Article

Football Goes West, Wins Second Straight Stunner

Down 17 shortly before halftime, Matlock's record return sparks second half comeback.

by Kaleb Roedel
Issue date: 11/7/06 Section: Mens Sports

Down 17-0 to host Central Washington late in the first half, the Minnesota State football team appeared to be overmatched, outdone and maybe even a little jetlagged. Looking for any kind of a spark, the Mavericks received one in the form of a school-record breaking 100-yard kick return touchdown from Melvin Matlock. The return touchdown ignited a 33-point outburst as MSU topped CWU 33-17 Saturday in Ellensburg, Wash.

"It was a great win for the program," said head coach Jeff Jamrog. "A road win in the NCC is tough and this was a team that was seventh in the region."

Central Washington opened the contest with Will Bennett punching in a one-yard run. CWU tacked onto the lead with three more points coming off of Garrett Rolsma's 25-yard field goal to push the advantage to 10-0 early in the second quarter.

In the second quarter, the Mavericks still didn't have an answer for the Wildcat offense as Mike Reilly fired a 14-yard touchdown pass to Josh Boonstra, extending CWU's lead to 17-0.

But then came the 'table-turn' as the ensuing Maverick possession yielded only one play, Matlock's kick return touchdown. After freshman Ben Spencer connected on the extra point, the Mavericks chopped the gap to 17-7 going into halftime.

"That was a huge momentum swing," Jamrog said. "It gave our team momentum going into the second half."

In the second half, the Mavericks rode that momentum and never looked back.

The half was initiated with senior quarterback Ben King needling a throw to Josh Bryant for a 60-yard touchdown, cutting the deficit to 17-13 after a missed extra point. Following an interception by Allen King, Ben King stayed in the groove as he hooked up with Dan Smedberg for an 8-yard touchdown, capping a five-play, 33-yard drive and giving MSU a 20-17 edge heading into the final frame.

And when the fourth quarter came around, the offensive onslaught and defensive domination by MSU continued.

Julian Phipps snuck in a one-yard touchdown run to extend the gap to 26-17. The Wildcats, however, seemed well on their way to responding as Reilly conducted a drive landing CWU on the MSU 25. But on third-and-10 Reilly was picked off once again by Allen King, setting up the Mavericks ensuing scoring drive that ended in a 13-yard touchdown throw from Ben King to Tyrell Smith, giving the Mavericks the game-ending 33-17 lead.

"(Ben) King had an excellent day," Coach Jamrog expressed. "He didn't have any turnovers. And our defense had three interceptions. Anytime you go plus-three in turnovers you're going to win some football games."

Ben King finished the day completing 34-of-46 passes for 433 yards and three touchdowns. Bryan Dalton caught 10 passes for 144 yards, while Bryant added eight catches for 120 yards.

Three Mavericks rank in the Division II top-10 in their respective statistical categories. King ranks fifth in Division II in total yards of offense per game with 289.1, Daulton's 6.5 receptions per game place him tenth and Matlock is fourth in kickoff return average with 32.3.

MSU returns home for their season finale Saturday. Kickoff is scheduled for noon from Blakeslee Stadium.

Kaleb Roedel is a Reporter staff writer