Article

Legends of the Fall

A record-setting return to the gridiron for Ben King makes him the Male Athlete of the Season.

by Kaleb Roedel
Issue date: 12/7/06 Section: Mens Sports

Coming into his senior season as Minnesota State's quarterback, Ben King had been winless against the University of South Dakota.

And this season when the two schools met up at Blakeslee Stadium, they appeared to be heading in opposite directions. The Mavericks were spiraling downward, having yet to win a league contest and on a five-game losing streak, while South Dakota sat atop the North Central Conference with a 5-0 record.

But with 40 completions, 505 yards and four touchdowns, Ben King helped deliver a knockout punch to USD in a 44-39 drama-laced bout in Blakeslee, ending in MSU tight end Jeff Fielder rumbling a recovered blocked field goal into the end zone as time expired.

"You'll always remember a game like that," King said. "I didn't really think of the success I was having during the game. We just kept moving the ball and scoring. In the

end, when the statistics came, yeah, I was pleased, but the look on the guys' faces in the locker room was the most rewarding thing."

King's production in the game etched him in the MSU record books as he set both completion (40) and yardage (505) records. He filed his name one more time in Minnesota State's season-ending 34-21 loss to Western Washington, where he set the mark for most passing-attempts with 64.

But the records, which King referred to as "a tribute to the entire team," weren't the reason he put on a Maverick uniform.

"Winning is the No. 1 thing," King said. "You hope that the wins come along with the stats. If not, then they're not a big deal."

Unfortunately for King and the Mavericks, the wins that mattered most - as in league wins - didn't come until the season's tail-end.

Following Minnesota State's upset of South Dakota for its first conference win, King flung for 433 yards and three touchdowns to conduct the Mavericks to a 33-17 come-from-behind victory over Western Washington.

In his final three games as a Maverick, King registered 1,273 yards and 10 touchdowns. During this stellar three-game stretch he was named the NCC Offensive Player of the Week twice as well as D2Football.com Player of the Week.

"Late in the year, he really started playing like we had hoped all along," said MSU head coach Jeff Jamrog. "He meant an awful lot to the team this season and his maturity and leadership grew."

Although his impressive 2006 numbers of 3,017 yards and 20 touchdowns outmatched all quarterbacks in the NCC, King looked back on the defeating of South Dakota as the season highlight.

"We came together as a team," said King in reference to the game. "When our backs were against the wall, we showed character and didn't give in. That was something special."

Kaleb Roedel is a Reporter staff writer