MARSHALL, Minn. – The Southwest Minnesota State University Mustangs hosted the Minnesota State University Moorhead Dragons football team at the Regional Events Center on Oct. 9, where the home team were the victors, 49-14.

The Mustangs evened their record with the Dragons, both teams now 2-4 overall and 2-3 in league play. It was the second consecutive win for the Mustangs and the second straight loss for the Dragons.

In the opening kick-off the Dragons captured the momentum as Brandon Thompson (Oakland, Calif.) returned the ball 48-yards to put the ball on SMSU's 37-yard line for MSUM's opening drive.

In that drive, the Dragons rushing game moved the ball to the 20-yard line before junior quarterback Kevin Koch (Elmhurst, Ill.) connected with senior Nick Scharpf (Horicon, Wis.) for a 20-yard touchdown pass. It was a six-play, 37-yard drive that ate up 2:02 on the clock. Freshman Wes Kramer (Northfield, Minn.) kicked in the extra point to give the Dragons the 7-0 lead.

MSUM continued to be hot as the defense recovered a fumble in SMSU's first play of the game, and in SMSU's second drive, forced a punt from the home team's own 11-yard line.

The Dragons returned the punt within the Mustang's 30-yard line and the offense moved the ball into the red-zone, but an interception by the Mustang's Curt Gosser began to change the momentum of the game.

The Mustangs would take the ball 80-yards down the field in seven plays to tie the game. The drive was highlighted by Gannon Moore, who had a rush for 19-yards and caught a 25-yard pass.

After a blocked MSUM field goal attempt by the Mustangs, the home team would take the lead two-minutes into the second quarter on a 69-yard rush by Warren Matthews that capped an 80-yard, four-play drive to go up 14-7.

The bad luck would continue for the Dragons as they would be stopped two more times in the red-zone, while the Mustangs completed all six of their visits to MSUM's red-zone. SMSU would put up 35 more points before the Dragons would put more points on the board.

Junior Bryson Pluta (Winnipeg, MAN) completed a 14-yard pass to Tyrone Small III (Bellflower, Calif.) with 58 seconds left in the game to put the game's final points on the board. It completed the 8-play, 57-yard drive. Pluta entered the game in the third quarter after Koch left the game after rushing on the Dragon's first play in the second half.

The Dragons had 315 total yards on offense with 190 coming in the air. Small led the air attack, catching four balls for 42 yards. Alex Leach (Pierz, Minn.) had two catches in the game for 44-yards.

Brett McWilliams (Roscoe, Ill.) led the rushing as he averaged 6.6 yards per carry, rushing nine times for 59 yards. E'Boni Lucious-West (Country Club Hills, Ill.) carried the ball 18 times for 56 yards.

Pluta threw for 104 yards going 10-for-19 with one pick. Koch finished with six catches on 16 attempts and one interception.

The Dragons return to Alex Nemzek Stadium on Oct. 16 for the 2010 Homecoming game at 1 p.m. They will face Bemidji State as the will battle for the historic Axe, the most historic trophy in the NSIC.

Saturday's homecoming festivities also feature a 5K run/walk, parade, tailgating, volleyball and the Athletics Hall of Fame Banquet. To find out more information about these events click the Homecoming ad on the top right hand side of this page or visit www.dragonhomecoming.com for complete week details.