Football | 10/1/2014 8:46:00 AM

DETROIT -- Not a stranger to solid starts, the Wayne State University football program (3-1, 2-1 GLIAC) looks to continue a pattern of early-season success on Saturday when Tiffin (2-2, 2-2 GLIAC) visits Tom Adams Field at noon. The Warriors are 2-1 at home this season and have posted a winning record at Adams Field each of the previous six seasons including two 5-1 marks. In addition, Paul Winters has led WSU to a 23-7 record the last seven seasons in August and September.

Saturday's contest is brought to you by Michigan First Credit Union.

ON THE AIR
Sean Baligian (play-by-play), former WSU football running back Josh Renel (color analyst) and Jenn Goethel (sideline for home games only) will call the action this Saturday on WDTK The Patriot 1400 AM/92.7 FM Radio.  Fans can also check out the live simulcast on wdtkam.com.

THE SERIES
The Warriors have won all six meetings against the Dragons including the last contest in Detroit by a 55-0 score on Sept. 10, 2011.  WSU has won its three home games by an average of 35 points.  The combined score in the six previous meetings is 254-48.

MILESTONE WATCH
- Desmond Martin needs 155 rushing yards to move into 10th place all-time (1,303).
- Desmond Martin needs one rushing touchdowns to tie Bruce Nichols (1977-79) & Elbert Richmond (1950-52) for 10th place.
- Michael Johnson needs 6 receiving yards to become the 16th player in school history to eclipse the 1,000-yard plateau.

QUICK HITS
- A win over Tiffin would give the Warriors a 4-1 start for the sixth time in the last seven seasons.  Last year's squad started 3-2.
- After not having a 1,000-yard rusher each of the last two seasons, which ended a streak of seven consecutive years with a 1,000-yard rusher, Desmond Martin has 643 yards after only four games.
- Carl Roscoe needs 114 passing yards to surpass his entire 2013 total of 814 yards.  The three Warrior signal callers have combined to complete 62 percent of their passes.  The school record is .599 set in 2010.

TIFFIN STORYLINES
Wayne State will try to surpass last season's win total with a victory this Saturday against Tiffin.  The Warriors will try to extend their three-game 2014 winning streak as well as their six-game series win streak vs. the Dragons.  WSU has not played Tiffin since 2011.  This Saturday's contest also ends a streak of four home games in five weeks.  The Warriors will play four of their next five games on the road before ending the regular season at home vs. Hillsdale on Nov. 15.

NORTHWOOD RECAP
Wayne State recorded its 10th consecutive Homecoming victory by dispatching visiting Northwood University 45-27 last Saturday afternoon at Tom Adams Field.

It took the Warriors just 2:22 to grab a 7-0 advantage on a five-play, 58 yard drive set up by a 37-yard kickoff return by Val Showers.  On WSU's second play from scrimmage, Carl Roscoe connected on a 36-yard pass play with Brandon Tinsley.  On a second-and-goal, Doug Griffin went up the middle for two yards and his first touchdown of the season.

On Wayne State's ensuing drive, Roscoe was intercepted and on the very next play, NU's Mark Morris teamed up with Theron Wilson on a 31-yard touchdown pass to knot the game at 7-7.

The Warriors put together a 14-play drive covering 75 yards that began following the Timberwolves kickoff.  WSU recorded five first downs with the longest play being a 10-yard run by Griffin on a second-and-nine.  Griffin capped off the scoring drive with a five-yard run on the first play of the second quarter.  Paul Graham made the PAT putting Wayne State ahead 14-7.

On Northwood's third play, Morris was sacked by Justice Akuezue who also forced a fumble that was recovered by Sam Sillmon at the Timberwolves 35.  Roscoe completed a 34-yard sideline pass to Desmond Martin on the first play, and after Martin was stopped for no gain, Griffin notched a career-high third rushing touchdown on the very next play.

