Football | 10/15/2014 8:00:00 AM

DETROIT -- Following back-to-back losses, the Wayne State University football program (3-3, 2-3 GLIAC) will look to find the win column for the first time in October at Northern Michigan (1-5, 0-5 GLIAC) on Saturday inside the Superior Dome in Marquette, Mich. A stingy WSU defense will look to hold the Wildcats under its 21.2 points per game this season while the offense looks to regain its early season form.

ON THE AIR
Sean Baligian (play-by-play), former WSU football running back Joe Gough (color analyst) 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.  Jenn Goethel serves as the sideline reporter for home games only.

THE SERIES
The Warriors trail 16-12 in the all-time series which began with three games in the 1950s.  WSU had won three straight until last year's setback in Marquette.  Wayne State is 5-8 all-time at the Superior Dome but 5-10 in dome games vs. the Wildcats as the 1980 and 1981 games were held at the Pontiac Silverdome.

MILESTONE WATCH
- Desmond Martin needs 55 rushing yards to move into 10th place all-time (1,956).
- Desmond Martin needs two rushing touchdowns to tie Jim Gendron (1976-78) for ninth place.
- Carl Roscoe needs 43 yards of total offense to move past Elbert Richmond (1950-52) into 25th place on the all-time list.

QUICK HITS
- Wayne State was held to 29 rushing yards by Grand Valley State, the fewest since the Warriors rushed for 21 yards at Ashland on Oct. 22, 2005.
- 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 743 yards after six games.
- Nores Fradi recorded 2.5 tackles for loss against the Lakers last Saturday among his game-high 14 total tackles (7-7).  He also recovered a GVSU fumble.

NORTHERN MICHIGAN STORYLINES
Wayne State will try to snap its two-game losing streak this Saturday in Marquette as the Warriors will face Northern Michigan.  The Wildcats have lost four straight since a week two non-conference triumph over Quincy.  The Warriors had won three consecutive contests since an opening game loss to Michigan Tech on the final play of the game.

GRAND VALLEY STATE RECAP
Wayne State held Grand Valley State to just 17 points, tying the fewest points scored by the Lakers this season but the Warrior offense only generated a field goal in a 17-3 setback at Lubbers Stadium.

On the opening drive of the game, Carl Roscoe eluded the rush and completed a 33-yard pass to Trent Brodbeck but the play was negated due to a holding penalty.  This drive as well as the next two possessions ended with a punt.  GVSU drove 48 yards in six plays with Joe Warner catching a five-yard touchdown pass from Heath Parling for the game's first score.

The Warrior offense put together a six-play drive following a 58-yard kickoff return by Val Showers, but Doug Griffin fumbled on his fifth carry of the drive on a first-and-goal play.

Late in the first period, a 44-yard punt by Paul Graham had Grand Valley State starting a drive at its own 29.  The Lakers went 71 yards in nine plays with Chris Robinson scoring on a one-yard plunge on third-and-goal.

On the first drive of the second half, the Warrior defense allowed a pair of first downs, but a 10-yard sack by Anthony DeDamos on GVSU's first play in WSU territory preceded an incomplete pass and another sack.  The Laker punt was partially blocked with Jamel Hicks picking the ball up at the Laker 38 and returning it 14 yards.

After two runs by Desmond Martin, Griffin completed a seven-yard pass to Brodbeck for a first down.  Griffin fumbled on third down with the Lakers recovering.

The Wayne State defense rose to the occasion limiting Grand Valley State to one first down before forcing another punt.  The Warriors took over at their own 49 with Roscoe connecting on back-to-back plays with Michael Johnson for 25 and 15 yards, respectively setting up a first-and-10 from the GVSU 11.  Three straight incompletions led to a 28-yard field goal by Graham, his sixth consecutive made three-pointer to start his career.

Following the kickoff and along with a Laker holding penalty, Grand Valley State started on its own 5-yard line.  GVSU drove 80 yards in 12 plays with Joel Schipper making a 32-yard field goal attempt early in the fourth period.  Neither squad was able to score in the final 13 minutes.

