#33 Wayne State at #14 St. Cloud State Game Notes #12

ST. CLOUD STATE STORYLINES
The 33rd-ranked Wayne State University football team (8-3) will play its first NCAA Division II football playoff game in school history after earning the No. 6 seed for Super Region 3. The Warriors visit St. Cloud State in Minnesota to face the third-seeded Huskies this Saturday at 1 p.m. The winner of the Wayne State - St. Cloud State contest will play at Nebraska-Kearney on Nov. 26.

The other half of the Super Region 3 bracket has Saginaw Valley State University (7-3), the No. 5 seed visiting the fourth-seeded University of Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs (9-2). UMD is the defending national champions.

WSU is 17-5 in its last 22 contests and holds an 8-2 mark in its last 10 road games. After recording their best start (6-0) since 1974, the Warriors have fallen in three of their last five games.

St. Cloud State has won seven of its last eight contests and brings a 15-game home winning streak into the contest. This is SCSU's second straight NCAA playoff appearance and fourth in school history. The Huskies are 2-3 all-time in NCAA playoff games.


FINDLAY RECAP
Wayne State had a chance to claim the GLIAC title outright, but fell, 43-42, in overtime to visiting Findlay last Saturday.

WSU had the first possession of overtime and after junior quarterback Mickey Mohner scrambled for a first down on third-and-five, senior running back Josh Renel went around the right end for a 15-yard touchdown. On UF's possession in the first extra session, Monterae Williams scored from a yard out and the Oilers went for two with Clay Belton completing the PAT pass to Jaryd Brown.

UF took its first lead, 35-28, as Williams capped off a seven-play, 66-yard drive with an eight-yard touchdown run. A pooch kickoff resulted in the Warriors starting the ensuing drive at their own 41. On the first play, senior wide receiver Troy Burrell took a screen pass 59 yards into the end zone and sophomore Stefan Terleckyj's PAT tied the game at 35 with 2:27 left. Findlay ran 11 plays following the kickoff but was unable to get into field goal range.

Trailing 28-21,  Findlay had a third-and-one from the UF 41 and Belton went under center, but the snap went to Seth White who found Brown open for a 59-yard scoring pass to tie the game at 28.

The Oilers recovered an onside kick and drove into the red zone, but junior safety Mazen Jaddou intercepted a fourth-down pass.  The Warriors went three and out, but Terleckyj launched a 73-yard kick before Isaiah Ballard returned it 14 yards.

Burrell tallied 166 receiving yards on five catches with two touchdowns, while Mohner threw for 291 yards and three touchdowns. Sophomore running back Toney Davis ran for 50 yards and two scores.


ON THE HEADSET
Head coach Paul Winters, reigning AFCA Region Coach of the Year, is in his eighth season at the helm of the Wayne State football program and has guided the Warriors to their first NCAA Division II playoff appearance in school history. Winters (44-42) passed Joseph G. Gembis (1932-45) for first on the WSU career wins all-time list with the Oct. 22 victory over Hillsdale.

In his fourth season as head coach of St. Cloud State, Scott Underwood is 33-13. In 2010, Underwood led the Huskies to their third playoff appearance and SCSU advanced to the second round of the playoffs for the second time in school history.


IN THE POLLS
In the NCAA Super Region #3 football rankings released on Sunday, Wayne State was sixth. The top six teams made the NCAA Division II Playoffs. The Warriors dropped out of the top 25 in the AFCA Division II Coaches and D2football.com polls for the first time in 15 weeks. The Warriors fell seven spots to 17th nationally in this week's Massey Ratings.

The Warriors were selected to win the GLIAC South Division, receiving 80 out of a possible 85 points, along with 10 out of a possible 13 first-place votes.


NCAA DIVISION II PLAYOFFS
The top two seeds in the region (#1-Colorado State University-Pueblo / 11-0, and #2-Nebraska-Kearney / 10-1) earned first round byes and will host second round playoff games on Nov. 26. The winner of the Wayne State - St. Cloud State contest will play at Nebraska-Kearney. The other half of the Super Region 3 bracket has Saginaw Valley State University (7-3), the No. 5 seed visiting the fourth-seeded University of Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs (9-2). The winner of the Cardinals - Bulldogs matchup will travel to the No. 1 seed in the Region, Colorado State-Pueblo.

