Midwestern State suffers 10-7 loss to Central Washington
Redshirt-freshman quarterback Carson Roper rushed for 120 yards and threw for a touchdown in his first collegiate start.
And the Midwestern State defense limited the Central Washington attack to 253 yards – about 100 yards under its season average output.
But it wasn't enough to overcome the Wildcats as MSU fell 10-7 Saturday night at Memorial Stadium.
The Mustangs lost for the second straight week at home, falling to 2-4 on the season and to 1-3 in Lone Star Conference play. MSU last lost consecutive home games during the 1999 season.
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Central Washington broke open a scoreless deadlock with a 40-yard field goal by freshman Quinton Pacheco with 2:08 remaining in the first half.
The Mustangs answered with their longest drive of the night, with Roper executing the 2-minute drill which culminated with MSU's lone score of the game.
Roper highlighted the five-play, 65-yard drive in 59 seconds with a 33-yard dash to the Central Washington 13-yard line before hitting Jalen March for a touchdown on a swing pass on the next play to give MSU a 7-3 lead heading into halftime.
But Central Washington opened the second half with a nine-play, 85-yard drive highlighted by Tyler Flanagan's 23-yard run before quarterback JJ Lemming found Darius Morrison in the back of the end zone for a 7-yard touchdown just over five minutes into the half as CWU regained a 10-7 lead.
Led by Roper, Midwestern State went over the 200-yard rushing mark for the third consecutive game and for the fourth time this season as Jalen March and Devin Cross chipped 65 and 64 yards, respectively.
But the Mustangs managed just 27 yards through the air which are the fewest since MSU completed 2-of-13 passes for 27 yards at Northeastern State in the driving rains produced by the remnants of Hurricane Ike in 2008.
The Midwestern State defense kept the Mustangs in the game by combining for eight tackles for with three quarterback sacks and three interceptions.
Quinterrious Hargrave led the way with seven tackles including a sack, an interception to give the Mustangs the ball near midfield in the third quarter, and a forced fumble.
Sophomore Peyton Shaw, who added six tackles, picked off a pass in the end at the end of the first half, while Maurice Perkins intercepted a pass early in the fourth quarter to give the Mustangs possession a the CWU 31-yard line.
For the second straight week, the Mustangs failed to produce a point off of any turnovers.
Midwestern State hits the road to face Western Oregon at 3:05 p.m. local time Saturday at McArthur Field in Monmouth, Oregon.
This article originally appeared on Wichita Falls Times Record News: Central Washington at Midwestern State 2023 college football score