Just past the midpoint of the second stanza, WSU took possession following an NU punt.  Griffin gained 15 yards on first down, while Martin added 18 yards on four carries sandwiched around another Griffin rushing attempt.  With a third-and-five at the Northwood 29, Jay Hayes gained six yards for a first down, then scampered 23 yards for his first career rushing touchdown on the very next play increasing the Warrior advantage to 28-7.

Following another NU punt, Wayne State drove 45 yards in seven plays with Roscoe completing all five pass attempts for 50 yards.  Big receptions came from Michael Johnson for 19 yards, and Tinsley for 14 yards.  With the clock winding down, Graham made good on a 37-yard field goal attempt pushing the WSU lead to 31-7 at intermission.

Northwood scored first after halftime following a fumbled punt return by the Warriors.  Morris found Damian Nicholson for a 19-yard touchdown on the first play after the Wayne State miscue.  On WSU's ensuing drive, a fourth down snap was mishandled giving the Timberwolves the ball at the WSU 13.  Following a tackle for loss by Akuezue, Morris completed a 16-yard scoring toss to Nicholson cutting the Wayne State advantage to 31-21.

The Warriors responded with a seven-play drive that covered 64 yards and used over three minutes of clock time.  Johnson had a 14-yard reception on second-and-10, and later Roscoe scrambled for 12 yards and then gained a first down by rushing for eight yards on a second-and-seven.  Johnson extended his touchdown receiving streak to four games by hauling in a 29-yard pass from Roscoe on second-and-12.

Ron Brant had a 14-yard punt return to start Wayne State's next drive.  On second-and-10 from the Warrior 45, Martin tip-toed down the sidelines for a 55-yard touchdown run.  It was the third consecutive week he had a run of at least 45 yards.

The WSU defense stopped back-to-back fourth down plays by Northwood early in the fourth quarter before the Timberwolves tacked on a touchdown in the final 3:30 to complete the scoring.

Martin rushed for a game-high 118 yards and one touchdown, while Hayes added a career-high 70 yards on 11 attempts.  Griffin gained 51 yards in recording a career-best three rushing touchdowns.  Jared Briguglio rushed 15 times for 91 yards for Northwood.

Roscoe was 13-of-21 for 191 yards and one touchdown, and was not sacked.  Morris finished 16-of-30 for 217 yards and four touchdowns, along with being sacked three times.

Johnson led WSU with four catches for 69 yards, while Nicholson totaled game-best marks of nine receptions for 82 yards and three scores.

Nores Fradi led the Warrior defense with nine solo tackles including three for loss along with a pass break-up.  Jake Carrizales had two sacks and forced a fumble, while James Howard had two pass break-ups.

SCOUTING TIFFIN
The Dragons maintained their lose-win format by edging Malone 23-21 last Saturday at home following a 59-22 setback at the week before to Findlay.  TU began the season with a 45-10 loss at Walsh before claiming a 28-17 road win at Saginaw Valley State.

Sophomore quarterback Antonio Pipkin leads Tiffin in both rushing (52 carries for 220 yards and three touchdowns) and also in the air.  He has completed 68 percent (98-of-144) of his passes for 927 yards and three touchdowns, along with three interceptions.  Sophomore Jerry Brown has rushed for 137 yards and two touchdowns on 40 attempts.  Senior Marcus Beaurem has a team-best 21 catches for 223 yards and one touchdown.

Junior place-kicker Tomislav Derezic leads Tiffin in scoring with 27 points on 7-of-10 field goals and 6-of-7 PATs.

Sophomore linebacker Terry Harper leads the Dragons with 27 tackles (14-13), while senior defensive back Carlton Watkins has a team-high two interceptions to go along with his 26 stops (23-3).  Senior defensive back Brandon Person is tied for the team lead in sacks (1.0), and tackles for loss (3.0), and is tied for second in total tackles with 26.

NFL CONNECTION
A pair of former GLIAC running backs faced each other last Sunday as the Detroit Lions recorded a 24-17 victory at the New York Jets.  Former Warrior Joique Bell (2005-09) had Detroit's longest run of the game.  Chris Ivory, who played his final year (2009) at Tiffin, spent his first three years at Washington State University before being dismissed from the Cougars program.

