ST. CLOUD, MN – Big plays on both sides of the ball in the opening half led St. Cloud State University to a 41-7 win over visiting University of Mary. Slow to get rolling, the Huskies eventually scored five times in the first half against the Marauders.
 
Mary's defense started strong, limiting St. Cloud State to just three yards and no first downs on the Huskies first two possessions. The Marauders, who picked up a pair of first downs on their first drive of the game, also found tough sledding.
 
The Huskies (3-3 overall & NSIC / 1-1 NSIC North) garnered the first break of the game. With Mary setting up to punt from the SCSU 41 yard line and looking to pin the Huskies deep in their own territory, a bad snap resulted in a 14-yard loss. Taking over in Marauders (0-6 / 0-2) territory, the Huskies took advantage. Refusing to punt on a 4^th-and-9, Nate Meyer connected with Nick Greenlund for a 32-yard touchdown pass, the first of three for the SCSU quarterback on the day and the only score of the first quarter.
 
A Tom Johnson sack of Meyer on the next Huskies possession helped force a punt but the Marauders couldn't take advantage.
 
Another specials team error for Mary soon followed. SCSU deflected a Mary punt attempt and recovered at the Marauders 27 yard line. Five plays later, after converting another 4^th down attempt, Meyer ran in from 9 yards out for a 14-0 SCSU lead at 11:43 of the second quarter.
 
SCSU then scored on its next three possessions. Meyer ran in for a 14 yard score, hit J. Parsons for a 44 yard scoring pass one play after the Huskies recovered a Marauders fumble, and connected with Greenlund from 17 yards out with six second remaining in the opening half to take a 34-0 lead into intermission.
 
The second half also started slow for the Marauders. After fumbling the opening kick, Jaden Huff scored from 1 yard out two plays later.
 
Refusing to fade away, the Marauders put the final points of the game on the board in the fourth quarter. Colton Farmer, making his first career start at quarterback for the Marauders, connected with Sam Mackedanz from 17 yards out with 10:05 left to play. The 6-play 52-yard drive consumed 2:42 of the clock. It was the first career touchdown pass for Farmer and the first scoring catch for Mackedanz, both sophomores.
 
Mary also continued to display a knack for blocking kicks. Second in the country in blocks, Brandon Payne was credited with the deflection on a 27-yard field goal attempt by SCSU late in the game. It was the sixth kick blocked this season by the Marauders.  
 
The Marauders third starting quarterback in three games, Farmer completed 12-of-21 passes for 111 yards. Mackedanz led the receiving corps with three catches for 48 yards.
 
Zach Podoll paced the Marauders ground game with 45 yards on 19 carries. He also caught a 6-yard pass.
 
Making his second career start, redshirt freshman Noah Krebs led the Marauders defense with nine tackles, including six solo stops. Danielle Whitaker had six tackles – one for loss – and broke up a pass. Landon Smith had a game-high 1.5 tackles for loss.
 
Meyer was responsible for five Huskies touchdowns. He finished 15-of-24 through the air for 243 yards and three scores. The senior also ran for 25 yards and two scores. Parsons caught three passes for 102 yards and one touchdown. Greenlund had a game-high six catches for 86 yards and two touchdowns.
 
The Marauder continue their two-game road trip with a visit to the University of Minnesota Crookston on Saturday, Oct. 15.
 
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