WICHITA FALLS, Texas – The Daniel Polk-to-DelJuan Lee connection that helped Midwestern State to its first NCAA Division II postseason win last fall was back in full tilt Saturday night at Memorial Stadium.
The two connected for three touchdowns as the No. 18 Mustangs rolled to a 47-10 win over Southwestern Oklahoma State to improve to 2-0 on the season.
But it was Polk who accounted for six of Midwestern's seven TDs as the senior Harlon Hill candidate has now accounted for more touchdowns – 56 – than any player in MSU history as he passed Phillip Boggs with a 4-yard run early in the third quarter.
"We had a great game plan tonight," Polk said. "it wasn't just me, the whole team played well. We were clicking on cylinders."
The Mustangs rolled to 445 yards of total offense led by Polk, who accounted for 285 total offense yards while going 11-for-16 for 210 yards and three touchdowns through the air and rushing for 75 yards on 10 carries with more scores on the ground.
Lee finished with 139 yards on three receptions – all touchdowns (49, 56, 34), while freshman Marcus Mathis added 75 yards on eight carries, including a 61-yard blast in the opening quarter.
Senior linebacker Cedric Johnson paced the MSU defensive effort with nine tackles, while sophomore linebacker Emmanuel Bagley added eight and freshman safety Ryan Craven had seven.
The defense, who limited the Bulldogs to 285 yards as Southwestern could only manage 4.4 yards a play, accounted for a score of its own on Frank Brown's 66-yard interception return on the first play of the second quarter.
The Mustangs were efficient scoring touchdowns on seven of their 11 possessions while advancing into the red zone on another occasion only to miss a field goal.
Southwestern was led on offense by Johnathan Haggerty, who caught five passes for 142 yards and a 34-yard TD reception in the third quarter.
Joe Castle paced the Bulldogs on defense with 10 tackles.
The Mustangs will battle Northeastern State next Saturday at Memorial Stadium. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.
Notes: MSU improved to 23-5 (.821) at Memorial Stadium during the Bill Maskill era… When SWOSU's Spenser Daniel connected on a 24-yard field goal at the halftime buzzer, the Bulldogs snapped a 195:02 scoring drought at Memorial Stadium. The last time SWOSU scored was on Nov. 11, 2000 when Anthony Davis scored on a 10-yard run with two seconds remaining in the opening quarter… MSU improved to 18-1 (.947) in games played against LSC North competition during the Maskill era… Saturday night's win over the Bulldogs was also MSU 19th straight win over school from the state of Oklahoma and they have won all 16 since Maskill took over before the 2002 season… MSU's last loss to an Oklahoma institution of higher education came in a 31-28 loss to East Central on Oct. 6, 2001 in Ada… The Mustangs have also won their last 15 games against Oklahoma school played at Memorial Stadium dating back to a 42-14 loss to Central Oklahoma on Sep. 25, 1999…
