#33 Wayne State at #4 Nebraska-Kearney Game Notes #13


NEBRASKA-KEARNEY STORYLINES
The 33rd-ranked Wayne State University football team (9-3) is one of 16 teams left in the NCAA Division II football playoffs after upsetting third-seeded St. Cloud State last Saturday. Appearing in its first playoff game in the 94-year history of the football program, the Warriors erased a 21-6 second quarter deficit to post a 48-38 road victory ending the Huskies 15-game home winning streak.

WSU travels to face second seeded Nebraska-Kearney (10-1) this Saturday at 1 p.m. The winner of the contest plays the winner of Colorado State University-Pueblo (11-0) and defending national champion Minnesota Duluth (10-2) on Dec. 3 for the NCAA Super Region Championship.

Wayne State is 18-5 in its last 23 contests and holds a 9-2 mark in its last 11 road games. After recording their best start (6-0) since 1974, the Warriors are 3-3 in their last six games.

UNK also started the year 6-0 before falling to Colorado State University-Pueblo, but has since won four straight. The Lopers are 4-1 at home this season and have won 18 of their last 20 games at Cope Stadium.


ST. CLOUD STATE RECAP
Playing in sub-freezing temperatures with snow falling the entire contest, the Warriors triumphed over St. Cloud State, 48-38.

Sophomore running back Toney Davis rushed for a WSU single-game record 326 yards on 38 carries. He also scored five rushing touchdowns. The Warriors started slowly and trailed 21-6 three minutes into the second stanza before tallying 21 consecutive points before the host Huskies kicked a 23-yard field goal in the final seconds of the first half.

The Warrior defense set the tone for the second half forcing St. Cloud to a three-and-out on the first drive after a snow-delayed 40 minute halftime.  SCSU drove inside the WSU 35 but senior linebacker Raleigh Ross returned his first career interception 78 yards increasing the Wayne State lead to 34-24 with 3:21 left in the third period.

Phillip Klaphake connected with Renard Robinson on a fourth-and-three for a nine-yard scoring play. Davis then ran 47 yards for another TD on the Warriors first play from scrimmage helping the Warriors regain a 10-point advantage at 41-31.

The next three series (2 for SCSU, 1 for WSU) ended in punts. Five Davis runs gained 48 yards culminating in a 20-yard TD run with 3:42 left in the contest. The Huskies answered with a 68-yard touchdown drive, but WSU sophomore Dominique Maybanks recovered the onside kick and WSU ran out the clock. Klaphake completed 22-of-37 for 284 yards and three scores but was picked off twice. Renel finished with 216 all-purpose yards.


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 guided the Warriors to their first NCAA Division II playoff appearance and victory in school history. Winters (45-42) 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 12th season as head coach of Nebraska-Kearney, Darrell Morris is 92-38. A member of the Loper coaching staff since 1986, he was named the 16th head football coach in school history in October of 1999.


DAVIS SETS THE RECORD STRAIGHT
Davis'  326 rushing yards at St. Cloud State eclipsed the mark set by current New Orleans Saints running back Joique Bell (318 - Sept. 16, 2006 vs. Mercyhurst). Renel and Davis helped Wayne State gain 386 yards on the ground in 49 attempts.  His five rushing touchdowns vs. the Huskies was one shy of the NCAA Division II record set by Bernard Scott (11/22/08 for Abilene Christian vs. West Texas A&M).

Davis ranks 27th nationally in rushing yards per game (99.58) and tied-for-19th in scoring (9.00 points per game). Davis could be the first sophomore to lead WSU in scoring since Bell (2006-09) did it with 168 points in 2007. Davis has 105 points, 20 in front of Terleckyj for first and 36 ahead of senior wide receiver Troy Burrell.


NEBRASKA-KEARNEY'S HISTORY
Nebraska-Kearney's first season of football was in 1905, 13 years before Wayne State began its program. UNK's all-time record is 561-343-36. The Lopers have won outright or shared 33 conference titles including four Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference championships.

