The MSU Mustangs football team demolished the A&M-Commerce Lions 63-17 Saturday afternoon at Cowboys Stadium in the first game of the LSC Lone Star Football Festival.

The Lions couldn’t stop the MSU run game and only got sloppier in tackling as the game progressed.

“We wore them down,” Maskill said. “Our defense did a good job.”

Interestingly, Maskill said the play that stands out in his head the most is a missed fourth and one attempt his team didn’t convert.

He said this might make him a “perfectionist.”

Regardless, he admitted that the Mustangs are in good shape and played good football. They played especially well, he said, considering how young the team is. This is doubly true with the offensive line, a group  that claims only two seniors.

“We’re growing and maturing,” he said.

Running Back Keidrick Jackson credited the young offensive line with the success he had in the standout performance.

“I give all the credit to my linemen,” he said. “I just kept running and getting back to the basics.”

Jackson ran the ball 15 times for 62 yards and four TDs.

Commerce drew first blood in the match with a 73-yard drive ending in a touchdown. The TD probably could have been avoided by MSU, had Defensive Back Romie Blaylock not drawn a pass interference flag on the goal line.

The Lions eventually snuck into he end zone, despite the Mustangs plugging up the Commerce run game on first and second down. Adorian Arthur caught the TD pass for the Lions to push them ahead of MSU, 7-0.

After a sloppy throw by MSU Quarterback Brandon Kelsey on first down of the next possession, Running Back Lester Bush plowed through the Lion defense for a first down. Bush would end the game with 63 yards and 2 TDs.

The Lions helped MSU march downfield by committing a holding penalty and then getting flagged for an illegal substitution.

MSU Running Back Keidrick Jackson punished the opposing defense, making it work for every tackle it made. Jackson ended the 71-yard drive with a 6-yard rush into the Lion end zone.

The Lions were incapable of dealing with the onslaught of Bush, Keidrick and Running Back Peter Smith all afternoon.

The MSU running game accounted for 392 yards of the 592 total offense.

MSU Defensive Tackle K.K. Francis and Linebacker Matt Ellerbrock gave the Lion defense hell on the next drive.

The ferocious Mustang defense held the Commerce ground game to less than 100 yards for the day.

MSU forced a Lion punt, but gave it away on a flubbed return. A 15-yard sack by Ty Duncan was damage control, forcing Commerce to punt.

The Mustangs messed up on another special teams play soon after, thanks to a bad snap on a punt attempt. This time Commerce capitalized on the mistake, putting a 19-yard field goal through the uprights.

It would be the last time the Lions scored until the fourth quarter. It was also be the last time they were in the lead.

MSU, on the other hand, kept putting points on the scoreboard while Commerce fans could do nothing but wince in the stands.

By the time the dust had settled, Brandon Kelsey had thrown 14 for 20 and 163 yards. The Mustangs defense had held the Lions to very little yardage and few points.

It was a decisive victory for MSU.