#7 Minnesota State 37 #20 Wayne State 34 Double Overtime
#7 Minnesota State outlasted 20th-ranked Wayne State 37-34 in double overtime Saturday evening in Northern Sun Conference football played in Mankato, Minnesota. The host Mavericks are now 4-0 overall and 1-0 in the NSIC South Division with the win while dropping Wayne State to 3-1 overall and 0-1 in the NSIC South Division.
Minnesota State took an early 14-0 lead on the Wildcats. Jake Aberg scored on a 17 yard run to cap an eight play, 63 yard drive to open the game, giving the Mavericks a 7-0 lead. Later in the first quarter, Ernest Walker found paydirt on a six yard run to make the score 14-0 with 1:23 to play in the first quarter.
Wayne State got on the board early in the second quarter when Silas Fluellen hit Frederick Bruno on a one-yard scoring pass to cut the Maverick lead to 14-7 with 11:31 left in the second quarter. The Wildcats tied the score midway through the second quarter when Fluellen and Bruno connected again, this time from 45 yards out, to even the score at 14-14 with 5:20 to play in the first half. Minnesota State scored on the final play of the first half to take a 17-14 halftime lead as Sam Brockshus booted a 41-yard field goal to give the Mavericks the lead at intermission.
The lone score in the third quarter was a 41-yard field goal by Wayne State's Nick Hope coming with 11:44 remaining in the third quarter to knot the score at 17-17.
Wayne State took their first lead of the game with 8:54 to play when junior Frederick Bruno scampered 47 yards for the touchdown, giving the Wildcats a 24-17 lead. Minnesota State responded on the next drive as quarterback Steve Pachan hit Vincent Flury on a six-yard scoring play to even the score at 24-24 with 6:42 left in the game. Following a WSC turnover, Minnesota State drove 27 yards on nine plays and scored on a one-yard run by Pachan to take a 31-24 lead with just 1:38 to play. However, WSC responded as Silas Fluellen raced 47 yards for a touchdown with just 57 seconds to play, tying the game at 31-31 and sending the game into overtime.
In the first overtime session, Minnesota State got the ball first and used a 27-yard field goal by Sam Brockshus to take a 34-31 lead. Wayne State's Nick Hope converted a 21-yard field goal in the Wildcats' first overtime possession, sending the game to a second overtime tied at 34-34. The second overtime saw WSC get the ball first, however, Hope's 32-yard field goal hit the right upright. Minnesota State then drove the ball to the WSC one-yard line and Brockshus made a 19-yard field goal to give Minnesota State the 37-34 double overtime win.
Wayne State finished the game with 528 yards of total offense to 501 for Minnesota State. WSC had 325 yards passing and 203 rushing while the Mavericks had 149 passing and 352 rushing. Wildcat quarterback Silas Fluellen finished the game completing 30 of 51 passes for 325 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. He also added another 76 yards rushing on 10 carries to finish with 401 yards of total offense. Frederick Bruno was Wayne State's top rusher with 79 yards on six carries and he was also the leading receiver with 11 catches for 123 yards and two scores while Logan Masters hauled in eight receptions for 76 yards.
Defensively, senior linebacker Ryan Reeves finished with 14 tackles followed by Matt Greenway with 11 stops and Kyle Gardner 10. Reeves and Anthony Hale each had interceptions for the Wildcats.
Wayne State will be at home next Saturday, hosting Southwest Minnesota State in Northern Sun Conference play with kickoff slated for 1:00 p.m. at Cunningham Field in Wayne.
