#24 Wayne State at Indianapolis Game Notes #10

INDIANAPOLIS STORYLINES
The 24th-ranked Wayne State University football team (7-2, 6-2 GLIAC) will look to rebound from its first home defeat of the season when it travels to the University of Indianapolis (7-2, 6-2 GLIAC) on Saturday to face the Greyhounds at 6:00 p.m. The Warriors are in the AFCA Division II Coaches top 25 for the 14th consecutive week, but dropped to seventh in the NCAA Super Region #3 football rankings released on Monday. The top six teams will qualify for the NCAA Division II Playoffs.

Indy is coming off a 24-17 road win at Ferris State University and is one position behind WSU in the regional rankings.

This year's senior class is tied for the all-time school mark for victories in a four-year period with 30 (30-12). The 1974-77 teams, under legendary coach Dick Lowry, also compiled a 30-12 record.  The Warriors return home for their regular season finale against the University of Findlay (5-4, 5-3 GLIAC) on Nov. 12. It will be Armed Forces Day at Tom Adams Field and kickoff is set for Noon.


SAGINAW VALLEY RECAP
Battling injuries and missed opportunities, 15th-ranked Wayne State (7-2, 6-2 GLIAC) suffered a 28-20 setback to Saginaw Valley State University (6-2, 6-2 GLIAC) to drop its first home game of the season and only its second in the last 11 contests played at Tom Adams Field.

Trailing 28-20 with just under five minutes left in the fourth quarter, the Warriors offense had two chances to tie the score. First, a quick three-and-out gave the ball back to the Cardinals, but the WSU defense answered with a three-and-out of its own, giving the offense one more chance with 2:36 to go. Senior Josh Renel had a seven-yard reception and a four-yard run sandwiched around a two-yard rush by junior quarterback Mickey Mohner to set up a Warrior 1st-and-10 at their own 37 yard line, however four straight incomplete passes ended any comeback hope.

Trailing 21-17 at the half, the Warriors closed the deficit to one with 1:09 left in the third quarter using a 23-yard field goal from Stefan Terleckyj. Sophomore Toney Davis averaged 6.5 yards a carry during the 12-play, 63-yard scoring drive which lasted 5:22. Following a Warrior punt early in the fourth period, the SVSU offense went 96 yards in 11 plays to extend its lead to 28-20 on a one-yard dive from Jonathon Jennings with 4:57 left.  The drive was aided by a Warrior penalty on a 3rd-and-goal incompletion from the 5.

Renel opened the scoring with 7:56 left in the first quarter on a one-yard plunge capping an 11-play, 49-yard drive. The Cardinals knotted the score at seven with a three-yard TD scamper from Jennings on SVSU's first drive of the second stanza. Renel returned the ensuing kickoff 33 yards to the WSU 49.  Eight plays later, the Warriors regained the lead (14-7) on a six-yard touchdown run from Davis with 7:18 remaining in the first half. From there, Jennings and wide receiver Jeff
Janis gave the WSU defense fits. The pair hooked up for back-to-back passing scores of 22 and 39 yards, giving SVSU its first lead, 21-14, 44 seconds before halftime.

However, the hosts countered with a 35-yard field goal from Terleckyj as time expired. Along with generating eight of the Warriors 20 points, Terleckyj had his best punting output of the season, averaging a season-best 45.4 yards on a career-high seven attempts. He also pinned the Cardinals inside their own 10-yard line four times. Davis ended his day with 94 yards on 16 carries and one touchdown, while Renel tallied 51 yards on 16 attempts with a score. Senior linebacker Zach Easterly tallied a career-high 11 tackles.


IN THE POLLS
In the second NCAA Super Region #3 football rankings released on Monday, Wayne State was seventh and Indianapolis eighth. The Warriors are in the top 25 in all three polls for the 14th consecutive week. WSU dropped nine spots in the AFCA poll to 24th, while sliding 12 places to 22nd in the D2football.com poll. The Warriors fell six spots to 15th 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. The Greyhounds were picked to finish seventh in the GLIAC North Division, earning 29 points, in the preseason poll.


