Wayne State 42 Southwest Minnesota State 28
Wayne State used a big second half to achieve numerous milestones in Saturday's 42-28 Northern Sun Conference football win over Southwest Minnesota State at Cunningham Field in Wayne. The win was the fourth straight for the Wildcats, now 5-3 overall and 5-1 in the NSIC. It's the first four-game win streak for the Wildcat football program since 1993 and the five conference wins marks the first time since 1984 that a WSC football team has won five conference games.
The Wildcats gained 395 of their season-high 567 yards in the second half to rally from a 21-7 halftime deficit in the win. The visiting Mustangs took the opening drive of the game and marched 65 yards on 12 plays to take an early 7-0 lead as sophomore running back Zach Wysong scored on a one-yard run to put SMSU in front. Later in the first quarter, SMSU took advantage of a Silas Fluellen fumble as Tyler Reed picked up the loose ball and rambled 27 yards for a score to give the Mustangs a 14-0 lead with 4:24 remaining in the first quarter. The Wildcats answered on the next drive with their first score of the game as Travis Rhone found the end zone on a two-yard run with :41 seconds left in the first quarter, cutting the Mustang lead to 14-7.
The lone score in the second quarter came just before halftime as Derek Townsend was on the receiving end of a 25-yard scoring pass by quarterback Josh Shudlick with just 12 seconds left in the second quarter, giving Southwest Minnesota State a 21-7 lead at the intermission
But the Wildcats came out strong in the second half and used a punishing rushing attack to get back into the ball game. WSC needed just four plays and 75 yards, all on the ground, to score on the opening drive of the second half at Rhone hit pay dirt from 14 yards out, making the score 21-14 in favor of SMSU. After forcing SMSU to punt on their first series of the second half, WSC used a six play, 54 yard drive to knot the score midway through the third quarter as Eric Meyer score on a one-yard run at the 8:54 mark, making the score 21-21. The Wildcats took their first lead of the game at the 4:22 mark of the third quarter when Meyer scored on a two-yard plunge to cap a six-play, 58 yard drive to give WSC a 28-21 lead. However, SMSU scored on the next drive, marching 77 yards on seven plays, to tie the score at 28-28. The scoring drive was capped by Zach Wysong's 22 yard run. But Wayne State wasted little time to regain the lead as Meyer sprinted 62 yards for his third score of the third quarter, giving the Wildcats a 35-28 lead entering the fourth quarter.
Wayne State added an insurance score in the fourth quarter as Silas Fluellen scored on a four-yard run with 4:16 remaining to give the Wildcats the 42-28 win.
WSC finished the game with 567 yards of total offense (366 rushing, 201 passing) with 395 coming in the second half. SMSU finished with 411 yards, but only 156 came in the second half when the Wildcats made their comeback. Travis Rhone led a balanced rushing attack for Wayne State with 155 yards on 27 carries and two scores. Freshman Robert Perry added 85 yards on just six attempts while sophomore Eric Meyer had a career-high 72 yards rushing on five attempts with three resulting in touchdowns. Fluellen completed 18 of 26 passes for 201 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions.
SMSU was led offensively by quarterback Josh Shudlick, who completed 27 of 47 passes for 314 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions.
Defensively, junior linebacker Luke Hoffman paced the Wildcats with 10 tackles followed by Nick Baldetti with nine and a fumble recovery. B.J. Campbell had two interceptions for WSC with Benny Collins also picking off a pass.
Wayne State will put their four-game win streak on the line next Saturday at Concordia-St. Paul with kickoff set for 1:00 p.m.
