Sam Thiel/Winonan

Entering the weekend, the Winona State University football team was riding a five-game winning streak. Unfortunately, they drew the wrong card for their next opponent, falling to No. 1 Minnesota State 44-10 Saturday, Oct. 26 in Mankato.

Battling strong winds, quarterback Jack Nelson still found success getting the ball downfield, finishing with a 53.3 percent completion rate (16-of-30) as well as 216 passing yards and one touchdown. He was able to connect with five different receivers but also was sacked nine times by the hungry Maverick defense.

“We just had an off day against a very good defense,” Nelson said. “We will get back to work on Tuesday and move forward from there.”

The Mavericks claimed a quick 20-0 advantage, posting a 52-yard strike from Jon Wolf to Austin Rieder and a Wolf scoring run in the first quarter. Dennis Carter took a punt return to the end zone to give MSU a three-touchdown lead early in the second.

Winona State would get its only touchdown of the day late in the first half, with Nelson finding Alan May for a seven-yard score.

The scoring drive included a 58-yard strike to Tony Mueller to cut the deficit to 20-7. The Mavericks kicked a field goal to end the first half, taking a 23-7 at the break.

MSU started the second half right where it left off, getting a touchdown on its first drive of the second half to increase its lead to 30-7. Winona State came back with a lengthy drive of its own, but could only come up with a 28-yard field goal by Brett Cochran-Bray.

The Mavericks tacked on two scores in the fourth quarter to make the score 44-10 and put the game out of reach.

Cameron Johnson led the Winona State receiving core with five receptions for 86 yards while Chichi Ojika had four catches for 19 yards. Mueller and May each chipped in three catches as well for the Warriors.

The Warriors’ running game couldn’t seem to find a hole in the Maverick defense, Ojika leading the way with only 22 yards.

On the defensive end, Matt Splon racked up nine tackles, while Ryan Gerts and Patrick Lazzara had eight apiece.

Splon forced a fumble in the first quarter that Gerts picked up, but it would be MSU’s only turnover of the game.

Winona State (5-3 overall, 3-1 NSIC South) will hit the field next when it travels to Marshall to face Southwest Minnesota State Saturday, Nov. 2.

Contact Sam at [email protected]