Saturday, November 8, 2008
Wayne State 31 University of Mary 16
Wayne State College closed out the 2008 regular season with their seventh straight win Saturday, a 31-16 victory over the University of Mary in snowy Bismarck, North Dakota. The Wildcats, now 9-2 overall and 8-2 in the NSIC, tied a school record for wins in a single season, matching the 1949 (9-0) and 1993 (9-1) teams and the seven game win streak is the longest by a Wildcat football squad since the 1993 team won nine straight games. Wayne State, who entered Saturday's game ranked sixth in the NCAA Division II Super Three Regional Rankings, awaits word on a possible NCAA playoff berth as the NCAA Division II selection show is scheduled for Sunday afternoon.
The Wildcats took the opening drive of the game and scored as sophomore Frederick Bruno scored on a seven-yard run to highlight an eight play, 60 yard drive, giving WSC an early 7-0 lead with 11:20 to play in the first quarter. Mary got on the board late in the first quarter as Rett Thibodeaux booted a 26-yard field goal, cutting the Wildcat lead to 7-3 with 2:28 remaining in the first quarter.
WSC increased its lead to 14-3 early in the second quarter at the 14:23 mark as Eric Meyer found paydirt on a seven yard run, culminating a 64 yard drive on nine plays. The Wildcats closed out the first half scoring on a Nick Hope 36 yard field goal with 1:12 left before halftime, giving Wayne State a 17-3 lead at the intermission.
The Wildcats scored on their first possession in the third quarter to take a 24-3 advantage as Silas Fluellen snuck into the end zone from the one yard line with 9:00 to play in the third stanza. The host Marauders responded with a score on the following possession as Mary quarterback Henry Lau found Erik Kruse on a 22-yard pass play with 6:03 to play in the third quarter to make the score 24-10.
In the fourth quarter, Wayne State sealed the victory on a 23 yard run by Eric Meyer, his second scoring run of the game, with 6:56 to play to make the score 31-10. Mary added a score late in the game on a 12-yard scoring pass from Lau to Brady Martin to make the score 31-16 after the Marauders missed the PAT kick.
Both teams finished the game with 406 yards of total offense. WSC had 139 yards rushing and 267 yards passing while Mary finished with 104 yards on the ground and 302 passing. Wildcat junior Eric Meyer finished as the game's top rusher with 91 yards on just 13 carries and two scores. WSC quarterback Silas Fluellen completed 19 of 29 passes for 267 yards and one interception. His favorite targets included Logan Masters and Brian Chapman, who both finished with over 100 yards receiving. Masters had eight catches for 107 yards while Chapman finished with six receptions for 108 yards.
Masters made more school history Saturday by becoming the first Wildcat football player to record back-to-back seasons of 1,000 yards in receiving. The junior from Storm Lake, Iowa now has 1,061 yards receiving this year to follow his 1,097 he had last season as a sophomore. He also extended his streak of games with at least two catches to 34 straight.
Defensively, junior linebacker Ryan Reeves, who leads the NSIC in tackles per game, finished with 11 stops while senior outside linebacker Reno Blomquist added eight tackles and two interceptions.
Wayne State now awaits word on a possible NCAA Division II playoff berth, which would be the first-ever in Wildcat football history. The top six teams in the Super Three Regional Rankings all won Saturday as WSC entered this week's play ranked sixth in the region. The NCAA Division II selection show is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. Sunday and will be televised on ESPNEWS.
