Minnesota State University, Mankato used an explosive second quarter to score 21 points on the way to securing a 43-20 win over Upper Iowa in a Northern Sun Conference South Division football game on Saturday. With the win, MSU improved to 5-2 overall and 1-1 in the NSIC South, while UIU falls to 0-7 and 0-3 against the division.
 
The Mavericks built a 12-0 lead by the end of the first quarter after Matthew Jaeger nailed a 40-yard field goal and Nyles Williams crossed the goal line from nine yards around the sixth punt blocked against the Peacocks. Trailing 3-0, UIU had a punt blocked in their own end of the field. By the time the ball was recovered in the endzone, the officials ruled the recovering player was out of bounds and awarded a safety to the home team.
 
UIU's first scoring drive came on their first possession of the second quarter and pulled the Peacocks within five, 12-7. Freshman quarterback Darryl Overstreet Jr., who saw his first action of the season with a start for the injured Marcus Orr, completed seven of eight passes on the drive capped off by a 20-yard pass to Isaiah Gray for the touchdown. The visitors covered 75 yards in 11 plays and 4:24 in game time.
 
The Mavericks owned the remainder of the second quarter though scoring three times including a pair of Hayden Ekern scoring rushes of nine and 13 yards and a 17-yard run by Shen Butler Lawson Jr. When the dust settled at halftime, the home team led 33-7.
 
MSU took the first play of the third quarter to the house on a 75-yard run by Shen Butler Lawson Jr. notching their fifth straight possession with a touchdown and pushing their advantage to 40-7.
 
The Peacocks continued to battle though and scored two of the game's final three scores on touchdown receptions to close the gap to 43-20 at the final horn. Overstreet found Cole Ewald, who returned from injury, on a 15-yard throw-and-catch for a touchdown and then hit Jay Ford for a 25-yard touchdown. The remaining three points for the Mavericks came on a 38-yard field goal from Damian Chowaniec in the fourth quarter.
 
The Mavericks claimed 455 yards of total offense thanks to 285 yards on the ground, while the Peacocks gained a total of 289 yards in the game with 255 coming through the air.
 
Overstreet threw for 255 yards while completing 24 of 34 passes with three touchdowns in his first start. Gray caught five passes for 84 yards and a score, while Willy Camacho pulled in eight balls for 77 yards. In total, eight Peacocks caught at least one pass in the game. Aboubacar Barry ran for 40 yards on 11 attempts, while Desean Phillips picked up 25 yards on eight carries.
 
Tyler Owen led the defense with seven tackles from his safety spot, while Zacarius Murray had five stops including a sack and added three pass break ups. Stacey Terry and Collin Jones both had five tackles as well, while seven other Peacocks had at least four stops. John Butsch snared an interception and returned the turnover 22 yards to set up UIU's third-quarter touchdown.
 
Upper Iowa returns home next Saturday to face Minot State University. Both the Peacocks and Beavers will be hunting their first victory of the fall when the two teams collide in a NSIC cross division contest. Kickoff is slated for 12 p.m. Upper Iowa will celebrate Youth Day at Harms-Eischeid Stadium with all kids 18 years and younger receiving free admission to the game.