Football | 10/9/2014 8:15:00 AM

DETROIT -- After a unexpected loss at home against Tiffin last Saturday, the Wayne State University football program (3-2, 2-2 GLIAC) will look to right the ship in Allendale as the Warriors meet Grand Valley State (2-3, 2-2 GLIAC) on Saturday at 7 PM. The Lakers dropped their first three games against formidable opponents but have cruised the past two weeks against Hillsdale and Lake Erie. WSU will look to spoil GVSU's Homecoming festivities. The Green & Gold finish the season with four of its six remaining games on the road.

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 season 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 trail 30-5 in the all-time series which began with the teams splitting the first 10 meetings (1975-1984).  WSU's last win was 30-3 in Allendale on Nov. 10, 1984.  Wayne State is 2-16 all-time in games not played in Detroit (the 2007 contest was played at Fifth/Third Ballpark in Comstock Park, Mich.).

MILESTONE WATCH
- Desmond Martin needs 104 rushing yards to move into 10th place all-time (1,907).

- Desmond Martin needs two rushing touchdowns to tie Jim Gendron (1976-78) for ninth place.

- Carl Roscoe needs 113 yards of total offense to move past Elbert Richmond (1950-52) into 25th place on the all-time list.

QUICK HITS
- Wayne State has finished the first half of each of the past seven seasons above .500.  The last team not to be .500 after five games was in 2007 at 1-4, but two of the losses were in overtime.

- 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 694 yards after five games.

- Nores Fradi recorded a sack against Tiffin to move into 11th place all-time with 15.5 career sacks.  He needs two more sacks to pass Gerald Lee (1981-84) for 10th place.

GRAND VALLEY STATE STORYLINES
Wayne State, after having its three-game winning streak snapped last Saturday with a 26-23 home loss to Tiffin, will try to snap a 25-game losing skein versus the Grand Valley State Lakers this Saturday.  The schools split the first 10 games in the series with each going 3-2 at home.  Since the Tartars 30-3 triumph on Nov. 10, 1984, in Allendale, GVSU has won 25 straight including 12 consecutive contests at Lubbers Stadium (12 at WSU and 1 at Fifth Third Ballpark in Comstock Park, Mich.).

TIFFIN RECAP
Wayne State had its three-game winning streak snapped with a 26-23 defeat to visiting Tiffin University (3-2 overall, 3-2 GLIAC) last Saturday afternoon at Tom Adams Field.

Despite the Warrior offense only generating 79 yards of total offense through the first 25 minutes, WSU trailed just 6-0 on a pair of 31-yard Dragon field goals by Tomislav Derezic.  Following a missed 38-yard field goal attempt by Derezic, Wayne State drove 79 yards in nine plays to grab a 7-6 halftime advantage after a 12-yard touchdown run by Desmond Martin.  The Warriors accumulated five of their eight first half first downs on the scoring drive.  Carl Roscoe had a 30-yard completion to Jamel Hicks on a second-and-10 allowing WSU to score the go-ahead touchdown two plays later.

Tiffin returned the second half kickoff a total of 34 yards including a reverse.  On the first play from scrimmage, TU signal caller Antonio Pipkin found Marcus Beaurem alone down the sideline for a 56-yard touchdown reception.  The Dragons tried some trickery on the PAT but a pitchout from the center to Jerry Brown was mishandled with Nores Fradi picking up the ball at the WSU 11.  Fradi returned the ball to the Warrior 38 before giving a lateral to Gerren DuHart who took it the final 62 yards for Wayne State's first defensive extra point in nearly 10 years (Earl Carruthers scored a defensive extra point at Michigan Tech on October 9, 2004 -- Grant Botz kick attempt failed (blocked), returned by Earl Carruthers for defensive PAT, clock 04:55 (blocked by Jason LeDuc).

