Wayne State Football Weekly Game Notes

NORTHERN MICHIGAN STORYLINES

Wayne State will play just its third home game in its last 12 contests this Saturday when the Northern Michigan Wildcats visit Motown for the 76th WSU Homecoming game.  Wayne State has played a Homecoming game every since 1935 except for 1943 and 1994 compiling a 39-35-1 record.

The Warriors have won both home games this season, by a combined seven points.  WSU has won its last seven Homecoming games, including the last two times NMU has been the Homecoming opponent (24-10 in 2008, and 26-18 in 2010).  Wayne State has a 4-1 record against the Wildcats in Tartar/Warrior Homecoming games dating back to 1993.

Seven of the last nine meetings between WSU and NMU have been decided by eight points or less, including five by three points or less.  The Warriors have won three of the last four meetings after the Wildcats won eight of the first 10 meetings (1957-1991).

SAGINAW VALLEY RECAP

A week after the Wayne State special teams keyed a victory against Hillsdale, a fumbled punt and a bad snap on a punt attempt gave the host Saginaw Valley Cardinals to two touchdown drives of a combined 27 yards as SVSU upended WSU 24-7 in front of a nationally televised audience on CBS Sports Network.

In the first three drives of the contest, the offense managed two first downs each but was forced to punt with Stefan Terleckyj's second punt being downed at the Cardinal two by Kevin Buford-Wilson.

SVSU then drove 73 yards in 11 plays with Scott Stanford connecting on a 42-yard field goal after Moe Davenport sacked Cardinal signal caller Jonathon Jennings for an eight-yard loss on third-and-four.

The next three series all ended in punts with Terleckyj hitting the coffin corner at the Cardinal two-yard line yet again.

On the first play, Jennings completed a pass to Kurt VanEssen with Mike Sawchuk forcing a fumble, but a Cardinal was able to bat the ball out of bounds.  After two first downs, SVSU was forced to punt, but Warrior James Jackson was unable to field it cleanly with the Cardinals recovering at the WSU 18.

On the fifth play of the ensuing drive, Jennings found Zach Cecich in the back of the end zone on a third-and-goal giving the hosts a 10-0 lead near the mid-point of the second stanza.

WSU drove inside the Cardinal 40 but was stopped on fourth down.  The next two drives ended in punts, with the last drive of the half resulting in a missed 49-yard field goal attempt by Stanford.

On the first drive after intermission, Nick Thomas recorded his first career interception.

The Warrior offense responded with a 10-play, 68-yard drive with Toney Davis scoring on a three-yard touchdown run after quarterback Mickey Mohner garnered four first downs, three on pass completions, two to junior Dominique Maybanks, and the other to junior fullback Chet Privett.

On the fifth play of the SVSU drive, Thomas notched his second interception of the contest, but the WSU offense was able to pick up just one first down.

Saginaw Valley drove deep into Warrior territory but Steve O'Shell made a solo tackle on a fourth down pass play three yards short of the first down.

During WSU's punt attempt, the referee ruled Terleckyj's knee touched the ground while he tried to gather the low snap giving SVSU the ball at the Wayne State nine yard line.  Ronnie Lark's second carry of the drive resulted in a one-yard touchdown run, which gave the Cardinals a 17-7 advantage.

Following a WSU punt, Saginaw Valley went 75 yards in 14 plays using 7:55 on the clock with Jennings scoring on a three-yard keeper on third-and-two.

Wayne State was able to cross midfield but Mohner's hail mary pass on the final play was intercepted in the end zone.

Davis rushed for a game-high 154 yards, while Tim Hogue led SVSU with 101 yards on 19 attempts.  Mohner completed 16-of-32 passes for 152 yards, while Jennings was 29-of-46 for 254 yards.  Maybanks led the Warriors with seven receptions for 67 yards.  Michael Albrect had game-high totals of 10 receptions for 91 yards.

