Wayne State 31 MSU Moorhead 23

            Wayne State junior quarterback Nick Bohn accounted for 276 yards of total offense and three touchdowns to lead the Wildcats past MSU Moorhead 31-23 Thursday evening in the 2023 Northern Sun Conference football opener for both teams at Cunningham Field in Wayne.
            The visiting Dragons used a speedy, no-huddle offense to score on the opening series as MSUM marched 75 yards on just six plays.  Quarterback Jack Strand fired a 19-yard scoring pass to Brady Perryman giving the Dragons the early lead.
            Wayne State countered with a score on their first series of the game as Bohn ran four yards for a touchdown, capping a 10-play, 68-yard drive to knot the game at 7-7.
            The 'Cats scored again on their next drive, consuming 6:39 on the clock on a 14-play, 71-yard drive as sophomore running back Dawson Forgy scored on a nine-yard run for a 14-7 lead.
            Later in the second quarter, MSU Moorhead cut the WSC lead to 14-10 on a 28-yard field goal by Jacob Schroeder.
            WSC answered with a field goal just before halftime as freshman Boston Hensley connected from 23 yards away to culminate a 75-yard drive on 11 plays giving the 'Cats a 17-10 lead at halftime.
            Wayne State opened the second half with another score, their fourth on five drives to open the game, as Bohn snuck into the end zone from one yard out giving the 'Cats a 24-10 advantage.
            The Dragons responded, needing just five plays to cover 73 yards to score a touchdown as Strand connected with Perryman on a 41-yard pass to reduce the Wildcat lead to 24-17.
            The 'Cats scored early in the fourth quarter when Bohn fired a 36-yard strike to junior Ashten Schmaderer to highlight a 77 yard drive on 10 plays, putting Wayne State ahead 31-17.
            MSU Moorhead closed the scoring with 1:06 remaining on a Gage Florence one-yard pass from Strand, trimming the Wildcat advantage to 31-23.
            On onside kick by the Dragons was recovered by WSC, but MSUM held the 'Cats forcing a three and out and got a blocked punt recovering the ball near midfield.  But WSC created a pair of incomplete passes, got a sack and another incomplete pass to stop the Dragons and the 'Cats went into victory formation for the win.
            Wayne State held a 389 to 348 advantage in total offense over the Dragons.  The 'Cats had 125 yards rushing and 264 passing while the Dragons had -3 yards rushing and 351 passing.
            Bohn completed 21 of 29 passes for 264 yards and one score while rushing for two more TD's.  Redshirt freshman Latravious Boyd gained 52 yards on 11 carries while Forgy added 43 yards on 10 attempts and one score.
            The top receiver for the 'Cats was Kendrick Watkins-Hogue with six catches for 40 yards followed by Schmaderer with 76 yards on four catches and one TD.
            Defensively linebackers Alex Schall and Tyler Leclair each posted seven tackles while Marzion Cosby recorded six tackles.
            Wayne State is on the road next Saturday playing at #9 Minnesota State in a 6 p.m. NSIC contest.