Jacob Sampson threw five touchdown passes and Winona State turned two second-quarter fumbles into points as the Warriors beat the University of Mary 55-7 on Saturday, Nov. 7, at Altra Federal Credit Union Stadium in Winona, Minn., in the Marauders' final road game of the season.
The loss dropped UMary to 3-7 overall and 2-7 in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference, its fourth straight defeat according to the NSIC standings. Winona State, which also came in at 3-6, improved to 4-6 and 4-5 in league play in its home finale.
The Warriors led 14-0 after one quarter and 35-0 at halftime, according to the box score. Quarterback Jacob Sampson needed three plays on Winona State's first drive, hitting Nolan Ginskey for a 61-yard touchdown at 11:04 of the first quarter. Sampson found Jake Schultz from 11 yards out at 4:56 after a 36-yard run by Ja'Dale Thompson moved the ball to the UMary 18.
Two UMary fumbles in the second quarter turned the game. On a third-and-15 from the Marauders' 10, Ryan Blair was sacked and stripped by Ethan Doucette, who recovered at the 5; AJ Moore scored on a 2-yard run two plays later for a 21-0 lead. UMary's next drive reached the Winona State 45, but Hudsen Sheldon fumbled on a fourth-and-1 run, forced by Blake Schraufnagel and recovered by Kevin Lewis. Sampson then threw a 5-yard touchdown to James Durst with 3:11 left in the half and a 15-yarder to Schultz with 55 seconds left.
Sampson finished 16-of-19 for 204 yards with no interceptions. Durst added a 1-yard scoring run early in the third quarter, Ginskey caught a 5-yard touchdown at 5:14, a field goal with 15 seconds left in the quarter made it 52-0, and Mathias Yaggie kicked a 40-yarder at 10:41 of the fourth.
UMary's points came with 6:00 to play, when Sheldon threw deep to Emmanuel Cody for a 48-yard touchdown to finish an eight-play, 75-yard drive; John Girard added the extra point. Sheldon completed all four of his passes for 72 yards and ran for 14 yards. Blair went 5-of-18 for 36 yards.
Winona State outgained UMary 437-179 and had 22 first downs to 11. The Warriors' defense recorded six sacks for 49 yards, with Schraufnagel and Doucette each credited with 2.5. Winona State went 6-for-6 in the red zone; UMary was 0-for-3 on fourth down and lost two of its four fumbles.
Carl Henry led UMary's running game with 58 yards on 19 carries and Xavier Brackenridge added 27 yards.
On defense, linebacker Christopher Federico had 10 tackles (two solo, eight assisted), including a shared tackle for loss. UMary's recap said the senior from Henderson, Nev., has reached double figures in tackles five times this season and ranks fourth on the school's career tackles list. Abram Jopp had nine tackles and recovered a fumble forced by Isaac Emmel on Winona State's first play of the second half, the Warriors' only turnover. Travis Biery and Tim Grisso each had a tackle for loss.
UMary closes its season at home against Bemidji State at 1 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 14, at the MDU Resources Community Bowl in Bismarck. The school lists the game as Senior Day and Military Appreciation Day. Bemidji State is 5-5 overall and 5-4 in the NSIC and has won three straight, according to the conference standings. Winona State finishes at Southwest Minnesota State the same day.
Sources: University of Mary Athletics (goumary.com) game recap, box score and play-by-play, and football schedule; Winona State University Athletics (winonastatewarriors.com) game recap and football schedule; Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference football standings (northernsun.org), as of Nov. 7, 2026.
