Football | 10/22/2015 9:05:00 AM

DETROIT -- Wayne State (3-4, 2-4 GLIAC) will try to end its three-game road losing streak this Saturday at Walsh (2-5, 2-5 GLIAC).  After winning the 2014 road finale (47-28 at Lake Erie on Nov. 8), the Warriors have been upended this season away from Detroit at Michigan Tech (20-15), at Northwood (31-13) and at Tiffin (31-7).  The Cavalier contest will mark the third time in the last four years that WSU has played at Tom Benson Stadium (formerly Fawcett Stadium), home of the annual NFL Hall of Fame contest.  Wayne State defeated Malone, 38-14, in 2012 then rallied past the Pioneers, 39-15, 13 months ago in Canton.

SCOUTING THE CAVALIERS
Walsh has won two straight (39-38 vs. Findlay in double overtime and 24-7 over Malone) after starting the season with five consecutive losses.  Freshman Reid Worstell has completed 39 of 58 passes (67.2%) over the last two contests for 395 yards.  For the year, Worstell has completed 59 percent of his passes (89-of-150) for 1,036 yards and seven touchdowns with four interceptions.  Junior Aaron Male has a team-best 651 rushing yards, while classmate Matt Matuska has a team-leading 30 receptions for 422 yards and one score.  Junior punter Alex Knight is averaging 39.7 yards per attempt with 12 inside the 20.  Matuska is averaging nearly 26 yards per kickoff return on 10 attempts.  Junior linebacker Nicholas King leads the Walsh defense with 72 tackles and two fumble recoveries.  Junior defensive end Alex Jones leads WU in both tackles for loss (11.0) and sacks (7.0).  Senior C.J. Chatman is tied for the GLIAC lead with three interceptions.

ALL-TIME SERIES
Wayne State won the only previous meeting, 52-17, in Detroit on Oct. 25, 2014.  

LAST TIME OUT
Wayne State  snapped a three-game losing streak in dramatic fashion rallying for 14 consecutive fourth quarter points to upend visiting Northern Michigan University at Adams Field.

The Wildcats struck early on a 39-yard touchdown pass from Shaye Brown to Marcus Tucker on the third play of the game completing a 69-yard scoring drive.  Following a WSU punt,  Jamiil Williams recorded his third career interception on a third-and-20 play for NMU.  Demetrius Stinson scored on a one-yard plunge to cap off a seven-play, 39-yard drive in 3:57 which knotted the game at 7-7.

The next four drives all ended in punts, before Northern Michigan put together an eight-play, 40-yard drive culminating in a 33-yard field goal by Tyler Blackburn.  The Warriors responded with a one-yard touchdown run by Romello Brown on the eighth play of a 75-yard drive which gave WSU a 13-10 advantage after the PAT kick failed.

In less than a minute span late in the first half, Blackburn was short on a 49-yard field goal attempt, WSU fumbled away the first play of its possession, and the Wildcats scored on a one-yard run by Edward Christian following a 24-yard pass play from Shaye Brown to Paris Woods.

Northern Michigan held a 222-150 edge in total offense for the first 30 minutes with WSU dominating 113-7 on the ground.

Wayne State took the second half kickoff and marched down the field scoring on a 10-yard rush by Romello Brown finishing off a six-play, 65-yard drive.  Two big pass completions on consecutive plays from D.J. Zezula to Jamel Hicks for 26 yards on a third-and-16, followed by an 11-yard completion to Will Wheat.

WSU's 20-17 lead was short lived as Northern Michigan answered with a five-play, 72-yard drive in 1:32 as Shaye Brown connected with Keyondre Craig on a 58-yard scoring play.  Two WSU punts were sandwiched around a missed 43-yard field goal attempt by Blackburn.  The Wildcats increased their lead to 31-20 on a 12-yard TD reception by Woods with 1:29 remaining in the third quarter.

The Warriors ensuing possession lasted 5:36 and resulted in a 35-yard field goal by Paul Graham.  On the kickoff, Wayne State's Lairren Johnson forced a fumble by NMU's Marcus Tucker at the NMU 23, which was recovered back at the NMU 9 by Drew Dowding.

Graham made a 27-yard field goal attempt on the fourth play of the following series to pull WSU within five at 31-26 with 8:22 remaining.  The next three drives ended in punt with each team only generating one first down.

