Showdown in St. Paul, Mavs take on the Bears

With the festivities from last week’s celebration finally starting to clear, there is no rest for The Minnesota State University, Mankato Mavericks as they are once again back on the road and looking to seek another win on the Gridiron.

The Mavericks closed out Homecoming week with a thrilling 31-28 victory over the University of Mary Marauders. After falling behind by 14 in the first quarter, the Mavericks would proceed to turn the game into a shoot-out with junior running back Shen Butler-Lawson running for 100 yds and two touchdowns. Even for his performance and putting the team on his back, the Georgia native talks about how it was not him doing it alone.

“It felt good to go out there during homecoming and defend the Blake. I had a great day running the ball, but I couldn’t have done it without the guy’s up front and my teammates. Giving me the time to find an opening at the line and running through,” said Butler-Lawson

This week the team heads up north to the Twin Cities for a showdown against the Concordia-Saint Paul, Golden Bears on Saturday at noon. The last time the Mavericks made the journey to Sea Foam Stadium was in 2019, where the Mavericks put on an impressive display that led to a 29-3 victory courtesy of the defense holding the Golden Bears scoreless until late in the fourth quarter. This time around, they look to seek another win against the Golden Bears to continue to rise in the divisional standings after falling to fourth place.

As for their host the Golden Bears, they look for their first win of the season and have yet to beat the Mavericks since 2010. Last week, they would fall to Wayne State and trail for the majority of the contest. This week they look to close out their homecoming week with an upset over the Mavericks in front of the fans in the metro area.

The Golden Bears have not won a  single win this year, however, the Mavericks are treating them as if this is a playoff team. The clear expectation is to be victorious, however, the saying is that it is never over until the clock hits zero. Regardless, Butler-Lawson and the Mavericks are not overlooking what is in front of them. 

“It’s the next game on the schedule, so it’s the biggest and most important game. We got to go in there with the same mentality regardless of the record or game they previously had. We need to treat every game as if we are 1-0 and looking to get another win under our belt” Butler Lawson said.

Header Photo: The last time the Mavericks made the journey to Sea Foam Stadium was in 2019. They are set to play this Saturday, Sept. 10. at noon. (Dylan Engel/The Reporter)

Write to Charlie Groebner at Charles.Groebner@mnsu.edu