A 14-7 third quarter outing for the No. 12 Midwestern State Mustangs proved to be the deciding factor in Saturday’s grueling back-and-forth affair with Abilene Christian, as the Mustangs charged their way to their sixth victory of the season with a 35-31 victory.
The team’s running game was again, the focus of their offense, chalking up 389 yards and five touchdowns off of 53 carries.
Quarterback Brandon Kelsey led the Mustangs’ offensive output with 141 rushing yards and four touchdowns off of 18 carries.
Kelsey also completed 12 of his 16 passing attempts for 121 yards and one interception.
Chauncey Harris was Kelsey’s favorite target against ACU, grabbing 4 passes for 57 yards.
Keidrick Jackson’s normal touchdown output was limited to just one, an 8-yard run during the Mustangs’ decisive third quarter push, but he more than made up for it by chalking up 197 of the Mustangs’ 389 total rushing yards.
Jackson has flourished this season for the Mustangs.
“I haven’t looked at my stats throughout the season. For me, I’m just going out there to help get wins and win our conference,” said Jackson. “I’m just taking it opponent by opponent and trying to get the next win.”
He has tallied up a total of 869 yards off of 113 carries, and his rushing yards-per-game stat stands at 124.1, only 2 yards short of Dominic Rhodes’ benchmark of 126.1 set in 2000.
“Rhodes is a good player,” said Jackson. “It’s a good compliment to be up there with one of the best running backs in Midwestern State history, but I’m more concerned with winning.”
If he stays consistent, Jackson is set to at least rush for 1200-plus yards this season, a feat that could land him the second or third spot on the Mustangs’ rush yards in a season list.
Henry Anders currently holds the number two spot with 1291 yards during the 1991 season, while Dominic Rhodes sits at number one with 1387 yards in 2000.
Jackson already holds the 10th spot for last season’s output of 1044 yards.
Jackson recorded his 13th touchdown of the season, and could possibly break the Mustangs’ record of 19 touchdowns in one season, set by Daniel Polk in 2007, with three games left to go in the regular season.
Jackson is also tied for second for the most rushing touchdowns in a game with four from his two performances against Texas A&M-Commerce and Texas A&M-Kingsville this season.
The Mustangs’ defense did an excellent job defending the run, holding Abilene Christian to 92 yards off of 32 attempts, but their Achilles’ heel was once again the passing game.
ACU quarterback Mitchell Gale aired out 355 yards and three touchdowns off of a 26-for-38 completion rate against MSU.
Taylor Gabriel tore up the Mustangs’ secondary as Gale’s favored target, pulling in nine receptions for 116 yards and two touchdowns.
After a 14-14 first quarter, the Mustangs found themselves trailing going into the second half after ACU put three points on the board behind a 32-yard field goal by Ryan Owens.
The Mustangs answered back in the third quarter with touchdowns from Jackson and Kelsey, but ACU once again gained the upper hand in the fourth quarter with a 5-yard touchdown pass from Gale to tight-end Jamie Walker to lead 31-28 with less than six minutes left in the quarter.
A clutch 75-yard drive that culminated in an 11-yard rush from Kelsey with 90 seconds left in the game, along with airtight defense, secured the Mustangs victory.
The Mustangs improve to 6-1 with the victory, and stand at 5-1 in the Lone Star Conference.
They return home on Saturday to take on Eastern New Mexico at 7 p.m. for the first of the three remaining regular games.
“I think every team wants to win a national championship,” said Jackson. “But our main goal is to win our conference and ultimately do better than we did last year.”