Northwest Missouri State football drops top 25 matchup to Minnesota State
By Calvin Silvers
On Thursday night, the No. 22-ranked Northwest Missouri State Bearcats hosted the No. 13-ranked Minnesota State Mavericks in Maryville, Missouri, in a Top-25 matchup. Northwest had not dropped a season opener since 2010, but the Mavericks ended that streak, leaving with a 36-22 victory.
It was all Mavericks to begin, as quarterback Hayden Ekern rallied his troops on their opening possession, going 71 yards and capping it off with a six-yard quarterback rollout. A successful two-point conversion gave Minnesota State an 8-0 lead.
Roughly 13 minutes of game clock would run before the Mavericks found the endzone for their second touchdown. It was the second drive that resulted in more than 70 yards, and was capped off by another Ekern run, this time on a designed quarterback keeper from 14 yards out.
Minnesota State would settle for the extra point, giving them a 15-0 lead. Another Ekern touchdown run would follow five minutes later, propelling the Mavericks to a 22-0 lead.
Northwest found themselves on the Mavericks’ 13-yard line with 1:12 remaining before halftime, but running back Jadon Brady fumbled, resulting in Minnesota State running out the clock, satisfied with the 22-0 lead.
The Mavericks jumped out to a 29-0 lead before a bad Maverick snap on a punt resulted in the ball rolling out the back of the endzone for a safety. Northwest took over on the ensuing free kick and drove 61 yards. Bearcats’ quarterback Chris Ruhnke found Andrew Bradley standing alone in the end zone, cutting the lead to 29-9 with 3:05 left in the third.
The Bearcat defense would add to the comeback efforts with Tre’on Jones tallying an interception in the end zone in the fourth quarter. In the next play, Rhunke would waste no time cutting the lead, threading a needle between two defenders to connect with Luke Matthews, taking it 80 yards, and cutting the Minnesota State lead to 29-15.
Another bad snap during a Mavericks’ punt set the Bearcats up on the Mavericks’ 13-yard line, and Northwest only needed one play to find the endzone, with Ruhnke finding Tank Young in the end zone for a 13-yard touchdown with 10:53 remaining.
The Mavericks withstood the comeback with Ekern using his fourth touchdown run of the game to clinch the road win. The Mavericks totaled 218 rushing yards and added 205 yards through the air, posting 423 yards of total offense.
Northwest had a rough day on the ground, held to minus 17 yards rushing, but notched 268 passing yards. Northwest’s Chris Ruhnke passed for a career-high on 15-of-24 attempts. He connected on three touchdown throws.
Northwest will travel to the University of Nebraska-Kearney next Saturday. Kick is set for 7 p.m. in Kearney, Neb.
