Kilat Fitzgerald/Winonan
The Winona State University football team lost its last game of the season on Saturday afternoon against Southwest Minnesota State University 33-28 in Marshall, Minn.
Junior running back Paul Preston led the way for the Warriors, rushing for a career-high 137 yards on 17 attempts to average 8.1 yards per rush.
Junior quarterback Jack Nelson ended the first half completing 20 of his 25 pass attempts for 210 yards and a score.
Though the second quarter ended in a tied score of 21-21, the Mustangs managed to run out the clock with a final score of 33-28, leaving the Warriors with their second consecutive losing season.
“Changes just need to be made in the offseason,” wide receiver Justin Bergeron said. “We’re so close in a lot of games, it shows we can play with anyone in Division II. I think it just needs to come from our offseason. Just the little things like discipline, penalties and really just kind of beating ourselves over and over again.”
The first score of the game was made by Eric Birth, making a 3-yard run at the 7:09 mark of the game. The Mustangs then responded with a 100-yard return on the following kickoff to establish a 14-7 lead.
In the early stages of the second quarter, Carter McCauley shattered his own record yet again with a 59-yard field goal, cutting the deficit 14-10, and later added another field goal from 42 yards away to bring it 14-13. His previous record was 54 yards, both of which marked as the longest kicks in Winona State history.
Nelson recorded his lone touchdown of the day with a seven-yard strike to junior wide receiver Cameron Johnson with four ticks on the game clock to end the first half tied with Southwest at 21 apiece.
A pair of touchdowns by the Mustangs in the third quarter increased their lead 33-21. Cameron Johnson would later make a second touchdown to cut into the Mustang lead with a score of 33-28, but the Warriors failed to score again and claim the victory.
Nelson finished with 276 passing yards on 25-of-36 completed passes and threw two touchdowns and an interception. Nelson ends his junior season with multiple records in a single season by a quarterback, passing for 3,570 yards and 256 completions – both ranked No. 1 – while a completion percentage of 60.8 finishes in a third place tie.
Johnson and senior wideout Josh Mikes combined for a total of 17 receptions and 237 yards to lead the receiving core.
On defense, senior Jeff Brown and junior Austin Opfer were credited for solo sacks. Sophomore defensive back Nick Taylor had an interception.
The Warriors end their football season with five wins and six losses.
