A long field goal that hit the upright and bounced back. Three turnovers but no points to show for them. No first downs on four fourth-down attempts and only 6 of 16 on third-down conversions. Nine penalties for 90 yards.
Missed opportunities and mistakes doomed the Minnesota State football team Saturday and will likely cause a restless night as the Mavericks await the NCAA tournament selections.
“Very unfortunate day,” coach Todd Hoffner said. “We didn’t make enough plays to win a football game.”
Minnesota Duluth dominated the second half and won 33-21 in a Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference football game at Blakeslee Stadium. The Bulldogs kept alive their longshot hopes of getting into the postseason, while the Mavericks may have lost a chance to join the playoff field and certainly won’t host a game.
“We’ll see what happens tomorrow,” quarterback Hayden Ekern said.
After a scoreless first quarter, in which Minnesota State caused two turnovers and a field goal attempt from 53 yards hit halfway up the post, the Mavericks made their first drive into a stiff wind. Ekern rushed five straight times to start the drive, and he ended it with a 6-yard touchdown run.
Duluth answered on a 44-yard pass.
The Mavericks scored again, with Ekern connecting on a 32-yard score with TreShawn Watson to rebuild a 14-7 lead. But again, Duluth matched the score on a short run.
However, in the final seconds of the half, the Mavericks tried to run out the clock. Duluth used its timeouts, and there were a couple of penalties on Minnesota State. On fourth-and-27 at their own 21 with 5 seconds to go, the Mavericks tried an outside run, and the back was pushed out of bounds with 1 second to go.
Duluth kicked a 39-yard field goal to lead 17-14 and grab all the momentum.
“We ran a play that usually takes at least 5 seconds,” Hoffner said. “We should have punted, but I was concerned about a return. I was concerned about them blocking it.”
With the lead and the wind, the Bulldogs dominated the third quarter, outgaining the Mavericks 114-33. Duluth scored on its first drive of the second quarter, set up by a long punt return, and kicked a field goal late to go ahead 27-13.
The Mavericks grabbed some hope midway through the fourth quarter, scoring on a 19-yard run by Ekern that made it 27-21. The defense needed a stop, but a mix-up in the secondary allowed Duluth to score on a 62-yard pass for a two-score lead.
“We just didn’t execute our plays,” Ekern said. “I take a lot of the blame for that. I have to be better.”
Ekern passed for 232 yards and rushed for 61 yards.
The defense forced four fumbles and recovered three. Linebacker Dakota Smith, who made 12 tackles, forced one fumble and recovered two. Shawn Brodie blocked a field goal.
“Disappointing is an understatement,” Smith said. “It’s testament to the standards in this program. Our goal is to win championships.”
The Mavericks (9-2) will find out Sunday if they get a spot in the NCAA field. The playoffs begin on Saturday, Nov. 18.
“(In the last two yeas), we’ve played 24 games, with 12 at Blakeslee,” Hoffner said. “We’ve won 11 of those 12 games, but we needed to win the 12th to ensure a playoff spot and have a home game. In the big picture, we’ve played a lot of good football games (at Blakeslee) in the last two years, but today wasn’t one of them.”
Follow Chad Courrier on Twitter @ChadCourrier.