Wayne State 44 Northern State 20
Sophomore quarterback Evan Johnson completed 17 of 24 passes for 253 yards and one touchdown while rushing for three more scores in his first collegiate start and Wayne State used a strong second half to pull away for a 44-20 Northern Sun Conference football win over Northern State at Cunningham Field in Wayne, Nebraska Saturday afternoon. It was the sixth straight homecoming win for the Wildcats, now 3-1 overall and 2-1 in the NSIC while Northern State remains winless at 0-4 on the season and 0-3 in league play.
Wayne State got off to a bad start, fumbling their first play from scrimmage as Northern State recovered the ball at the Wildcat 41 yard line. The Wolves moved the ball to the WSC five yard line, but had to settle for a Thomas Parrott 22-yard field goal to give Northern State the early lead. Later in the quarter, Wayne State got on the board as Johnson found the end zone on a 10 yard run, capping a seven play, 60 yard drive to put the Wildcats in front 7-3 with 4:24 to play in the first quarter.
On the ensuing drive, Northern State drove from their own 22 yard line and got inside the Wildcat five yard line where the drive stalled, ending in another Thomas Parrott 22 yard field goal to cut the Wildcat advantage to 7-6. After WSC missed a 48-yard field goal, Northern State took over at their own 30 yard line and used a trick play to take the lead as wide receiver John Michael Migdal found a wide open Trent DesLauriers on a 51-yard pass play to put Northern State in front 13-7 with 7:45 to play in the first half.
WSC answered with a scoring drive to retake the lead as Johnson plunged in from one yard out to culminate a 12 play, 63 yard drive that covered 5:30, putting WSC back in front 14-13 with 2:15 remaining in the half. The Wildcats forced Northern State to punt on the next series, using all three of their timeouts to preserve time on the clock nearing halftime. Starting from their own 33 yard line with 1:38 remaining and no time outs left in the half, Johnson directed a perfect two minute drill and found Kevin Paulsen on a short slant route with Paulsen outrunning the Northern State defenders 40 yards for a score, putting the Wildcats up 21-13 with 1:06 to play in the first half.
The third quarter saw each team trade punts on their first possessions. The Wildcats had a scoring threat on their second drive, moving inside the Northern State two yard line but WSC was stopped on fourth and goal from the two as Northern State held. But WSC then forced Northern State into a three and out and the Wildcats got the ball in great field position at the Wolves 32 yard line. It took WSC just three plays to move 32 yards as Johnson capped the short scoring drive on a eight yard run, giving WSC a 28-13 lead with 51 seconds remaining in the third quarter.
Wayne State forced a Northern State turnover early in the fourth quarter as Javal Jones intercepted a Nick Wanner pass at the WSC 37 yard line. The Wildcats then drove 67 yards on nine plays capped by Eric Meyer's two yard run into the end zone, increasing the WSC advantage to 34-13. Wayne State shut down Northern State's offense in the second half with the exception of one play, a 66-yard touchdown pass from Wanner to Trevor Mau with 4:59 left in the game, making the score 34-20. Northern State had just 59 yards in total offense the rest of the second half.
The Wildcats closed out the scoring on a Nick Bell 39 yard field goal with 2:19 to go followed by a Javal Jones 35-yard interception return with 1:35 remaining making the final score 44-20.
Wayne State outgained Northern State in the contest 405-322. The Wildcats had 152 yards rushing and 253 passing while the Wolves produced 110 yards on the ground and 212 through the air. Evan Johnson finished with 292 yards of total offense for WSC, completing 17 of 24 passes for 253 yards and one score while rushing for another 39 yards on 13 carries and three touchdowns. Senior Eric Meyer was Wayne State's top rusher with 60 yards on 13 rushes and one score. Junior Mitch Montgomery of Ralston was the leading receiver for the Wildcats with eight receptions for 138 yards. Defensively, senior linebacker Anthony Hale had a game-high nine tackles followed by Cole Fischer with eight. Javal Jones had two interceptions for 35 return yards and a touchdown along with one pass breakup.
Wayne State will be on the road next weekend, visiting Southwest Minnesota State in Northern Sun Conference South Division battle with kickoff slated for 6:00 p.m. in Marshall, Minnesota.
