Powerhouse Minnesota State is at it Again

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I remember watching the Minnesota State Mavericks football team trudge through the halls below Bresnan Arena at 7 am this summer. I was down there for morning golf team workouts. They were down there for a much more serious reason. Head coach Todd Hoffner had just been reinstated post dropped charges related to his children. At that point, the team wanted to move forward with interim coach Aaron Keen, who had a more player-friendly coaching style.

Well, after drubbing two top-10 opponents in the NCAA Division II playoffs, it seems they’ve settled their differences.

They’re 14-0 and playing their best football of the year when it matters most. When 13-0 Concord made the trek from West Virginia to Blakeslee Stadium on Saturday, they didn’t know what was about to hit them. The Mavericks completely bullied the Mountain Lions on both sides of the ball. It started up front, as MSU mixed its size advantage with great fundamentals to have their way. They scored on their first seven possessions of the game and never looked back.

After the game, a self-proclaimed elated Todd Hoffner had a lot to be proud of.

“I’m very proud of our players, very proud of our coaches. We came out and dominated right from the get-go,” said Hoffner. “I thought we controlled the line of scrimmage, which we thought was going to be extremely important in this game. I thought Concord fought hard throughout the game and never gave up. Just very proud of our players and I thought they did a fantastic job.. We’re elated, I don’t know if excited is a good word.”

Now the Mavericks turn their attention to the Colorado State-Pueblo Thunderwolves, who are 13-1 on the season coming off of a thrilling victory against West Georgia. The Thunderwolves are ranked 8th in the country and feature the nations top defensive lineman, Darius Allen, who was just named the Gene Upshaw Division II Lineman of the Year for the second straight year. In 14 total games this season, the senior has compiled 64 tackles with 22 tackles for loss and 14 sacks.

They have a balanced offense, averaging 179.3 rushing and 227.3 passing yards per game. But it’s clear the Thunderwolves make their money on defense, only allowing 13.7 points per game. In comparison, the Mavericks average 251.4 yards rushing, 208.5 passing and only allow 12.9 points per game.

For MSU starting quarterback Ricky Lloyd, a Division I transfer, this is what he had in mind in choosing to come to a DII powerhouse.

“It’s amazing. This being my first year this is what I came here to do. This was my aspiration when I came here, to be a leader and to take this team as far is it can go,” said Lloyd. “We’re going as far as we can go and we’ve got one more game. We’re going to have a great game plan to go ahead with and I think we’ll come out victorious.”

I can speak for the city of Mankato and MSU Alumni everywhere, this school is ready to taste a championship after being so close two years ago. The Mavericks are as hungry and dominant as ever. It will all be decided on Saturday in Kansas City, Kansas, at Sporting Park, home of the MLS team Sporting Kansas City. You can tune into ESPN 2 at 2 pm to catch the action. Go Mavericks!

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