Sam Thiel/Winonan

The Winona State University football team fell to Southwest Minnesota State 51-44 in overtime Saturday, Nov. 2, in Marshall, Minn.

Jack Nelson put up impressive numbers, finding his receivers 40 of the 59 times he passed for a total of 425 yards and three scores. Nelson is only the third player in school history to record over 400 yards passing in a game, with Saturday’s total just 23 yards shy of the program record.

Winona State posted 701 total yards of offense on the game, making it the second year in a row that the Warriors have surpassed 700 total offensive yards in a game.

Tony Mueller was Nelson’s main receiver, grabbing 11 total passes (a career-high) while also recording 130 receiving yards and a score. Cameron Johnson chipped in nine catches for 98 yards and a couple of touchdowns to add to the Warrior cause.

The ground game for the Warriors was also great, netting 276 yards rushing. Chichi Ojika rushed for 190 yards and a touchdown, the fifth 100-yard game of the season for Ojika and the third game of at least 180 yards. Freshman Paul Preston chipped in 80 yards on ten attempts on the ground for the Warriors.

Ojika’s 190 yards on the ground gives him 1,019 in total for the season, making it the fourth season in a row that a Warrior has rushed for over 1,000 yards.

Jordan Kos recorded the first two scores of the day for the Warriors, finding his way to the end zone from one yard away on the Warriors’ first possession, he added an eight yard touchdown five minutes later to give Winona State a 13-0 advantage. The Warriors’ first score came on its first play on the offensive side of the contest after Ojika ran the opening kickoff 89 yards to the SMSU one-yard line.

The Mustangs answered back with a couple of scores of their own to knot the game up at 13 halfway through the second quarter. The Warriors reclaimed the lead with 9:51 to go in the half with Nelson finding Johnson for the one-yard touchdown.

Each squad found the end zone one more time before the break with SMSU quarterback Charlie Kern connecting with Anthony Dean for a 68-yard strike. Winona State answered back with another score, with a Nelson to Johnson connection good for 23 yards, giving the Warriors a 27-19 lead at the half.

The Mustangs tied the game right away in the third quarter, picking up a Johnson fumble and taking it 25 yards the other way for the touchdown.

The Warriors answered once again with Nelson connecting with Mueller for the score, but SMSU scored two minutes later to tie the game up at 34 after three quarters of play.

A six-yard score by Tyler Tonderum gave the Mustangs a 41-34 advantage with 5:34 remaining in the game, but the Warriors tied things right back up at 41 thanks to a 72-yard score by Ojika.

Both teams tacked on field goals in the closing moments of regulation, with Winona State’s Brett Cochran-Bray putting the ball through the uprights from 21 yards away with just six seconds to go to force an extra period.

The Mustangs were able to net a touchdown during their possession of the extra period, but the Warriors couldn’t find the back of the end zone on their possession, with Nelson throwing an interception on fourth down to end the game.

Ryan Gerts paved the path for the Winona State defense with 11 total tackles, and AJ Shipp recorded six and broke up three passes. Morgan Weaver and Patrick Lazzara added six tackles apiece with Anthony Frisby posting a sack for the Warriors.

Winona State University (5-4 overall) will play host to Augustana in its final home contest of the season this Saturday, Nov. 9. Kick-off is set for 1 p.m.

Contact Sam at [email protected]