Wayne State 31 University of Mary 24
Wayne State College was able to hold off the University of Mary in the closing seconds to come away with the 31-24 victory on homecoming at Bob Cunningham Field in Wayne. The Wildcats improved their unbeaten NSIC record to 5-0 and are now 5-1 overall after winning every game since the season opening loss to Kearney.
WSC got on the scoreboard first with a 35 yard field goal on the opening drive of the game to take an early 3-0 lead. Each team was unable to score on their next two drives until Mary quarterback Josh Edwards completed a screen pass to Josh Murray for a 45 yard touchdown putting the Marauders up 7-3 with 3:02 left in the first quarter.
The Marauders got a field goal on their second drive of the second quarter when place kicker Tyler Ryan extended the Mary lead to 10-3 with a 38 yard kick. The Wayne State offense was scored on the very next drive as running back Bryce Hawthorne sparked the Wildcats' offense with a 29 yard touchdown scamper. After a Mary punt and fumbles by both quarterbacks WSC got the ball back with 1:22 left in the second quarter and the drive starting at the 50 yard line. Mitch Montgomery caught three passes on the ensuing drive including a seven yard TD with 40 second left in the half giving the Wildcats a 17-10 halftime lead.
Montgomery had his number called again in the third quarter when quarterback Nate Most connected with him on a 64 yard touchdown pass that capped a three play 90 yard drive pushing the 'Cats lead to 24-10. The two teams then exchanged punts, including a 70 yard bomb from Wayne State punter Randy Weich. The Marauders scored on their next drive when running back Josh Murray plunged into the end zone for a one yard score, cutting the Wayne State advantage to 24-17.
Wayne State scored early in the fourth quarter when Bryce Hawthorne notched his second rushing touchdown of the game on a three yard run building the WSC lead to 31-17. Midway through the fourth quarter with Mary trailing by 14 the Marauders decided to go for it on fourth and six and the decision paid off. Quarterback Josh Edwards completed a pass to receiver Curtis Darrah that went 31 yards for the score and cut the Wildcat lead to seven with a score of 31-24. The Mary defense then forced Wayne State to punt twice in the final seven and a half minutes of regulation giving the Marauders a chance to score before the end of regulation. With no timeouts left the Mary offense took the field at their own three yard line needing to drive 97 yards with 1:34 remaining on the clock. Josh Edwards completed six passes on the final drive of the game but could only get his offense to the Wayne State 40 yard line as a hail mary to end the game fell incomplete with no time remaining.
In the contest, the University of Mary outgained Wayne State in total offense 449-368 and controlled the ball with an advantage in time of possession 40:15-19:45. The Wildcats' defense forced two turnovers while the Marauders forced three of their own.
Individually, Nick Pulscher led the Wildcat rushing attack with 20 carries for 93 yards and Bryce Hawthorne racked up 50 yards and two touchdowns on six carries. Nate Most completed 15 of the 30 passes he attempted resulting in 212 yards through the air and two touchdowns. Kevin Paulsen led the receiving core with five catches for 46 yards while Mitch Montgomery hauled in four passes for 113 yards and two scores. Ben Radel was on a collision course with ball carriers all afternoon notching 14 tackles (11 solo) and forcing one fumble. Defensive linemen Michael Bazata and Jeff Pokorny each registered a sack in the contest and Pokorny also forced a Marauder fumble.
Wayne State hits the road next weekend for a Northern Sun Conference contest at Concordia-St. Paul starting at 1:00 p.m. Saturday in St. Paul, Minnesota.