IN THE POLLS

Wayne State is 28th in this week's AFCA Division II Coaches Poll. The Warriors were picked to finish second in the GLIAC North Division behind Grand Valley in the 2012 GLIAC preseason coaches poll, while Northern Michigan was tabbed for seventh in the eight-team North Division.  The Warriors are ranked No. 14 in the nation according to this week's Massey Ratings (masseyratings.com) Poll. 

ON THE HEADSET

Head coach Paul Winters, the reigning AFCA National Coach of the Year, is in his ninth season at the helm of the Wayne State football program.  The Warriors are 39-16 over the last four-plus seasons including a 31-15 GLIAC record in that span.

Northern Michigan's Chris Ostrowsky has compiled a 2-5 mark in his first year as a collegiate head coach.

SCOUTING NORTHERN MICHIGAN

The Wildcats earned their first league win of the season with a 38-10 triumph over Grand Valley last Saturday in Marquette.

Prince Young leads NMU with 462 rushing yards and four touchdowns, despite not playing the last two games.  Quarterback Cody Scepaniak directed the win over GVSU by completing 18-of-26 for 218 yards in his first start of the year.  Ryan Morley started the first six games and passed for 916 yards on 88-of-174 with three touchdowns and 10 interceptions.

Julian Gaines has a team-best 33 receptions for 380 yards, while Christian Jessie has a team-high two touchdown catches.

Eddie Knoblock leads the NMU defense with 57 tackles (27-30).  Nick Krause leads the Wildcats with 10 tackles for loss, while Derek Beltrame has a squad-high three interceptions.

ALL-TIME SERIES WITH NORTHERN MICHIGAN

Wayne State has won the last two meetings and three of the last four to pull within 12-14 in the all-time series.  After losing three of the first five home games in the series, WSU has won five of the last eight with five of those contests being Homecoming games (WSU is 4-1 in the five Homecoming games against NMU).

WDTK, WARRIOR ALL-ACCESS AND COMCAST/XFINITY

All Wayne State football games can be heard on WDTK Radio (1400 AM).  Fans can also listen online at wdtkam.com or watch the home games via Warrior All-Access for a $5.95 fee per game. Sean Baligian and WSU Athletics Hall of Famer Joe Gough will call the action every week, while Lisa Seymour will again handle sideline reporting duties.  Fans can ask questions of Joe during each broadcast via Twitter at #ASKGOUGH. Former WSU All-American Josh Renel will be handling color commentating duties on radio this Saturday.

In addition, every home game will be televised live on Xfinity channel 900.  This Saturday's game will also be replayed at 8 p.m. on Wednesday and 9 am on Thursday, also on Xfinity channel 900.

WINTERS ON WEDNESDAYS

Join head coach Paul Winters and host Rod Beard every Wednesday from 7-8 pm on 1400 AM for an hour of Warrior football.  The radio show will also be streamed online at wdtkam.com.

UPCOMING CAREER MILESTONES

• Davis needs 31 rushing attempts to move into fourth place on the all-time list (Steve Lee is currently fourth with 626 carries).

• Mohner needs 14 plays of total offense to move into third place on the all-time list (Gough is currently third with 996 plays).

• Mohner needs 268 yards of total offense to move into first place on the all-time list (Joique Bell is currently first with 7,008 yards).

• Terleckyj needs nine points to move into sole possession of fifth place on the all-time list (Joe Gough is currently fifth at 218 points).

• Terleckyj needs two made field goals to move into third place on the all-time list (Jerry McGowan is currently third with 28 FGM).

• Junior safety Antwon Robinson needs 32 interception return yards to move into 10th place on the all-time list (Terry Rusin and Mark Makela are currently tied-for-10th with 168 interception return yards).

• Senior cornerback Aaron Cornett needs one pass defended (interceptions + break-ups) to move into sole possession of fifth place on the all-time list (Cornett is currently tied with Dante Dunn for fifth place with 29 passes defended).

• The 2012 senior class needs four wins to move into a tie for first place on the all-time list for wins by a class.  The 2012 senior class is 31-13, while the 2011 senior class compiled a 35-14 record.

WAYNE STATE WARRIOR MARCHING BAND

Saturday's halftime show pays tribute to Little Shop of Horrors.