Wayne State 44 Upper Iowa 41 OT
In a game that featured a combined 1,155 yards between the two teams, it was Max Martin's 22 yard field goal in overtime that gave Wayne State College a wild 44-41 overtime win over Upper Iowa in Northern Sun Conference football played Saturday afternoon at Bob Cunningham Field in Wayne, Nebraska. The Wildcats are now 6-3 overall and 6-2 in league play while Upper Iowa drops to 3-6 and 2-6 in the NSIC. The win also moved WSC head coach Dan McLaughlin into second place on the all-time wins list at Wayne State with 45 (45-32 in 7th season), passing Dennis Wagner who was 44-37-1 in seven seasons as head coach from 1989-96.
Upper Iowa took the opening drive of the game and marched 90 yards on just four plays, capped by a Chris Smith two yard run to put the Peacocks up early 7-0. After WSC was forced to punt on their first two possessions under junior starter Evan Johnson, the Wildcats got on the scoreboard on their third drive of the game under backup redshirt freshman Nate Most, who engineered a 12-play, 80 yard scoring drive with Vincent Patterson scoring on a two yard run to tie the score at 7-7 with 5:01 to play in the first quarter. WSC took advantage of a partially blocked punt by Daniel Leacraft, giving the 'Cats the ball at the UIU 35. The Wildcats had to settle for a Max Martin 34 yard field goal with 1:27 to play, ending the first quarter scoring with Wayne State leading 10-7.
The Peacocks came right back and regained the lead on the ensuing drive as Jessie Hubbard scored on a 16 yard pass play from Cole Jaeschke with 14:11 left in the first half, giving UIU a 14-10 advantage. After both teams exchanged punts, WSC took the lead back midway through the second quarter as senior running back Bryce Hawthorne scored on a three yard run to cap an eight play, 53 yard drive that put WSC ahead 17-14. The Peacocks scored again just before halftime on a 25-yard run by backup running back Jordan Otdoerfer to put Upper Iowa in front 21-17 at intermission.
On the first play of the second half, Upper Iowa's Chris Smith broke loose for an 80-yard TD jaunt and the Peacocks held a 28-17 lead. It would be the first of five touchdowns combined in a stretch of 5:31 to start the third quarter. WSC needed just 1:25 to answer as Nate Most scored on a seven yard run in a drive that was highlighted by a 60-yard pass from Most to Mitch Montgomery, cutting the Peacock lead to 28-24. UIU scored a touchdown for the third straight drive as Otdoerfer scampered 40 yards for a score, giving Upper Iowa a 35-24 advantage with 12:07 left in the third quarter.
Wayne State scored on the ensuing drive as neither team could stop each other with Hawthorne finding the end zone on a three yard plunge, making the score 35-31 with 9:29 to go in the third. On the next drive after Upper Iowa used a Chris Smith 56 yard run to get to the WSC 11, the Wildcat defense held the Peacocks forcing UIU's Steven Sandoval to kick a 35 yard field goal that gave the Peacocks a 38-31 lead with 6:35 to go in the third quarter. Wayne State then took the next drive and covered 71 yards on 10 plays in 2:55, capped by another Bryce Hawthorne three yard run as the game was tied at 38-38 with 3:37 to play in the third quarter.
Upper Iowa capitalized on a rare WSC turnover late in the third quarter and used a 30-yard field goal by Sandoval with 11:27 to play to take a 41-38 lead. On the next drive, WSC used a 36 yard kickoff return by Kevin Paulsen to start at their own 44 yard line. The 'Cats drove 48 yards on 12 plays and used a Max Martin 25 yard field goal to even the score at 41-41. The next three drives resulted in punts and the game appeared to be heading into overtime with WSC starting at their own 36 yard line with just 1:10 remaining. But a 48 yard pass from Most to Kevin Paulsen, who made the catch in double coverage, gave the 'Cats the ball at the UIU 16. Runs by Bryce Hawthorne of three and four yards put the ball at the Peacock nine as WSC was setting up for the potential game-winning field goal. But WSC quarterback Nate Most fumbled on the next play and the ball was recovered by Upper Iowa's Ethan Douglas at the 12 yard line with 36 seconds left to send the game into overtime.
On the first possession, WSC held Upper Iowa on a third and five at the nine yard line to force a 26 yard field goal by Upper Iowa's Steven Sandoval, which was wide left. On Wayne State's possession in overtime, the 'Cats used runs of four, six, nine and zero yards to get the ball to the Peacock six yard line where Max Martin booted a game-winning 22 yard field goal to give Wayne State the wild 44-41 win in overtime.
Wayne State finished with 596 yards, gaining 384 on the ground with another 212 through the air, while Upper Iowa gained 559 yards with 366 on the ground. The two teams combined for 1,155 yards in the contest. Senior running back Bryce Hawthorne ran the ball 41 times for 239 yards and three touchdowns to lead WSC while Most added 88 yards on 16 rushes with one score. Vincent Patterson had another 62 yards on 13 carries with one score. Most completed 12 of 19 passes for 212 yards with Mitch Montgomery grabbing three receptions for 118 yards.
For Upper Iowa, freshman running back Chris Smith had 287 yards on 24 carries and two scores followed by Jordan Otdoerfer with 103 yards on 14 carries and two touchdowns. Redshirt freshman quarterback Cole Jaeschke was 13 of 26 passing for 193 yards with one touchdown. His top target was Shay Gutman with five catches for 85 yards while Jessie Hubbard added four receptions for 62 yards and one score.
Defensively, redshirt freshman linebacker Jared Curry led Wayne State with 12 tackles, one sack, three tackles for loss for 18 yards along with a forced fumble and fumble recovery. Sophomore strong safety Austan Pomajzl added 11 stops for the Wildcats. WSC had two turnovers in the game while Upper Iowa had one. The Wildcats had nine penalties for 77 yards while Upper Iowa was flagged four times for 25 yards.
Wayne State is on the road next weekend, visiting travel partner Augustana College in a 1:00 p.m. Northern Sun Conference contest in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