After a touchback, Wayne State drove 80 yards in eight plays with Wheat hauling in a seven-yard TD reception with 35.8 seconds left.  WSU never had a third down play on the game-winning drive in which Zezula was 4-of-4 for 57 yards and the touchdown while accumulating four first downs by passing and another on an NMU defensive holding penalty.

The Warrior defense then sealed the win by recording two sacks, each after an incompletion.  Valorian Cunningham had a seven-yard sack on second down, then teamed with Anthony Pittman for the fourth down sack.

HICKS HAULING IT IN
Junior wide receiver Jamel Hicks totaled five catches for 67 yards against Northern Michigan.  It was the sixth time this season Hicks had at least four receptions in a game.  His 31-yard reception in the fourth quarter set up WSU's game-winning touchdown.  Hicks team-leading 34 catches this year are more than WSU's season-best in five of the last nine years.  His 697 career receiving yards rank 30th in school history, while his 48 receptions are tied-for-38th with teammate Trent Brodbeck and former WSU tight end Mike Johnson (2000-03).  Hicks five touchdown catches are tied-for-28th with his 14.52 yards per catch ranking 19th (minimum 30 receptions) in the WSU annals.

MANNY BEING MANNY
Sophomore wide receiver Manny Mendoza totaled a career-high seven receptions vs. Northern Michigan.  After recording one catch in all of 2014, Mendoza has at least one reception in every game this season and leads the Warriors with four touchdown catches.

FRESHMAN RECORD SET BY ZEZULA
Quarterback D.J. Zezula broke the WSU record for touchdown passes by a true freshman signal caller when he completed his 10th scoring toss of the year to Manny Mendoza in the second quarter vs. Grand Valley State.  The previous record of nine was set by GLIAC Freshman of the Year Kevin Smith in 2008. 

BILLINGSLEA EQUALS SCHOOL RECORD
Redshirt freshman kick returner Jordan Billingslea tied the Wayne State record for kickoff returns in a game with seven against the Lakers, set four times previously -- John Kocher vs. Wheaton (Oct. 7, 1961), Derrick Coakley vs. Grand Valley State (Sept. 30, 1989), Roger White at GVSU (Nov. 3, 2001) and Jerriel Burrus at GVSU (Sept. 20, 2003).  Billingslea's 389 career kickoff return yards ranks 30th in school history, while his 24.31 yards per return average ranks ninth in WSU history (minimum 10 returns). 

GO-TO TIGHT END
Junior tight end Trent Brodbeck had his 11-game reception streak end against GVSU but started a new streak with one catch vs. Northern Michigan.  During the streak, Brodbeck totaled 20 catches for 276 yards and two touchdowns.

FINISHING STRONG
In the final seven quarters this season, D.J. Zezula is:
- 22-of-35 passing for 404 yards and five TD in 47:36 (team has scored eight TDs with him at the helm; other three TD's were rushing).
- He has rushed 11 times for minus four yards and accounted for 400 yards of total offense.
- WSU has ran 103 plays for 582 yards and collected 32 first downs (14 rushing, 15 passing, 3 penalty) and Zezula has accounted for 16 of those first downs (15 passing, 1 rushing).

TRUE FRESHMAN SIGNAL CALLER
There have been 10 previous true freshman to see significant playing time at quarterback prior to D.J. Zezula.
1951 - Richard Lisabeth, 15-34, 370 yards, 0 TD, 4 INT, 112.0
1980 - Greg Goldstein, 31-85, 402 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT, 79.3
1986 - Mike Grennier, 18-52, 246 yards, 1 TD, 4 INT, 65.3
1992 - Anthony Frederick, 10-17, 73 yards, 0 TD, 1 INT, 83.1
2001 - Randy Hutchison, 30-62, 362 yards, 4 TD, 6 INT, 99.4
2003 - Chad Blair, 18-34, 167 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT, 98.0
2004 - Nolan Martin, 68-177, 747 yards, 1 TD, 6 INT, 69.0
2006 - Zack George, 18-34, 320 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT, 141.7
2006 - Trent Pohl, 93-184, 1,233 yards, 8 TD, 8 INT, 112.5
2008 - Kevin Smith, 74-159, 805 yards, 9 TD, 6 INT, 100.2
2015 - D.J. Zezula, 82-137, 1,097 yards, 101 TD, 4 INT, 147.8

- Zezula set the record for most passing TD's by a true freshman QB.
- Has the second-most passing yards with 1,097 (Trent Pohl had 1,233 in 2006).
- Owns the highest passing efficiency rating at 147.8 (2nd is Zack George from 2006 at 141.7).

