MANKATO, Minn. — Despite a valiant effort from its defense, the Minnesota State University Moorhead football team fell short on Saturday against No. 21 Minnesota State, falling to the Mavericks 28-14 in action at Blakeslee Stadium in Mankato, Minn.

MSUM is now 2-2 overall and in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference while Mankato is 3-1.

The Dragon defense forced three turnovers and held the Mavericks to nearly 100 yards below their season average.  MSUM held Minnesota State to just 176 rushing yards on 49 carries.

"Defensively we're playing at a high level of football," MSUM head coach Steve Laqua said. "We continue to create turnovers. They're keeping us in games and giving us shots to win. The tremendous growth on that side of the ball continues. I couldn't be more proud of that group."

Senior linebacker Aaron Bohl had a season-high 13 tackles, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. Sophomore safety Michael Strand had eight tackles, while junior linebacker Abe Roehrich had seven tackles, a sack and a fumble recovery. Sophomore safety Aaron Doan and senior Jimmy Roth each had forced fumbles while junior defensive tackle Jake Busse added a sack.

MSUM had a 21-18 edge in first downs. The Mavericks had a 356-329 edge in total yards. MSUM committed four turnovers compared to three for Minnesota State.

Sophomore running back Austin Stone earned the first 100-yard rushing game of his career on Saturday, accounting for 102 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries. Junior quarterback Demetrius Carr was 20-of-40 passing for 165 yards and a touchdown while also throwing three interceptions.

Junior receiver Damon Gibson had seven catches for 67 yards, while senior receiver Cory Ambrose had four catches for 40 yards and a score.

MSUM got on the board first, going 46 yards on seven plays, scoring on a 1-yard run by Stone to take a 7-0 lead with 12:34 left in the first quarter.

Doan forced a fumble on the Mavericks' next possession, and Roehrich recovered. MSUM moved to the Maverick 30-yard line but was stopped on a fourth-and-4. Moments later, Bohl forced and recovered a fumble and MSUM had another chance, but the drive stalled after a holding penalty and the Dragons had to punt.

"We didn't execute consistently across the board, especially in the first half," Laqua said.

Mankato got on the board with a touchdown pass with 2:42 left in the first quarter, and added a second-quarter touchdown to make it 14-7.

The game stayed that way for much of the third quarter. MSUM drove to the Maverick 5-yard line seeking to tie the game but a pass interference call nullified a touchdown, and MSUM would turn the ball over on downs moments later.

MSU pushed the lead to 21-7 with a touchdown run just seven seconds into the fourth quarter. Once again, MSUM drove inside the Maverick 10-yard line, but an interception on second and goal ended that threat.

A big 74-yard pass play pushed the Mankato lead to 28-7 with 6:58 left. The Dragons cut the gap quickly, going 45 yards on five plays, and scoring on a 19-yard pass from Carr to Ambrose. With Joe Tjosvold's extra point, MSUM cut the lead to 28-14 with 5:24 left.

MSUM forced a three-and-out on the next possession and after a short Mankato punt, took over at the Maverick 37-yard line with 3:43 left. The drive ended quickly on an interception, however. MSUM got the ball back one last time but turned the ball over on downs.

"The running game took steps forward," Laqua said. "But the consistency on offense needs to be better."

MSUM plays at Minnesota Duluth on Saturday, Oct. 2.

"Hopefully we're another step closer," Laqua said. "Against good football teams you've got to play good football. We're getting closer to a breakthrough point, it's a matter of getting ourselves over the hump."

Steve d'Eustachio Stat of the Game: The Dragons' last victory over the Mavericks was a 45-0 thrashing on Oct. 10, 1981 in Mankato. That game marked the second of five consecutive shutouts registered by the 1981 Dragons squad.