MANKATO, Minn. - MSU-Mankato quarterback Ryan Fick stood on the sideline and watched the fourth quarter Saturday.

His work was already done in a Northern Sun contest against the University of Mary. It was time to give way to backup Steve Pachan.

Fick, a 6-foot, 214-pound junior, completed eight of 12 passes for 134 yards and threw for three scores in a 40-0 blowout over the Marauders in Mankato's home opener. It is just Fick's first year starting under center.

"This team has been playing together for a long time," Fick said. "I'm the new piece to the puzzle. If I do what I'm told and coached to do, the rest of the guys will pick it up."

Fick threw two touchdown strikes to Chris Nowlin, one for 43 yards and the other for 29, on similar post patterns.

"The first one was designed for him," Fick said. "We were reading the safety, and he jumped to the wide side, and Chris did a good job of getting behind him. The second one was designed for him, I suppose, to try to get him behind the safety."

Fick also hooked up with Vincent Flury for a 13-yard strike on the Mavericks' first series of the contest. Flury made an impressive grab when he leaped between two U-Mary defenders to haul in the ball.

It was the first time U-Mary was shut out since the 1996 season opener when the Marauders was blown out 34-0 by NAIA powerhouse Carroll College. It was U-Mary's worst loss since the 2003 playoffs, when Carroll routed the Marauders 49-7.

"We want to be known as one of the best defenses in the nation," said Mankato linebacker Tony Hunter, who picked off a Jesse Kozak pass in the second quarter. "This is my fourth year here, and I've always felt we had a good defense. It all starts up front. We have some beasts up front. We were able to get to the ball fast."

Defensive back Kelvin Rodgers helped the Mankato defense when he picked off a Kozak pass and returned it 55 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter.

Mankato amassed 314 yards of offense with 180 coming on the ground. U-Mary managed just 45 yards on the ground and Kozak passed for 138 yards.

U-Mary coach Myron Schulz refused to blame extensive travel on his team's performance. The Marauders traveled to Fayette, Iowa, last weekend, and 81/2 hours to Mankato this weekend.

"I think it was Mankato that affected us," Schulz said. "We couldn't run. Their defensive line is big and strong. We couldn't get anything going at them past their secondary. We couldn't get anything going east and west. The difference is their depth, and they are physical. They are good everywhere."

Mankato established its running game from the start with the first four plays going up the middle. Donte Schackelford finished with 66 yards on 10 carries, doing all his damage in the fourth quarter. Julian Phipps added 54 yards on 14 carries and Ernest Walker had 37 yards on 10 carries. Walker scored from 1 yard and 2 yards.

"We obviously want to run the ball," Mankato coach Todd Hoffner said. "Running the football is very important to us."

U-Mary running back Jamal Lomax managed 44 yards on 20 carries. Kozak completed 16 of 32 passes.

U-Mary 0 0 0 0 - 0

MSU-Mankato 13 13 14 0 " 40

First Quarter

MSUM-Vincent Flury 13 pass from Ryan Fick (Spencer Goff kick), 10:28. (9 plays, 61 yards, 4:32).

MSUM-Chris Nowlin 43 pass from Fick (kick failed), 8:17. (3 plays, 64 yards, 0:59).

Second Quarter

MSUM-Ernest Walker 1 run (pass failed), 11:35. (8 plays, 31 yards, 3:14).

MSUM-Kelvin Rodgers 55 interception return (Goff kick), 7:37.

Third Quarter

MSUM-Walker 2 run (Gott kick), 4:46. (12 plays, 64 yards, 5:31).

MSUM-Nowlin 29 pass from Fick (Gott kick), 2:07. (3 plays, 58 yards, 1:08).

Fourth Quarter

No scoring.

Team Statistics

U-Mary MSU-M

First downs 11 16

Rushes-yards 31-45 42-180

Comp.-Att.-Int. 16-32-2 8-14-1

Passing yards 138 134

Total yards 183 314

Fumbles-lost 1-0 0-0

Penalties-yards 8-58 8-70

Punts-yards 7-216 2-77

Individual Statistics

Rushing: U-Mary " Jamal Lomax 20-44, Stefan Klein 4-11, Henry Lau 1-6, Mike Williams 4-1, Jesse Kozak 2-(minus) 17. MSUM "Donte Shackelford 10-66, Julian Phipps 15-54, Ernest Walker 10-37, Ryan Fick 3-16, Nick West 2-7, Steve Pachan 2-1.

Passing: U-Mary " Kozak 16-32-2 138. MSUM " Fick 8-12-1 134, Pachan 0-2-0 0.

Receiving: U-Mary " Roman Penirian 4-34, Brady Martin 3-30, Erik Kruse 3-29, Mike Williams 3-28, Chris Avery 1-9, Brennan Quintus 1-8, Lomax 1-0. MSUM " Vincent Flury 4-43, Chris Nowlin 2-72, Damian Turner 2-19.

Interceptions: U-Mary - Greg Williams. Mankato " Tony Hunter, Kelvin Rodgers.

Records: U-Mary 1-1 NSIC, 1-2 overall; MSUM 2-0, 2-1.