WINNING WHEN EXECUTING
WSU has won its last seven games including Sept. 19 vs. Malone when rushing for over 200 yards. During the past four seasons, the Warriors are 17-4 when accomplishing the feat including an 8-1 mark on the road. The only loss in that span came at Michigan Tech in 2013 (28-21). Under Coach Winters, the Green & Gold are 36-13 under those parameters including a 21-6 mark at home.

WINTERS ON WEDNESDAYS
The weekly Winters on Wednesday's radio show is in its fourth season with head coach Paul Winters joining host Rod Beard and co-host Nicole Stoll. The Winters on Wednesday's radio show airs every Wednesday from 7-8 PM on 1400 AM / 92.7 FM and is simulcast on WDTKAM.com.  A new feature this year is that the broadcast will occur live at Tony V's Tavern in downtown Detroit. Fans are encouraged to attend and participate in the exciting event leading up to each game this season.

100 GLIAC WINS
Wayne State earned its 100th GLIAC with a victory against Malone on Sept. 19. WSU was a part of the GLIAC from 1975 until 1989, and currently since 1999.

JUCO CAPTAINS
The last three Junior College players to be a captain at WSU prior to Ashawn Butler this season were Daunte Akra in 2010 after playing two years at Grand Rapids CC, Andrew Bates in 2008 after also playing two seasons at GRCC and Craig Duppong in 2003 after playing two years at Joliet JC.

TEAM CAPTAINS
Prior to a scrimmage on August 22, head coach Paul Winters selected his captains for the 2015 season. The 2015 WSU captains are senior quarterback Carl Roscoe, senior safety Zak Bielecki, senior tight end Ethan Walsh and senior defensive end Ashawn Butler. All four are first-year captains. Prior to the announcement of the 2015 captains, nine previous WSU captains spoke about their time in Detroit:  Leit Jones (1967-69), Tom Sheppard (1967-70), Enrico Odorico (1961-63), Ed Skowneski (1972-75), Tom Hurley (1972-75), Dale Dwojakowski (1989-92), Grant Fodor (2003-06), Leo Wells (2002-05), Frank Lietke (2004-07) and Steve Lee (1988-91).

2015 SIGNING CLASS
The 30 NLI signees for 2015 marks the second largest class in Paul Winters 12 years at WSU.  The only larger signing class was in 2012 (31).

CONSISTENT LEADER
Paul Winters became the second-longest tenured football coach in program history this fall with 12 seasons.  He was tied with the founder of WSU athletics David Holmes at 11 seasons (1918-28).  Hall of Fame coach Joseph Gembis holds the WSU record with 14 seasons (1932-45).

STAFF CONTINUITY
The football coaching staff entered the 2015 season with several names that have been with the program for a number of years. Along with Winters entering his 12th season, defensive line coach and recruiting coordinator Scott Kazmierski is in his 12th season with the Green & Gold. Linebackers coach Keith McKenzie is in his eighth season, offensive line coach Scott Wooster is in his seventh season, defensive coordinator and secondary coach Brad Wilson is in his fourth season and quarterbacks coach Jeff Reardon is in his third season with the Warriors. E.J. Henderson returns to the program after serving three years previously (2004-06).

MODEL OF SUCCESS
Wayne State has compiled at least a .500 season in six of the last seven years (2008-14) combining for a 50-31 mark in that span.  Prior to Coach Winters arrival in 2004, the Tartars/Warriors had 10 consecutive losing seasons on the field and only one winning season on the field in 19 years.

WARRIORS ON TELEVISION
All four of Wayne State's remaining home games will be broadcast on Comcast Xfinity Channel 900.  The broadcast team of Joe Abramson, Rod Beard and Kevin Brechmacher will have the call from Tom Adams Field.  Every contest will be shown live plus each game will also be available On-Demand.

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. Former Warrior Ryan Oshnock will serve as the color analyst for three contests.