On the ensuing possession with WSU trailing 12-9, the Warriors drove across midfield but a five-yard completion to Ethan Walsh on a third-and-six preceded a no gain rush on fourth down.  Tiffin proceeded to drive 58 yards in five plays to increase its lead to 19-9.  Charles Holland hauled in a 24-yard touchdown pass from Pipkin.

After an exchange of punts, Wayne State turned it over on downs following three consecutive incomplete deep passes.  However, on the very next play, a shotgun snap never made it to Pipkin, with Warrior Sam Sillmon recovering at the Dragon 26.

Doug Griffin gained eight yards on first down, and following a dropped pass, Martin garnered the first down with a four-yard carry.  On the first play of the fourth quarter, Griffin went 15 yards for his fourth touchdown in the last two games.

The Warrior defense forced a three-and-out, but a short punt into the wind was mishandled by the WSU returner and the Dragons recovered at the WSU 49.  Eight plays later the visitors had increased their advantage to 26-16 on an 11-yard touchdown pass from Pipkin to Beaurem.

Wayne State responded with a seven-play, 59-yard scoring drive to pulling with three (26-23) with 6:15 remaining.  Griffin carried the ball five times on the drive for 56 yards going untouched around the left side for the final 15 yards.

WSU's defense rose to the occasion and forced a three-and-out, but the Warrior offense took a sack on the first play and had to punt.  Once again the defense answered by forcing the Dragons into minus nine yards on three plays and into another punt.  However, Wayne State's offense had two incomplete passes, a sack and an incomplete pass to turn the ball over on downs with 1:16 remaining.

SCOUTING GRAND VALLEY STATE
The Lakers, after opening the season with three consecutive losses all to top 25 squads, have won their last two games by a combined 108-49 (66-28 over Lake Erie and 42-21 at Hillsdale).

Senior quarterbacks Heath Prling and Isiah Grimes have combined to complete over 51 percent of their passes this season.  Parling returned to the lineup against the Chargers last Saturday.  He is 61-of-111 for 726 yards and seven touchdowns this year with three interceptions.  Grimes has completed 28-of-61 for 437 yards and three touchdowns with a pair of interceptions.

A trio of experienced runners lead the Lakers ground attack.  Senior Chris Robinson has gained a team-best 351 yards on 56 attempts with four touchdowns.  Junior Kirk Spencer has 302 yards on 48 carries with three scores, while senior Michael Ratay also has three touchdowns on his 42 rushes for 151 yards.

Junior tight end Jamie Potts is the leading receiver with 23 catches for 398 yards and a team-best five touchdowns.  Senior Keontre' Miskel has 15 receptions for 236 yards and two scores.  Ratay has caught 12 balls out of the backfield.

Sophomore kicker Joel Schipper leads GVSU in scoring with 40 points on 6-of-8 field goals and 22-for-22 on extra points.  Senior punter Chris Picano is averaging 43.3 yards per punt and has 10 inside the 20 out of his 23 kicks.  Spencer averages nearly 26 yards per kickoff return, while Matt Williams is averaging 12.8 yards per punt return.

Senior linebacker Deonte' Hurst has a team-high 41 tackles (18-23), including five for loss.  He also has three pass break-ups and one interception which he returned 35 yards for a score at Hillsdale last Saturday.  Senior defensive tackle Isiah Dunning has 30 tackles (5-25) along with a fumble recovery.  Junior defensive end Matt Judon also has 30 stops (11-19) along with a GLIAC-best four forced fumbles, while the other defensive end, senior Matt Mosley, has 30 tackles (6-24) and a team-high seven for loss.

ON THE HEADSET
Paul Winters is in his 11th season as the head coach of the Warriors.  He has a 59-58 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).

Matt Mitchell has compiled a 42-13 mark in his fifth season with the Lakers.

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. 17 in the poll, while Michigan Tech moved up to No. 22.

Other GLIAC teams to receive votes in this week's AFCA poll were Ohio Dominican (8th), Ferris State (13th), and Ashland (30th).

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 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.