MARSHALL, Minn. – The Minnesota State University Moorhead football team saw its unbeaten start come to an end on Saturday with a 48-9 loss to Southwest Minnesota State in action at the Schwan's Regional Event Center in Marshall, Minn.

MSUM, which had won six straight games dating back to last season, fell to 3-1 overall and in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference. SMSU improved to 4-0.

SMSU outgained the Dragons, 553-275. The normally prolific Dragon offense had a tough night, mustering 154 rushing yards on 39 carries and throwing for just 121.

"Southwest Minnesota State played a nearly flawless game," MSUM head coach Steve Laqua said. "We tip our hats to them for that. Not getting points in the red zone in the first half was tough as the momentum of the game got away from us. We had a poor start to the second half which was also a key part of the game."

Freshman running back Herman Gray had a solid outing, rushing for 73 yards on 12 carries. Sophomore quarterback Demetrius Carr, starting place of the injured Jake Hodge, was 14-of-26 for 121 yards and an interception. Senior Preston Prince was the leading receiver with six catches for 52 yards. Senior receiver Adam Jiskra, who surpassed 200 career catches in the game, had two receptions for 14 yards before leaving the game with an injury.

Four different Dragons had five tackles each: senior cornerback Chris Binford, junior linebacker Aaron Bohl, sophomore defensive end Drew Lingle, and redshirt freshman linebacker Joe Rademacher.  Sophomore Damon Gibson blocked a punt.
MSUM led 6-0 in the first quarter. Gibson's  blocked punt set the Dragons up inside the 10-yard line, and senior running back Zayne Medhaug scored from five yards out. The extra point was blocked, leaving MSUM with a 6-0 lead with 7:10 left in the first.

The Mustangs scored 14 unanswered points to take a 14-6 lead early in the second. The Dragons drove down into SMSU territory before settling for a 24-yard Joe Tjosvold field goal to cut the lead to 14-9.

SMSU scored with 46 seconds left in the half to push the lead to 21-9, which was the halftime score.

The Mustangs, thanks to four touchdown passes from quarterback Blake Gimbel, pulled away in the second half on their way to the win.

MSUM returns home on Oct. 4 to face nationally-ranked Minnesota Duluth. Kickoff is at 2 p.m. at Scheels Field at Nemzek Stadium.

"We've got to see who's healthy, first of all," Laqua said. "We have to figure out a way to put our guys in the best position for them to be successful. We have to get back to the basics."

Steve d'Eustachio Stat of the Game: MSUM senior Adam Jiskra became the third player in NSIC history with at least 200 receptions. Brian Jark, who played for Northern State from 2006-2009, has the NSIC record with 210 and Logan Masters, who played for Wayne State from 2006-2009, had 207 receptions. Jiskra now has 201 with his two catches tonight.