MANKATO, Minn. – Minnesota State scored on five straight possessions on the way 35-17 win over Northern State in a battle of unbeaten teams on Saturday afternoon.
The Wolves scored first, however the hosts found their offense and scored 28 second-quarter points to fuel the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference football victory.
“We competed today. The result wasn’t what we wanted,” said NSU coach Mike Schmidt. “We’re disappointed, but we competed and played hard. We’re a good team. We lost to a really good team. I’m excited to watch how we respond to this loss.”
The Wolves took the opening kick and drove 75 yards in 10 plays, capping the possession with a Hank Kraft 25-yard touchdown run.
After both squads traded empty possessions, the Mavericks began to roll. They scored on the first play of the second quarter, the first of four TDs in the period. Minnesota State then scored again in third quarter extending its lead to 25 points and the Wolves were unable to recover.
“You won’t win any games giving up scores in five straight possessions. We needed to find stops and that’s on me,” Schmidt said. “We need more answers defensively. We eventually found our footing, but it was too late.”
Northern received a 35-yard field goal from Jeremy Caruso in the second quarter. Ty Engelhart tossed a 4-yard TD pass to Gavin Giesler late in the third quarter, but the Wolves were unable to get any closer.
Northern was hampered with three interceptions in the contest, all coming in the fourth quarter, the last inside the Mavericks’ red zone.
Minnesota State finished with just 84 more yards of offense, but made the plays when it needed to.
“This game was about execution. We knew that coming in,” Schmidt said. “They executed in some important moments and won some critical 1 on 1s. Credit them for playing and coaching a really good game.”
Kraft rushed for 154 yards and had 32 yards receiving.
“Not that he had to, but Hank proved today he’s truly one of the most talented running backs in D2 football,” Schmidt said. “He’s a special player. We need to have him healthy and fresh, because it’s a lot of fun watching him play right now.”
Jake Adams led the Wolves defense with 15 tackles, and Cooper Logan contributed 10.
The Wolves, 3-1 on the season, are home for back-to-back games at Dacotah Bank Stadium starting at 2:30 p.m. Saturday on Gypsy Days against Mary. NSU then hosts Bemidji State before heading to Minnesota Duluth.
“We have a big three-game stretch of NSIC North games before our bye week. It starts at home for two, before heading up to Duluth,” Schmidt said. “We have to respond next week in front of our home fans for Gypsy Days against a really tough UMary team.”
To see a complete box score, click on the following link:
https://nsuwolves.com/sports/football/stats/2026/minnesota-state/boxscore/14642
