QUINCY, Ill. – Dillon Sterling-Cole accounted for four touchdowns in his Midwestern State debut to lead the Mustangs to a 48-27 win over Quincy (Ill.) Saturday afternoon at QU Stadium.
 
But it was an opportunistic defense which made seven sacks and forced four turnovers that allowed MSU to win its season opener for the eighth consecutive season.
 
Freshman cornerback Dylon Davis returned interception for a 23-yard touchdown late in the third quarter to finally fully wrest all momentum away from the Hawks.
 
"We scored a touchdown on defense and that got us jump started. I like the fact that we continued to play hard after we went ahead," MSU coach Bill Maskill said. "I think we have something we can build on. We played a lot of young guys that were able to play through mistakes, but now we've got to continue getting better."
 
The Mustangs put up 520 yards of offense behind Sterling-Cole, who threw for 219 yards and two touchdowns, while rushing for two more scores.
 
But Quincy kept pace in the first half behind sophomore quarterback Tionne Harris, who passed for 289 yards and three touchdowns before he was knocked out of the game on sack by Zed Asowata late in the second quarter.
 
The Mustangs were in the end zone two plays later when freshman Jalen March cut off of right tackle for a 10-yard TD run. It was the first of his two trips to paydirt as MSU surged to a 21-20 lead at halftime.
 
Sterling-Cole hit Kandin Robertson for a 20-yard TD at the 5:08 mark of the third quarter before Davis' pick-six gave the Mustangs a 35-20 advantage.
 
March, who finished with 70 yards on six carries, polished off a 7-play, 65-yard drive with a touchdown jaunt of 19 yards to push the MSU lead to 42-20 with 13:52 to play.
 
Sterling-Cole closed out scoring with 3-yard keeper just three minutes later to close out scoring.
 
Trenton Kennedy paced the MSU ground attack with 81 yards on seven carries, while K'Vonte Jackson added 60 yards on nine totes as the Mustangs totaled 282 rushing yards.
 
Senior defensive end Jaylon Abdul-Karim and senior safety Malik Sonnier led the defense with seven tackles each.
 
Eight different Mustangs accounted for sacks include a sack each by Abdul-Karim, Asowata, Melik Owens, Justin Gullory, Zach Trevino and James Williams, while Alex Alvarado and Konner Jones-Searcy combined for a sack.
 
Midwestern State takes on rival Texas A&M-Commerce Saturday night at Choctaw Stadium in Arlington. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m.