MANKATO – The Minnesota State football team had its bye last week, but the Mavericks didn’t take the week off.
There were weight-lifting sessions and padded practices. It was physical, reminding the players that there were still four weeks left in the regular season.
“It wasn’t a bye week,” said senior cornerback Jason Dandridge, showing off a cast on his left hand that came from a practice last week. “It was a grind week.”
Dandridge got things started with an interception return for a touchdown, and the offense found its groove in the second half, rolling over Wayne State 35-0 in a Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference football game Saturday at Blakeslee Stadium.
“I’m really proud of our players, and the coaches did a great job of putting our players in position to make the plays,” coach Todd Hoffner said. “Our players really wanted this one, and it showed on the scoreboard.”
The No. 5-rated Mavericks were struggling on offense in the first quarter. After getting a pass intercepted inside the 10, the Mavericks’ defense came through. Dandridge stepped in front of an out pattern, made the interception and returned it 15 yards for the touchdown. Connor Fournier’s PAT made it 7-0 late in the first quarter.
It was the second interception for Dandridge, the 13th for the team and the third returned for a touchdown. It was only the second interception thrown this season by Wayne State.
“We talk every week about turnovers,” Dandridge said. “Our goal is three every week. We didn’t get that many today, but that’s our goal. It all starts with the defensive line. Everybody was just doing their job.”
Early in the second quarter, Matt Maldonado, the Mavericks’ primary kickoff guy, boomed a 47-yard field goal, into the wind. It was his first field goal of the season.
Fournier added a 28-yard field goal to extend the lead with 7:42 remaining in the second quarter, but then he missed from 25 at the end of the half to keep it at 13-0.
“It doesn’t matter what the score is or who the opponent is,” sophomore center Magnus Wright said. “We expect every opponent to give us their best. We just had to get some momentum back (in the second half). We had better body language (in the second half) and better hustle.”
The Mavericks gained some separation midway through the third quarter, scoring on Mitch Thompson’s 1-yard run. Thompson passed to Ishmael Emmanuel Holloway for the two-point conversion and a 21-0 lead.
Thompson scored again on a 22-yard run in the fourth quarter, and Carter Henderson capped the scoring with a 63-yard run that made it 35-0.
“To rush for (259) yards against that defense was exceptional,” Hoffner said. “The defense was stellar all day. Coach (Todd) Taylor did a phenomenal job to get his first shutout (as a coordinator). The players really played hard for him.”
Wayne State, which jumped into the national poll at No. 24 this week, didn’t run a play in Mavericks’ territory until late in the third quarter. That drive ended with a failed fourth-down attempt at the 21.
The Wildcats (6-2, 5-2 in Northern Sun) tried a field goal with 11 seconds to play, but Dandridge made the block that preserved the shutout. The Mavericks’ last shutout was a 52-0 win at Southwest Minnesota State on Nov. 11, 2021. The last home shutout was a 36-victory over Upper Iowa on Sept. 23, 2017.
The Mavericks gained 388 yards on offense and allowed just 177 yards, with 55 yards coming on the final possession. Henderson finished with 105 yards rushing, while Thompson rushed for 88 yards and passed for 104 yards.
“Every game is won or lost at the line of scrimmage,” Wright said. “If the offensive line is doing your job, you get 3 yards, then 3 yards … that’s how you set up all the long passes and the long runs.”
The Mavericks (8-0, 7-0) are on the road for their next game, taking on Southwest Minnesota State on Saturday at Marshall.