Fight for first: Mavericks vs Warriors for championship title
Minnesota State Football looks to face off in a historic series against Winona State as both teams compete for the conference championship Saturday.
Mankato is currently 37-19 overall against Winona, a matchup that dates back to 1923. Winona has the upper edge as they won last year on their home turf. They are currently on a four-game win streak and are leading the south division with a record of 5-0 and 8-2 overall in conference play.
Both the Mavericks and the Warriors have very similar narratives and both are competing for the conference championship. Mankato is also 8-2 and holds a four-game win streak. Both win streaks held by Mankato and Winona are against the same four opponents. Lastly, they are both undefeated at home with two losses on the road for each.
“There are some similarities but there are no two same teams anywhere, anyhow,” head coach, Todd Hoffner, said.
Winona has an elusive run game that currently averages 162 yards per game with 18 touchdowns on the season. This allows for the Warrior’s defense to rest up and do what it does best. Stop offenses. They on average hold teams to 16.2 points per game giving them the highest-ranked defense in the NSIC.
“We are going to do what we can to be successful against their defense, there’s a reason why they’re ranked number one,” Hoffner said.
Although they allegedly have the best defense, MSU is currently ranked higher than Winona according to the D2Football.com poll. Mankato holds the 14th spot for the second consecutive week while Winona found a way into the poll as they are now ranked 24th.
“This will be the fifth team that we play that was nationally ranked,” Hoffner said, “there’s only going to be about 170 plays in this game and we’ll send our best 11 players out there to defend Blakeslee and do our best to represent Minnesota State.”
There are several players who have managed to represent Mankato and contribute to the success of the team. Junior Shen Butler-Lawson currently has eight touchdowns and 653 rushing yards. Another offensive weapon is Senior wide receiver Nyles Williams who currently has 549 yards with six total touchdowns.
On the defensive side senior defensive back, Payton Conrad leads the Mavericks with 54 tackles while sophomore linebacker Jacob Daulton is close behind with 44 tackles and a pair of interceptions.
The game will take place in Blakeslee Stadium at noon where the conference champions will be decided.
“The chance to compete for a title on the last regular season game is something you can’t ask anything more of from a fan and from a student-athlete perspective,” Hoffner said. “Hopefully a lot of people show up and show out. Be loud and proud and represent Minnesota State.”
Header Photo: The Minnesota State football team will battle Winona State University at Blakeslee Stadium for the final regular season game on Saturday. Kick off is scheduled for 12 p.m. (Dylan Engel/The Reporter)
Write to Luke Jackson at Luke.Jackson@mnsu.edu