Erin Cochran/Winonan

Winona State University earned a 47-20 victory over the Southwest Minnesota State Mustangs Saturday at the Verizon Wireless Stadium.

The Warriors defense came out strong from the first play and the offense capitalized on their talent to run the ball.

Rayon Simmons broke yet another Winona State record in the first, as he became the school’s top scorer with 54 touchdowns in his collegiate career.

The score was tied until a John Teigland connection to Tyler Speer, gave the Warriors a 14-7 lead at the half.

“We were for sure fired up at half,” said Teigland. “We knew we left some points in the first half but overall we were really happy with our offense moving pretty consistently and the defense doing what they do best.”

“These guys have heard every “rah-rah” speech in the books so they know how to get pumped and ready to deliver out there,” said head coach Tom Sawyer. “I barely need to say anything in that locker room because the leadership is tremendous and they know how to take care of each other. Good things happen we things are set up right and they know that.”

“Coach just urged us to keep going and go hard,” said Turrell Foster. “Once you get us going we just can’t be stopped and it showed in this game. When you have the right game plan and run the necessary plays you get that confidence in you on the field. Coach always tells us to just play reckless, have fun and go off the plan but the edge as well.”

Simmons and Chichi Ojika both had dropped passes but didn’t let that affect the rest of the games.

“With the maturity of our group, we know we will have success and a small fumble wont set us back,” said Teigland. “You just have to move on.”

In the third, Alex Jensen scored on a six-yard pass and after a forced safety, and Josh Mikes scored to bring the Warriors’ lead to 30-7.

Early in the fourth, Jensen scored his second touchdown of the night on a 20 yard run.

Jake Vercher solidified his kicks all night but impressed with a 39-yard field goal in the third.

The Mustangs scored in the fourth but with a recovered on side kick, Bryan Bradshaw scored from five yards out to bring the final score 47-20.

“Bradshaw did exactly what we wanted him to,” said Sawyer. “He gives the game and this team another dimension. He is just an overall great athlete and that’s a man I love seeing on the field instead of standing next to me on the sidelines.”

Entering the game, Southwest Minnesota State averaged 414 rushing yards but were held to just 80 yards and were forced to punt eight times.

Teigland passed for 259 yards, with a career-best of four, completing 16-of-23 passes.

“We just have to get the step on the defender and run the simple routes we’ve done all through practices,” said Teigland. “That’s how you win a football game.”

Speer lead the Warriors offense, competing six passes for 91 yards.

“I played against Tyler Peschong (SMSU Quarterback) in high school so there was still a little rivalry there from those days,” said Teigland. “He was first round all-conference while I was second round so it feels good to play well against him today. I bet my stats looked pretty good and it was without doing anything that special so that’s just an extra confidence booster from this game.”

Jared Mitchell, Chris Norgaard, Ryan Williams and Morgan Weaver each had six tackles, while Foster added two  of his own.

“This defense is known for being great,” said Saywer. “There was a couple of dropped balls here and there and some missed potentials on their part but these guys are potent and they know how to attack it and make the necessary plays.”

“This win helps our confidence from last week,” said Jensen. “Hopefully we can get in the playoffs because right now even with more regular season games that’s for sure what we want and are working towards.”

“Right now we are playing with a “pissed off” attitude,” said Teigland. “We definitely have our swagger back from last week’s loss. We are so hungry and though this win feels great we should be winning these games. There’s no excuse because we know what needs to be done. We are focusing on making strides each week and make it to that 12th game.”

Overall, Winona State gained 566 yards.

The Warriors are now 7-2 overall in regular and NSIC play.

The team will travel this weekend to Sioux Falls, South Dakota to take on the Augustana College Vikings. Kickoff is at 1 p.m.

To get more inside scoop with head coach Tom Sawyer himself, join him every Thursday during the season at the Riverport Hotel at noon.

To get more information about Winona State football visit www.winonastatewarriors.com.

Contact Erin at [email protected].