Hard-nosed, blue collar, old school, smashmouth football. Whatever terminology you want to use, the Mayville State University football team played it beautifully on Saturday afternoon and earned one of its biggest non-conference victories in recent history with a 9-6 road win over Gustavus Adolphus at Hollingsworth Field in Saint Peter, Minnesota.

Trailing 6-0 heading into the second half, the Comets controlled the final two quarters of play and then some. While the Comet defense was fighting in the trenches with single coverage out on the corners, the offense was equally tough to deal with for Gustavus Adolphus. MSU grounded and pounded the ball on offense to keep the Gustavus defense on the field for nearly all the of the second half.

The Comet defense turned the momentum in favor of MSU for good in the third quarter, putting two points on the board with a safety to make the score 6-2. From there the offensive unit put together a 17-play drive that lasted over 10 minutes and ended in a touchdown. Of those 17 plays, 16 of them were runs up the middle that set the tone in a physical, hard-fought battle between the two teams. In the end, it was Mayville's toughness and grit that came out on top. Quarterback Jake McLain hooked up with Caleb Loy from the one-yard line for a touchdown strike on a playaction pass - the only pass of the drive. McLain kicked the extra point through the uprights to make the score 9-6.

Gustavus would try to mount of drive of their own to answer the Comet score, but Mayville State's defense came up huge with a fourth down stop on its own 25-yard line at the 6:07 mark in the fourth quarter.

Mayville State would pick up one first down to get the clock down to 3:19 before punting the ball back to Gustavus. A quick kick by McLain made the Gusties start their drive on their own 11-yard line, and the Comet defense would hold strong after one Gustavus first down to get the ball back with 1:56 left on the clock.

The Comets ran the ball four times and were stopped short of the first down by Adolphus, who got the ball back with less than a minute on the clock for its last chance at a comeback. MSU stopped the Gusties in four downs to get the ball back and run out the clock, securing an outstanding win on the road against a quality opponent.

MSU is now 3-1 on the season and will return home this weekend to take on Jamestown College.