IN THE POLLS
Wayne State was predicted to finish sixth out of eight teams in the 2014 GLIAC Preseason Coaches North Division Poll. 

Two of Wayne State's 2014 opponents are ranked inside the top 25 this week as Carson-Newman improved to No. 18 in the poll, while Michigan Tech entered the top 25 at No. 23.  Currently Wayne State is receiving 15 points to rank 33rd in the AFCA poll.

Other GLIAC teams to receive votes in this week's AFCA poll were Ohio Dominican (8th), Ferris State (13th), and Ashland (32nd).

ON THE HEADSET
Paul Winters is in his 11th season as the head coach of the Warriors.  He has a 59-57 record at Wayne State and has equaled the second-place mark of 11 coaching seasons with the legendary David Holmes (1918-28) this fall.  Joseph Gembis holds the WSU mark with 14 seasons (1932-45).

Gary Goff is in his fourth season at the helm of the Tiffin program.  He has a career record of 7-31, but earlier this year the Dragons had a road victory at Saginaw Valley.

COLLEGIATE DEBUTS
During the Michigan Tech game on Sept. 4th, nine Warriors made their collegiate debuts:  Ron Brant, Jake Carrizales, Dustin Carlin, DeAndre Grady, Paul Graham, James Howard, Blake Mazur, Tommy Richardson and Andy Zimmerman.

Another three Warriors made their WSU debuts in the MTU contest:  Rabeah Beydoun, Ashawn Butler, and Garrett Wiska.

Making their collegiate debut during the Carson-Newman game were Jamel Hicks, Manny Mendoza and Alex Ziedas.

Making their WSU debut during the Northwood game were Derrick Rodgers and Sam Tate.

WARRIORS NAME CAPTAINS FOR 2014 SEASON
Wayne State University head football coach Paul Winters, who is in his 11th season at the helm of the Warriors, announced his 2014 captains during a special "Captains Presentation" prior to the scrimmage on August 23rd.

The 2014 WSU captains will be senior center Thom Box (Milan, Mich.), senior cornerback Gerren DuHart (Toledo, Ohio / Central Catholic), senior linebacker Nores Fradi (Dearborn Hts., Mich. / Dearborn), senior running back Desmond Martin (Redford, Mich. / Thurston) and senior left tackle Ben Walker (Oxford, Mich. / Lake Orion).

Box will be in his second year as a captain while the other four are first-year captains.

Prior to the announcement of the 2014 captains, nine previous WSU captains spoke about their time in Detroit:  Jeff Bero (1985-88), Dale Dwojakowski (1989-92), Michael Hall (2002-05), Huston Julian (1997-2000), Steve Lee (1988-91), Josh Renel (2008-11), Donald Urban (1962-64), Ed Viverette (2010-13) and Leo Wells (2002-05).

ALL SIX HOME GAMES TELEVISED
All six of Wayne State's home games will be broadcast on Comcast Xfinity Channel 900.  The broadcast team of Ryan Ermanni, Rod Beard and Joe Abramson will have the call from Tom Adams Field.  Every league contest will be shown live plus on a tape-delayed basis at noon on Sunday's, 8 pm on Wednesday's and 9 am on Thursday's.  The post-game report from each contest will also be available On-Demand.

WINTERS ON WEDNESDAY'S
The weekly Winters on Wednesday's radio show began its third season on Sept. 3 with head coach Paul Winters joining host Rod Beard, and co-host Ashley Raymond in the studio.  The Winters on Wednesday's radio show airs every Wednesday from 7-8 pm on Newstalk 1400 AM (and 92.7 FM) and is simulcast on wdtkam.com.

WDTK AND WARRIOR ALL-ACCESS
All Wayne State football games can be heard on WDTK Radio (1400 AM/92.7 FM).  Fans can listen to the games online at wdtkam.com or watch the home games via Warrior All-Access for a $5.95 per game fee.  Sean Baligian and former WSU running back Josh Renel will call the action from the broadcast booth, while Jenn Goethel will handle the sideline reporting for each home contest.