Wayne State 37 Northern State 10
Wayne State College forced six turnovers and scored a touchdown on special teams for the fourth straight game as the Wildcats defeated Northern State 37-10 Saturday afternoon in Northern Sun Conference football played at Swisher Field in Aberdeen, South Dakota. Wayne State College, now 20-7 in road NSIC games under head coach Dan McLaughlin, moves to 3-1 overall and 3-0 in the NSIC while Northern State drops to 1-3 and 0-3 in league play.
The Wildcats got off to a slow start. WSC went three and out on their first series and a five yard punt by Randy Weich gave Northern State the ball at the Wildcat 40 yard line. The Wolves needed just six plays and marched 40 yards for an early score as Mike Bogdanovich found the end zone on a four-yard run, giving Northern State a 7-0 lead with 11:42 to play in the first quarter.
Wayne State then got a big play on special teams for the fourth straight week to get back into the game as Northern State had a bad snap on a punt and Richard Daniel recovered the ball in the end zone for a touchdown with 4:59 to play in the first quarter. Max Martin's extra point kick was no good so Northern State still held a 7-6 lead, but that was short-lived. The Wildcats took advantage of another bad punt snap by the Wolves and got the ball at the NSU 24 yard line. Redshirt freshman quarterback Nathan Most found senior tight end Sam Blake on a seven yard touchdown pass to cap a six play, 24-yard drive, giving Wayne State a 13-7 lead with 51 seconds to play in the first quarter.
The Wildcat defense came up big on the next series as Alex Marquez forced a fumble on NSU quarterback Nick Wanner with Wildcat linebacker Nick Monzu recovering the ball at the Wolves' 18 yard line. Junior running back Nick Pulscher scored on a two-yard run on third and goal with 13:32 remaining in the second quarter, giving WSC a 20-7 advantage.
Wayne State added another score late in the first half as senior running back Bryce Hawthorne was on the receiving end of a 12-yard pass from Most, capping a 10 play, 67-yard drive, with 47 seconds left in the half to give the Wildcats a 27-7 lead at halftime.
The lone score came late in the third quarter when Wayne State capitalized on another Northern State turnover. Wildcat linebacker Nick Monzu sacked Wolves quarterback Nick Wanner, forcing a fumble that was recovered by Alex Marquez to give WSC the ball at the NSU 44 yard line. An eight play, 44 yard drive was capped by a 13-yard scoring pass from Most to Blake, their second scoring hookup of the game, with two seconds to play in the third quarter giving Wayne State a 34-7 lead after three quarters.
Both teams made field goals in the fourth quarter, a 39-yarder from Northern State's Felipe Alfaia with 12:41 to go and a 33-yard field goal by Wayne State's Max Martin with 2:23 remaining, to make the final score 37-10.
Wayne State outgained Northern State in the contest 298-226. The 'Cats had 147 yards rushing and 151 passing while the Wolves gained 98 on the ground and another 128 through the air. Wayne State's top rusher was junior Nick Pulscher with 108 yards on 20 carries and one touchdown, his second 100-yard effort of the season. Redshirt freshman quarterback Nathan Most, starting his first collegiate game in place of an injured Evan Johnson, completed 13 of 22 passes for 151 yards and three touchdowns. Seven different players had receptions for WSC with Bryce Hawthorne making three catches for 27 yards and one score while senior tight end Sam Blake had two catches, both for touchdowns.
The Wayne State defense was led by redshirt freshman linebacker Nick Monzu with nine tackles, one sack, one forced fumble and a fumble recovery. Sophomore Ben Radel had two interceptions for 51 return yards along with two pass breakups. Alex Marquez, Richard Daniel and Kevin Paulsen were each credited with fumble recoveries.
Wayne State returns home next Saturday as the Wildcats host Southwest Minnesota State in a Northern Sun Conference contest beginning at 4:00 p.m. at Bob Cunningham Field in Wayne.
