Wayne State 31 Minnesota, Crookston 7

Junior running back Travis Rhone scored three touchdowns and accounted for 206 all-purpose yards to lead Wayne State over Minnesota, Crookston 31-7 Saturday afternoon in the Homecoming/Hall of Fame game played at Cunningham Field in Wayne. It was the third straight homecoming win for the Wildcats, now 2-3 overall and 2-1 in the NSIC.  UMC falls to 1-3 and 0-3 in league play.

Minnesota, Crookston had early plans on spoiling homecoming for the Wildcats as the Golden Eagles drove 46 yards on just three plays in the opening minute of the game to take a 7-0 lead when UMC quarterback David White snuck across the goal line from one yard out.  Wayne State, though, responded by scoring on three straight possessions and four of their first five drives to take control of the game.

After UMC took the early 7-0 lead, WSC countered with a 10 play, 72 yard drive to tie the score at 7-7 when Travis Rhone scored on a five-yard run with 9:22 left in the first quarter.  The next scoring drive saw Rhone take a screen pass from quarterback Silas Fluellen and scamper 71 yards for a touchdown, putting WSC in front 14-7 with 6:38 to go in the first quarter.  The Wildcats scored again on the final play of the first quarter as Fluellen hooked up with Brian Chapman on a leaping 17-yard reception in the end zone, giving WSC a 21-7 lead after the first quarter.

In the second quarter, WSC sophomore Nick Hope booted a 34-yard field goal into a steady south wind at 30 mph, putting the Wildcats ahead 24-7 at halftime.

The lone score of the second half came when the Wildcats blocked a UMC punt and recovered at the four yard line midway through the third quarter, Rhone hit paydirt on the following play on a four-yard run to make the final score 31-7.

WSC gained 404 yards in the game while holding Minnesota, Crookston to just 165.  The Wildcats had a season-high 277 yards rushing to go with 127 yards passing.  Rhone finished the game with 132 yards rushing on 18 carries and two touchdowns while adding another 74 yards receiving on two catches, including a 71-yard score.  WSC sophomore quarterback Silas Fluellen completed just 6 of 20 passes for 127 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions.

For Minnesota, Crookston, sophomore Eric John rushed for 77 yards on 21 carries and added another 21 yards on a team-high four receptions.

The top tackler for Wayne State was senior linebacker Nick Baldetti with nine stops, followed by Darius Davis and Troy Pribnow with eight apiece.  Tayler Michels paced Minnesota, Crookston defensively with nine tackles.

Wayne State will be on the road next Saturday when the Wildcats visit Northern State with kickoff set for 2:30 p.m. in Aberdeen, South Dakota.