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. Winters (43-42) passed Joseph G. Gembis (1932-45) for first on the WSU career wins all-time list with the double overtime (27-24) victory at Hillsdale on Oct. 22.

Indianapolis promoted Bob Bartolomeo to its head football coaching position on Nov. 23, 2009. After six seasons as the Greyhounds' defensive coordinator, Bartolomeo guided the Greyhounds to a 6-5 mark last season – its first winning season since 2007.


ALL-TIME SERIES WITH INDIANAPOLIS
Wayne State trails 11-9 in the all-time series with Indianapolis. However, in addition to winning the last four meetings in the series, the Warriors have posted four straight victories in Indy. While six of the last seven contests have been decided by 14 points or less, the last seven games have been decided by an average of 10 points. 


SCOUTING INDY
With the fifth best offense in the GLIAC, the Greyhounds are led by their conference-leading passing offense (289.6 ypg). Leading the attack is sophomore quarterback Chris Mills and wide receivers Ryan Forney, a senior, and junior Mar'Quone Edwards.

Mills ranks first in passing offense (272.9 ypg), second in total offense (285.0 ypg) and third is passing efficiency (159.3 rating), while Forney is first in receptions (7.4 rpg), second in receiving yards (109.9). and third in punt return average (9.6 ypr). Along with being the third-leading scorer in the league at 8.7 points per game, Mar'Quone Edwards is averaging 83.0 receiving yards a game and 6.9 receptions per contest.

Freshman place kicker Scott Miller has generated the third-most field goals per game in the GLIAC at 1.44 and brings in the third-best PAT kicking percentage at 94.4. His kicking counterpart, junior punter Aaron Puntarelli averages 40.5 yards per punt – third highest mark in the conference. Sophomore defensive back Jerrett Ban is tied-for-first in passes defended (11) and ranks tied-for-third in total interceptions (4).


UPCOMING CAREER MILESTONES
- Mohner needs 29 completions to tie Mark Friday (1991-93) for second on the WSU all-time list and 31 to equal Michael Gluski (1994-95, 97-98) for first. He needs 135 offensive yards to tie Gluski's mark of 4,984 for second.

- Renel needs two rushing touchdown to tie Steve Lee (1988-91) for fourth on the WSU all-time list and two TDs overall to tie Elbert Richmond (1950-52) for sixth on the touchdowns scored chart. He needs 110 rushing yards to tie Craig Duppong (2002-03) for sixth and 55 punt return yards to tie Jerriel Burrus (2003-06) for the all-time lead.

- Burrell needs 157 receiving yards to move into a second place tie with Jimmy Hill (1989-92) on the WSU all-time list and 10 receptions to equal Pierre Brown (1998-01) for third.

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


SEASON NOTES AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS
- WSU needs 26 points to tie the school record of 347 set last year.

- Mohner has thrown the most touchdown passes (17) since Jason Charron (1999-01) threw 21 in 2000.

- Renel needs 120 rushing yards to be the seventh consecutive WSU running back to run for 1,000 yards and ninth in the last 10 years.

- Burrell has posted the most touchdown receptions (9) in a season since Brown grabbed 11 in 2001. He needs 111 yards to tie Nick Body (2002-06) for the
second-best season total.

- Jones could be the first defensive back since Bobby Boyer (2002-05) in 2004 to lead team in tackles. He is two tackles ahead of Aaron Cornett's 54.

- Sophomore kicker Stefan Terleckyj could be the first kicker to lead WSU in scoring since Matt Fishburn (1994-97). Terleckyj has 69 points, 15 in front of Burrell, Davis and Renel for first.


COACH WINTERS ON WDFN 1130 AM
Winters will be interviewed on WDFN 1130 AM every Thursday at 5:15 p.m. He will recap last week's contest and preview the Warriors' upcoming opponent.