MANKATO, Minn. – No. 10 Winona State University had its undefeated season disrupted on Saturday afternoon by No. 3 Minnesota State University. The Warriors were limited to a season-low 233 yards in the 27-6 loss.
The Mavericks, who rank fourth in the country in scoring defense, also held WSU to its lowest scoring output of the year.
Winona got on the board first when Carter McCauley drilled his 50th career field goal to cap the opening drive of the game.
Mankato answered with a touchdown on its ensuing possession which prove to give the home team the lead for the remainder of the afternoon.
The Warriors engineered an 11-play 56-yard drive and appeared poised to take the lead, but Isaiah Frandsen couldn't come down with a third-down pass in the end zone and Winona settled for a field goal.
The WSU defense made a huge play late in the second quarter to halt another potential Maverick scoring drive. Andrew Spencer forced a fumble as Justin Arnold looked to cross the goal line for a touchdown which resulted in a touchback to give the Warriors a chance to add points before halftime.
WSU drove to the Maverick 30-yard line before Darren Beenken was intercepted and Mankato took a 17-6 lead into the break.
Beenken was intercepted twice on the day and sacked four times. MSU recorded a season-high four interceptions in the win.
The Warriors' ground game was shut down on Saturday to the tune of 17 total yards. The Mavericks rushed for 114 yards and netted 319 yards of total offense.
Winona did hold MSU's offense to a season-low scoring output as well, but it simply wasn't enough to overcome the Mavericks' stifling defensive effort to shut down the Warrior offense.
Mankato also successfully took Jake Balliu's explosive punt return abilities out of the equation, limiting him to just 53 returns yards on four punts.
Winona falls to 8-1 (4-1 NSIC South) with the loss while Mankato remains unbeaten at 9-0 (5-0 NSIC South).
The Warriors travel to Southwest Minnesota State next week for their final regular season road game of the year. Kickoff in Marshall, Minnesota is slated for 1 p.m.
