LAS VEGAS, N.M. - Marcus Mathis rushed for a game-high 131 yards to lead No. 17 Midwestern State to a 52-6 win over New Mexico Highlands Thursday night at Perkins Stadium.

His 70-yard scoring dash on the first play of the game touched off a 28-point first quarterback deluge, but that was set up by a hustle play by senior wide receiver Justin Rideau. 

"That was a good run by Marcus, but it was an excellent effort by Rideau to get out in front of him to get that block," MSU coach Bill Maskill said. "I think that pretty much set the tone."

Zack Eskridge, who had his string of 200-yard passing games snapped at 12, scampered for a 30-yard touchdown before the Mustangs converted a pair of scores to take a commanding 28-0 lead before the end of the opening quarter.

Eskridge finished 152 passing yards on 10-of-15 passing which included a 24-yard scoring strike to David Little with 29 second to left in the first quarter after the Mustangs recovered a New Mexico Highlands fumble on a kickoff after redshirt freshman Peter Smith plunged in from the 2-yard line at the 43-second mark.

Eskridge sprinted 37 yards for another score early in the second quarter, while Jose Martinez hit a 35-yard field goal 5 minutes before halftime to give the Mustangs a commanding 38-0 lead.

Eskridge would leave the game midway through third quarter following his second TD completion of the game with this one going to junior transfer Edgard Theliar good for 31 yards and a 45-0 lead.

Midwestern amassed 581 total yards including 352 on the ground as Eskridge ran for 67 yards and scored on both of his carries while back Brandon Kelsey completed 11-of-13 passes for 73 yards and accounted for 45 yards and a TD on the ground.

"I still don't know what kind of team we've got," Maskill said. "I don't if we're good for 52 or if they're not good at all. We couldn't do anything right in the first half, and then we got sloppy in the second half. That's probably to be expected when you're up 45-0."

Kelsey finished off an 11-play, 65-yard drive with an 8-yard touchdown run earlier in the fourth quarter to push the lead to 52-0 before New Mexico Highlands took advantage of fumble to drive 45 yards in 10 plays to score on Wallace LaBrane's 1-yard plunge with 7:42 remaining in the game.

The MSU defense limited the Cowboys to 86 total yards before the NMHU managed 90 yards on its final two possessions in the fourth quarter to finish with 176.

Midwestern State takes on Eastern New Mexico next Saturday in Blackwater Draw. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. (Central Time).

Notables

- Marcus Mathis needed just eight carries to rush for 131 yards and now needs just 9 yards to join Daniel Polk (3,590 career rushing yards), Dominic Rhodes (2,541) and Ross Harrison (2,418) in MSU 2,000-yard Rushers Club. It was his biggest performance since running for 140 yards in a 24-10 win over Newberry on Sep. 20, 2008.

- Marcus Mathis has rushed for 100-or-more yards five times during his career.

- Senior quarterback Zack Eskridge was held to fewer than 200 passing yards for the first time since throwing for 73 yards at Abilene Christian on Nov. 8, 2008. He finished the night with 152 yards on 10-of-15 passing with two touchdowns. It was 13th time in his career that he threw for at least two touchdowns.

- Junior wide receiver David Little made two receptions for 37 yards to move past former MSU standout Demarcus Calhoun (59 rec./812 yards from 2000-01) into to 10th place on the program's all-time receiving yardage list. Little now has 50 career catches for 824 yards.