The Warriors received the nod over GLIAC regular-season champion Hillsdale (8-3) who was ranked seventh and Grand Valley State (8-3), who was tabbed eighth. Rounding out Super Region 3 were Minnesota State-Mankato and Colorado Mines.


ST. CLOUD STATE HISTORY
The Huskies first season of football was in 1920, two years after Wayne State began its program. SCSU's all-time record is 421-344-23 and the Huskies have advanced to the NCAA Division II Playoffs three times (1989, 2004 & 2010). Last season, the Huskies suffered a 20-17 overtime setback to eventual National Champions Minnesota-Duluth in the second round.


SCOUTING SCSU'S OFFENSE
This will be the first meeting between the schools. St. Cloud State clinched the NSIC North Division title following its 47-14 victory over Minnesota State University-Moorhead last Saturday.

Sophomore running back Michael Walker leads a Huskies rushing attack that averages 235.8 yards per game. Walker has totaled 666 yards on 126 attempts for a 5.3 yards a carry average, while his 13 touchdowns leads the team. He has scored eight TDs over the last four games and 10 over the last six. The running game has accounted for 37 of the Huskies' 49 offensive touchdowns.

The Huskies receiving corps has seven players with more than 10 catches this season. Sophomore Eli Shoemaker leads with 403 yards on 23 catches and one score, while junior Tyler Allery is next with 335 yards on 24 catches.

Sophomore quarterback Phillip Klaphaeke has thrown for 1751 yards and eight touchdowns, while completing 64.3 percent of passes. Junior Brad Meade has played in seven games at quarterback throwing for 434 yards and four TDs.


SCOUTING SCSU'S DEFENSE
St. Cloud State has the fourth-best scoring defense in the nation limiting opponents to 15.1 points per game. The Huskies allow 301.3 yards per contest, while forcing 24 turnovers. The opposition completes only 31 percent (41-151) of its third downs and averages 4.6 yards a play.

Senior linebacker Mark Martin leads the defense with 69 tackles. He has 7.5 tackles for loss, two quarterback sacks, one interception and two fumble recoveries.

Junior cornerback Marvin Matthews ranks second on the Husky defense in tackles with 63 tackles. He has 4.5 tackles for loss and is one of the two Huskies with three interceptions this season. He is also the team leader in pass break-ups with nine.


UPCOMING SEASON MILESTONES

- Burrell needs 207 receiving yards to tie Pierre Brown (1998-01) for the WSU single-season record and eight receptions to equal Nick Body's (2002-03, 05-06) season mark. His 12 receiving touchdowns are the most since 2000.

- Terleckyj could be the first kicker to lead WSU in scoring since Matt Fishburn (1994-97). Terleckyj has 79 points, one in front of Davis for first and seven ahead of Burrell.

- Jeremy Jones and Aaron Cornett could be the first defensive backs since Bobby Boyer (2002-05) in 2004 to lead the team in tackles. Jones (64 tackles) and Cornett (62 tackles) lead sophomore linebacker Ed Viverette (48).

UPCOMING CAREER MILESTONES

- Mohner needs three completions to tie Michael Gluski (1994-95, 97-98) for first on the WSU all-time list.

- Renel needs three TDs to tie Steve Lee (1988-91) on the touchdowns scored chart. He needs 87 rushing yards to tie Lee for third all-time.

- Burrell needs 354 receiving yards to move into a first place tie with Brown on the WSU all-time list and 12 receptions to equal Ray Ponder (1989-92) for third.

- Jones needs two passes defended to tie Stan Thornton (2007-10) for second on the WSU all-time list. He needs 84 interception return yards to move into a second place tie with Thornton on the all-time chart. He needs one interception to tie John Hazely (1946-49), Gerald Megenity (1974-77) and Derrick Mason (1985-88) with 15 INTs for fifth all-time.

- Terleckyj needs 14 PAT kicks to equal WSU all-time leader David Chudzinski (2005-08).