MARSHALL, Minn. – The Winona State football team fell to Southwest Minnesota State 33-28 in the season finale Saturday afternoon at Mattke Field in Marshall, Minnesota.

The Warriors (5-6) were led by running back Paul Preston, who racked up a career-high 137 yards on 17 carries for a terrific 8.1 yards per carry.

Jack Nelson was 20-of-25 passing for 210 yards and a touchdown – a seven-yard connection to Cameron Johnson with four seconds remaining – in the first half as the Warriors were even with the Mustangs at 21-21 after 30 minutes.

Eric Birth scored first for the Warriors with a 3-yard run with 7:09 to play in the game. The Mustangs answered right back with a 100-yard return on the ensuing kickoff for a 14-7 lead.

Early in the second quarter, Carter McCauley put the exclamation point on a phenomenal season, breaking his own school record yet again, this time blasting a 59-yard field goal – shattering his previous best of 54 – to cut the deficit to 14-10. He'd later hit another from 42 yards out to make it 14-13.

The Mustangs scored a pair of touchdowns in the third quarter to extend their lead to 33-21 after a pair of unsuccessful PATs, and Johnson's second touchdown of the day was not enough, as the Warriors came up short with the 33-28 final.

Nelson – who had just 66 yards passing in the second half – finished the day 25-of-36 for 276 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. Nelson's junior season will go down as statistically the best ever by a Warrior, as his 3,570 passing yards and 256 completions rank number one, while his 60.8 completion percentage is tied for the third most accurate season  by a Warrior signal caller.

WSU wide receivers had another big day, as Johnson and senior Josh Mikes combined for 17 catches and 237 yards.

Andrew Spencer recorded a game-high 12 tackles, while Mike Imperiale, Dylan Thill and Lauden Wood each had 10.

Senior Jeff Brown and Austin Opfer each had solo sacks, while Nick Taylor had an interception.