The teams combined for 114 rushing yards (85 for GVSU and 29 for WSU).  The Lakers held a 256-103 advantage in passing yardage.  The Warriors lost the turnover battle 5-1 and were just 1-of-3 in the red zone.

Martin led WSU with 49 yards on 12 carries, while Robinson had 56 yards on 20 attempts to lead GVSU.  Roscoe was 11-of-23 with two interceptions, although one came on the final play of the game.  Parling completed 17-of-28 passes for 256 yards but was sacked four times.  Johnson had a game-high six receptions for a team-best 49 yards.  Jamie Potts totaled a game-high 81 receiving yards on four catches to lead GVSU.  Nores Fradi recorded a game-high 14 tackles and added to his GLIAC leading total of 11.5 tackles for loss (entering the game) with another 2.5 TFL.

SCOUTING NORTHERN MICHIGAN
The Wildcats have lost four consecutive contests since a 31-14 victory at Quincy.  NMU is 0-2 at home this year with losses to Northwood (23-13) in the opening week and to Michigan Tech (34-31) on Sept. 27.

Sophomore quarterback Shaye Brown has completed 88-of-162 passes (54.3%) for 1,167 yards and seven touchdowns with seven interceptions but did not play in last week's setback at Malone.  Freshman signal caller Jaranta Lewis is 14-of-28 for 239 yards and one touchdown with two interceptions.

Junior Wyatt Jurasin has 574 yards on 138 carries with four scores, while classmate Terrance Dye has 59 yards on 18 attempts.

Senior Kelvin Smarwt is the leading receiver with 29 catches for 361 yards and two touchdowns.  Junior Marcus Tucker has 18 receptions for 336 yards a team-best four touchdowns.  Junior Austin Young has caught 14 passes for 198 yards and one score.

Sophomore punter Robert Salani is averaging 41.3 yards per punt and has nine inside the 20.  Young averages over 13 yards per punt return, while Tucker is averaging 25.4 yards per kickoff return.

Junior linebacker Levi Perry has a team-high 45 tackles (23-22), including seven for loss, while sophomore linebacker Dalton Stenberg also had 45 stops (20-25).  Sophomore defensive backs Pat Ryan and Keshawn Walker each have five pass break-ups with Ryan having two interceptions.  Senior defensive lineman Trever Kruzel leads the squad with 9.5 tackles for loss including 5.5 sacks.

ON THE HEADSET
Paul Winters is in his 11th season as the head coach of the Warriors.  He has a 59-59 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).

Chris Ostrowsky is in his third season in charge of the Northern Michigan football program.  He has an overall mark of 8-19 with two of the victories coming outside the GLIAC vs. Wisconsin-LaCrosse and Quincy.

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 dropped to No. 18 in the poll despite being idle, while Michigan Tech moved up to No. 20.

Other GLIAC teams to receive votes in this week's AFCA poll were Ohio Dominican (7th), Ferris State (11th), and Ashland (24th).

NATIONAL STATISTICS
WSU leads the GLIAC and is 11th nationally in kickoff return average (26.00).  The Warriors lead the GLIAC and are 15th nationally in kickoff return defense allowing 16.29 yards per kickoff return.  Wayne State also leads the GLIAC in sacks (3.33 per game) which ranks 12th nationally.  WSU leads the GLIAC and is seventh nationally in tackles for loss per game (9.3).  The Warriors are fifth nationally in fewest penalties per game (4.17) and seventh in fewest penalty yards per game (36.83).  Offensively, Wayne State is 28th nationally in fewest sacks allowed (1.17 per game) and 32nd in passing yards per completion (14.17).

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 (Kevin Brechmacher will fill in for Abramson on Oct. 25) 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 WEDNESDAYS
The weekly Winters on Wednesdays 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 Wednesdays 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.  WSU Athletic of Hall of Fame inductee and former running back Joe Gough will handle the color analyst duties for the game at Northern Michigan this Saturday.