Minnesota State Mankato thumps Winona State in battle of unbeatens

Minnesota State Mankato limited Winona State to two first-quarter field goals and forced six turnovers to earn a 27-6 victory in the showdown between unbeaten NSIC teams in Mankato on Saturday afternoon.

The victory gave the Maverick (9-0, 5-0 NSIC South), ranked No. 3 in the AFCA Division II poll, sole possession of first place in the NSIC South and dropped the No. 10-ranked Warriors (8-1, 4-1) to second.

Evan Perrizo returned a fumble 12 yards for a touchdown early in the second quarter to give the Mavericks a 13-6 lead. Shane Zylstra's 28-yard TD reception in the third quarter made it 23-6.

The Mavericks recovered two fumbles and intercepted four passes while holding Winona to 17 yards rushing.

Northern State 21, St. Cloud State 16: Northern State scored three touchdowns in a six-minute span to take an early 21-0 lead and then held off the host Huskies. Hunter Trautman, a redshirt freshman from St. Francis, threw two TD passes and Noah MacPherson returned a Huskies fumble 53 yards for a TD for the Wolves (4-5, 3-2 NSIC North). The Huskies pulled within 21-16 with 3 minutes, 12 seconds left on a 30-yard TD pass from Dwayne Lawhorn to Anthony Carver. The Huskies' two-point conversion failed. The Wolves recovered the onside kick and ran out the clock to end the three-game win streak of the Huskies (6-3, 3-2).

Minot State 42, Minn.-Crookston 35: Larry Overstreet's 7-yard TD run with 18 seconds remaining lifted the visiting Beavers past the Golden Eagles. Joseph Nava passed for 241 yards and five TDs for the Golden Eagles.

Upper Iowa 31, SW Minnesota State 20: Ryan Parmely rushed for 250 yards and Kyle Domin for 111 and each scored two TDs to help the host Peacocks end a nine-game losing streak to the Mustangs. Boyer Bouman passed for 278 yards and three TDs for the Mustangs.

Eureka 40, St. Scholastica 34: LeAnthony Reasnover rushed 53 times for a school-record 355 yards to help host Eureka outlast the Saints and move into a tie for the conference lead. The Saints (7-2, 7-1 UMAC) scored a TD with 59 seconds left, but the Red Devils recovered the ensuing onside kick.

Martin Luther 44, Crown 28: Ian Paulsen ran for 132 yards and a TD and threw a TD pass to lead the Knights past the host Storm.

Northwestern (St. Paul) 21, Minn.-Morris 14: The Eagles (5-4, 5-3) scored 21 points in the fourth quarter to rally for the victory over the host Cougars (1-8, 1-7).