MANKATO — Two-yard run, 5-yard run, 3-yard run.
It seemed for most of the game, the Minnesota State football team was content to pound the ball into the middle, leaning on a veteran offensive line to control the clock and field position against a defense that was committed to stopping the run
But when Wayne State started creeping up, the Mavericks struck downfield.
“I have faith in the coaches’ game plan,” receiver TreShawn Watson said. “It’s not a matter of if, it’s when. You have to stay patient, and sooner or later, you’ll get a chance.”
The Mavericks dominated the second half and defeated Wayne State 31-15 in a Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference football game Saturday at Blakeslee Stadium.
The game drew 6,209 fans, the seventh-largest crowd in Blakeslee Stadium history.
“When the fans get going, we get going,” said cornerback Khai West, who made two interceptions.
Both teams missed a field goal on their first drive, and the Mavericks faced a first down at their own 10 late in the first quarter. Hayden Ekern saw Mason Perich on a fly route, connecting with the freshman receiver on a 90-yard scoring play. Matthew Jaeger’s PAT put the Mavericks up 7-0.
West’s interception stopped Wayne’s next drive, and Ekern cashed in with a 9-yard touchdown pass to tight end Aiden Ferguson for a 14-0 lead.
Wayne came back with a 69-yard touchdown run, but on the first play of the next series, Shen Butler-Lawson broke a 60-yard run into the red zone. It took seven runs to cover the final 12 yards, converting once on fourth down, but Butler-Lawson scored on a 1-yard run for a 21-7 lead at halftime.
The Mavericks scored first in the second half, going 88 yards in eight plays, with Watson catching a 9-yard pass from Ekern in the corner of the end that was deflected by the cornerback.
“I really trust Hayden’s ball placement,” said Watson, who also had a 58-yard reception in the drive. “He gave me the look so I knew it was coming my way. We just got together and got the touchdown.”
Wayne scored to make it 28-14 and was driving to cut the deficit even more. There was a first down at the Minnesota State 6, but the defense stuffed four runs and took over at the 2.
“You just have to stay level headed and stay with the program,” West said. “Everybody was executing their jobs.”
The offense responded with a big-boy drive that went 98 yards in 15 plays, taking 8:14 off the clock. The drive ended with Jaeger’s 22-yard field goal.
“We converted some big third downs on that drive,” coach Todd Hoffner said. “They knew what we wanted to do, and Hayden really delivered. It was so predictable; we wanted to run some time off the clock.
“But we kept moving the chains.”
The Mavericks had the ball for more than 20 minutes of the 30-minute second half. Minnesota State rushed for 230 yards and passed for 288 yards, with nearly twice the possession time of Wayne State.
Minnesota State converted 10 of 17 third-down plays and are 20 of 31 in third-down conversions through two games.
Butler-Lawson ended with 152 yards, and Watson made six catches for 111 yards. Perich alsoi had 103 yards in receptions as Ekern completed 12 of 22 passes.
TaeVyn Grixby led the defense with six tackles, and Maven Kretche and Caleb Paulus each had one sack.
“Wayne had the ball inside our 8 twice and came away with zero points,” Hoffner said. “That’s the ballgame.”
The Mavericks (2-0) are on the road at Minot State on Saturday.
Follow Chad Courrier on Twitter @ChadCourrier.