Football Wins Season Opener 41-26 Over Southwest Minnesota State

Thursday, August 31

Marshall, MN

7 p.m.

St. Cloud State

1-0 , 1-0

Southwest Minnesota State University

0-1 , 0-1

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

St. Cloud State

Southwest Minnesota

Joe Blando

Photo by: Greg Devereaux

Football Wins Season Opener 41-26 Over Southwest Minnesota State

8/31/2017 9:58:00 PM | Football

Box Score

MARSHALL, Minn. – Sophomore Joe Blando picked up 38 carries for 163 yards and two touchdowns to lead the St. Cloud State's football (1-0) to a 41-26 victory over Southwest Minnesota State (0-1) at Mattke Field at the Schwan Regional Event Center on Thursday, Aug. 31. The Huskies were able to surge past the Mustangs by a 24-0 margin in the second half to take control of the game and get their first lead in the contest.

It was the first 100-yard rushing performance of Blando's career. His 38 carries were one off the school record. Junior Gregory Lewis totaled eight carries for 62 yards. Sophomore John Solberg tallied seven catches for 103 yards. Sophomore Dwayne Lawhorn was 18-for-29 for 217 yards and a touchdown. Senior Jerry Duckworth tallied nine tackles to lead the defense. Fellow senior Gary Koehring recorded eight tackles. The team totaled four sacks from Brady Westart, junior Jack Horter, junior Ferris Ingraham plus half a sacks from sophomore Graham Miller and junior Jake Schley.

The Mustangs scored on the opening possession as they marched down the field on a nine play, 87-yard drive that was finished off on a Blake Gimbel's 13-yard touchdown pass to Max Simmons. The extra point was no good to keep the score at 6-0 with 12:16 remaining in the first quarter.

The Huskies cut the deficit in half with freshman Adam Stage knocking in a 38-yard field goal to finish off a 12 play, 62-yard drive that took up 5:59 on the clock.

SMSU extended the advantage on the ensuing drive on a seven play, 75-yard drive that culminated on a Gimbel eight-yard touchdown pass to Nate Huot. The extra point by Skyler Crew was good to make the score 13-3 with 1:15 remaining in the first quarter.

The Huskies opened the second quarter with a 16-yard touchdown pass from Lawhorn to junior Sam Hartman to complete the eight play, 66-yard drive. The Stage extra point was good to put the score at 13-10 Southwest Minnesota State with 12:22 remaining in the second stanza.

The Mustangs picked up a defensive touchdown by Hunter Cushman, who returned the interception 68 yards for a score, to increase the margin. The extra point was no good to keep the margin at 19-10 with 7:37 remaining in the first half.

SCSU muscled up for a 12 play, 86-yard drive that was finished off on a two-yard rushing touchdown from Blando with 1:42 remaining before the break. The Stage extra point was good to put the score at 19-17.

In what was shaping up as a high scoring contest, SMSU picked up another touchdown before the break with Simmons diving in from the goal line to finish off an eight play, 75-yard drive. The Crew extra point was good to put the Mustangs up 26-17 right before the half.

SCSU started the second half with a long productive drive that ended on a Stage 30-yard field goal. The drive covered 14 plays and 56-yards and made the score 26-20 with 8:57 to go in the third quarter.

The Huskies kept the momentum going and took the lead for the first time in the start of the fourth quarter as Blando powered in from two-yards out to finish off the 15 play, 67-yard drive. The made extra point from Stage gave SCSU a 27-26 lead with 14:53 to go in the fourth quarter.

SCSU again used a strong ground attack to rumble down the field and score another touchdown on a two-yard rush from Lewis to complete an eight play, 73-yard drive that covered 4:14 of clock time. The Stage extra point was true to give SCSU a 34-26 advantage with 9:33 remaining.

The Huskies' defense got into the scoring next with senior Carvel Graham picking off a pass from Gimbel and taking it 42-yards to pay dirt with 7:08 to remain in the contest. The Stage extra point was again good to put SCSU up 41-26 in what would be the final margin.

St. Cloud State now returns home to take on Winona State on Saturday, Sept. 9, at 6 p.m. at Husky Stadium.

Notes: St. Cloud State had a 100-rusher and receiver in a game for the first time since Jaden Huff ran for 126 and Nate Meyer ran for 109 plus Jameson Parsons caught passes for 115 yards against Winona State (9/26/15)…The Huskies are now 17-2 all-time against Southwest Minnesota State…The program improves to 5-5 all-time under head coach Scott Underwood in season opening games.