The Bluejays Kwesi Hooks returned an interception 73 yards for the first score of the day with 6:13 remaining in the first quarter.  A two-point conversion pass from Brock Starley to Ian Stamer gave the visitors an early 8-0 lead.

The Spartans pulled even on a 13-yard pass from Nate Hayden to Rick Groce and a two-point conversion pass from Hayden to Zion Dove.

Following an interception by William Black the Spartans grabbed a 15-8 lead when Hayden connected with Jallah Zeze on a 29 yard scoring pass and Carsen McKnight added the extra point kick.

Stamer hauled in a 59 yard TD pass from Starley on the Bluejays next possession and a two-point conversion pass from Starley to Derrick Spencer gave Minnesota West a 16-15 edge.  The Bluejays added a safety before halftime to take an 18-15 advantage into the locker room.

The Spartans took control of the game when Preston Puni blocked a punt on the Bluejays first possession of the second half and recovered the football in the end zone for a touchdown.  McKnight made it 22-18 with the PAT kick.  An AJ Conteh interception led to the next M State TD as Frederick Brown caught a 33 yard strike from Hayden and McKnight once again was perfect on the extra point kick to make it 29-18.

In the fourth quarter, Rondarius Gregory capped an 8-play, 50-yard drive with a 3-yard scamper to the end zone.  McKnight tacked on the extra point and it was 36-18 with 12:31 to play in the game.   The final scored came on a 62 yard pass from Hayden to Zeze with 7:59 remaining.  McKnight made it 5-for-5 on extra-point kicks to put the score at 43-18.

The Spartan defense shut down the Bluejays running game, holding them to just 32 yards on the ground.  Cheo Trotter, Logan Burress, Will Derrick, DJ Watkins Jr, and Matthew Croteau controlled the line of scrimmage throughout the game and also recorded four sacks of the quarterback.  Joshua Mitchell added a pair of interceptions for the Spartans.

Offensively, Hayden completed 32-of-42 passes for 393 yards and 4 touchdowns.  Zeze had 111 receiving yards on 5 catches, Brown had 71 yards on 5 receptions and Jonathan Griffin caught 4 passes for 87 yards.  Rondarius Gregory carried the ball 9 times for 80 yards and also caught ten passes for 52 yards.

M State will travel to Brainerd next Saturday for a 1:30pm kick-off against Central Lakes Community College.