Maverick to pick off Crookston. 

Juniors Cole Schroedermeier and Brayden Thomas led the game with seven tackles. Both impacted the game in a large part, as Schroedermeier picked up a sack and forced and recovered a fumble. Thomas on the other end was too much to handle, grabbing four sacks for a total loss of 33 yards.

Together, the Mavericks had seven players end the game with a total of nine sacks.

MSU finished the game with 660 yards of offense, compared to UMC’s 121. It was a complete dominant game for the Mavericks on both sides of the ball. 

The Mavericks will be looking to have similar success against Wayne State this Saturday in the final home game of the regular season.

Header photo: Minnesota State tailback Justin Taormina (6) celebrates a touchdown against the University of Mary at the Blakeslee Stadium Saturday, Oct. 19, 2019 in Mankato, Minn. (Mansoor Ahmad/MSU Reporter)