THE RUNDOWN
SILVER CITY, N.M. -- No. 10 Midwestern State never trailed Saturday at Ben Altamirano Field rolling to a 43-22 win over Western New Mexico.

With the win, MSU improves to 4-0 for the third consecutive year and for the ninth time since the Bill Maskill era began in 2002.

The victory sets up a showdown with No. 6-ranked Texas A&M-Commerce next Saturday on the road. The Lions also improved to 4-0 with a 35-12 win at Oklahoma Panhandle State on Saturday.

The Mustangs used a quick start to jump out to a 14-0 lead after Dante Taylor's 71-yard rush set up a 4-yard scoring strike from Quade Coward to Jerryl Yarbrough at the 1:07 mark of the first quarter.

Coward connected with senior wideout Statron Jones on a slant pattern on the next drive which resulted in a 63-yard touchdown to push the lead to two possessions.

But Western New Mexico fought back scoring on a 55-yard touchdown on a  flea flicker from Javia Hall to Xavier Ayers before halftime. WNMU cashed in on fumbled punt return at the start of the second that resulted in a 4-yard scoring plunge by DeAndre Williams. The PAT failed allowing MSU to lead 14-13 with 9:42 to play in the third quarter.

Midwestern State answered with an 11-play, 65-yard drive culminating on the first of Vincent Johnson's three touchdown runs -- from yards out -- to extend the lead to 21-13.

The Mustangs used a goal line stand to thrwart WNMU on the next possession, but Western New Mexico netted a safety when Aaron Leauma tackled Coward on a keeper in the end zone to cut the MSU lead to 21-15 with 12:49 to play.

Midwestern State regained momentum when freshman defensive lineman Quailon Haynes stripped Hall on a sack and Cameron McEnturff fell on the ball at the WNMU 4-yard line. Johnson crashed his way into the end on the next play and Coward Breion Evans for the 2-point conversion to give MSU a 29-15 with 12:28 to go.

After MSU forced Western New Mexico into a three-and-out, the Mustangs put the game away  with a 7-play, 69-yard drive culminating with Johnson's third touchdown of the game on a 25-yard run on fourth-and-1.

Ayers, an All-American last season, caught six of his game-high 13 receptions on a 13-play, 83-yard drive finishing off with a 5-yard scoring toss from hall with 2:52 to play.

Midwestern tacked on one more score after Haynes once again stripped Hall of the ball with a recovery by Robert Kitchens on the WNMU 6-yard line with 1:29 to play.

Sophomore Nicholas Gabriel carried the ball in on the next play for the final score of the game.

Midwestern State improved to 4-0 overall and 3-0 in LSC play, while Western New Mexico dropped to 2-3 and 2-2.

NOTES
* Midwestern State has now won four consecutive games for the 15th time in the Maskill era and for the 12th time in 13 years.
* The Mustangs never trailed in a game for the first time since beating West Texas A&M 24-17 on Oct. 10, 2015 -- a span of 10 games.
* Sophomore running back Vincent Johnson delivered his second 100-yard rushing day of the season finishing with 103 yards on 18 carries with three touchdowns.
* Johnson has scored three touchdowns in three games this season -- Truman State, Texas A&M-KIngsville and Western New Mexico. He scored two more against Oklahoma Panhandle State. He is now 10 shy of Keidrick Jackson's single season record of 21 set in 2012.
* Senior wide receiver Statron Jones caught two passes for 69 yards including a 63-yard TD after going 72 yards for a score last week.
* Jones became the sixth MSU receiver to go over 1,500 receiving yards while moving past Demetrius Galban (103-1486 from 1992, 95-96). Jones now has 102 catches for 1,529 yards.
* Senior quarterback Quade Coward connected on 11-of-21 passes for 139 yards and two touchdowns while running for 48 yards on eight carries.
* Senior running back Dante Taylor accounted for 129 combined yards with 94 yards on 10 carries while catching one pass for 35 yards.
* Senior linebacker Adam Hill returned from injury to lead the Mustangs with eight tackles including six solo stops.
* Redshirt freshman defensive lineman Quailon Haynes had six tackles with two sacks in his collegiate debut.
* Redshirt freshman DaMarcus Wilson made his first career interception late in the first half.
* Western New Mexico senior receiver Xavier Ayers finished with 13 receptions for 165 yards and two touchdowns, while freshman running back DeAndre Williams ran for 146 yards on 24 carries including a 43-yard sprint on a fake punt in the first quarter.

STAT OF THE GAME
2-for-4  --  Midwestern State held Western New Mexico to two scores in the Red Zone including a goal line stand in the third quarter. The Mustangs also forced WNMU into a turnover on downs inside the 30 twice in the first half.

QUOTE OF THE GAME
"We wanted to help them score and help their field position. There are too many simple things we are having trouble understanding. We were very sloppy today, but it was good we were able to put some things together and make things happen. They are things we can correct so it's good to get the win when we are sloppy. We put our defense in some poor position and we were able to make positive things happen." -- MSU coach Bill Maskill.

NEXT GAME
Midwestern State and Texas A&M-Commerce tangle in a Top 10 showdown Saturday in Commerce. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. The game is the NCAA Division II Game of the Week on ESPN3.