Along with advancing to the NCAA Division II Playoffs four times (2002, 2005, 2009 & 2010), Nebraska-Kearney made five NAIA postseason appearances (1955, 1963, 1977, 1979 & 1980).


SCOUTING UNK'S OFFENSE
This will be the first meeting between the schools. Nebraska-Kearney closed out its membership in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference on Nov. 12 with a 45-21 home victory over Colorado School of Mines. The Lopers join the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association in 2012. UNK's offense ranks second nationally in total offense (562.82 ypg), third in rushing (288.09 ypg) and seventh in scoring (40.73 ppg).

Leading the way is senior quarterback Jake Spitzlberger, who was named First-Team All-RMAC as well as being chosen the Offensive Player of the Year. Voted All-RMAC for the third time, Spitzlberger enters the NCAA playoffs among the national leaders in total offense per game (309.91 ypg). He is also averaging 89.4 yards on the ground with 14 TD's while completing 58.5% of his passes for 2,426 yards (220.5 avg.) and 20 TD's. Already owning a slew of school records, Spitzlberger needs 17 more rushing yards to reach 1,000 for the season. There have been only 12 such instances in Loper history.

Other Kearney offensive players named All-RMAC First Team were senior left tackle Stephen Goodin and junior receiver Tommy Flanagan. A high school teammate of Spitzlberger's, Flanagan is also the punter and return specialist. His All-RMAC honor comes as a receiver after totaling 614 yards on 40 catches and eight touchdowns. The Lopers have four more receivers with at least 200 yards receiving.

In addition to Spitzlberger, UNK has five ball carriers with at least 250 rushing yards. Freshman Ricky Trinidad leads the way with 616 yards on 98 attempts and five TDs. Sophomore Stephen Rush has tallied seven touchdowns on the ground along with 450 yards on 98 carries. Senior Rustin Dring is right behind Rush with 443 yards and four TDs, while senior Riley Newcomer (290 yards/1 TD) and sophomore Shad Bride (269/5 TDs) round out the group.


SCOUTING UNK'S DEFENSE
While Nebraska-Kearney's offense is one of the nation's best, the Lopers' defense is not far behind. Along with ranking 23rd in total defense (299.82 ypg), UNK is fifth-best in the country at stopping the run (81.09 ypg).

In addition to sitting fourth in points allowed (14.91), the Lopers allowed more than 21 points once (27 to Colorado St.-Pueblo).   Junior defensive tackle Justin Thiel, senior corner Arthur Hobbs and junior safety Sam Kuck all were selected First Team All-RMAC. Hobbs leads the team with six interceptions and 16 pass breakups, while Kuck is second in tackles (61) and Thiel is tied-for-11th (34).

Senior defensive end Alex Paicurich and sophomore inside backer Kellen Werner earned second-team honors, while junior defensive end/tackle Dex Schwieger garnered third-team accolades. Werner leads the team in tackles (70), is tied-for-first in tackles-for-loss (8/37 yards) and is second in INTs (4). Paicurich is tied with Werner for fourth in tackles (51) and Schwieger is seventh (51).


UPCOMING SEASON MILESTONES
- Burrell needs 183 receiving yards to tie Pierre Brown (1998-01) for the WSU single-season record and six receptions to equal Nick Body's (2002-03, 05-06) season mark. His 12 receiving touchdowns are the most since 2000.

- 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 (69 tackles) and Cornett (67 tackles) lead Ross (57) and sophomore linebacker Ed Viverette (54).


UPCOMING CAREER MILESTONES
- Davis and Renel need two TDs to tie Steve Lee (1988-91) on the touchdowns scored chart. Renel needs 19 rushing yards to tie Lee for third all-time.

- Burrell needs 330 receiving yards to move into a first place tie with Brown on the WSU all-time list and 10 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 11 PAT kicks to equal WSU all-time leader David Chudzinski (2005-08).