Football | 11/5/2015 8:00:00 AM

DETROIT -- After finishing 2014 on a four-game winning streak, the 2015 Wayne State football squad (5-4, 4-4 GLIAC) will try to extend its current winning streak to four games this Saturday as Lake Erie (2-7, 2-6 GLIAC) visits Adams Field.  In the last eight seasons (including 2015), WSU has had 11 win streaks of at least three games.  

This Saturday's contest will be Senior Day as Wayne State recognizes its 12-member senior class (Rabeah Beydoun, Zak Bielecki, Ashawn Butler, Raafat El Hage, Majd Khytaz, Ryan Newcom, Derrick Rodgers, Carl Roscoe, Mike Sawchuk, Ethan Walsh, Will Wheat and Jamiil Williams).  Two other seniors (Brandon Lee and Nate Theaker) are receiving medical redshirts for 2015 and will return in 2016.  The Warriors conclude the 2015 campaign at Hillsdale on Nov. 14.

It will also be Salute to the Armed Forces Day. Service men and women will receive free entry into the game. Other activities include honor guard and military displays outside the stadium.

SCOUTING THE STORM
Lake Erie has lost five of its last six contests, allowing at least 33 points in every setback.  The lone victory was a 27-24 triumph over winless Malone.  LEC is second in the GLIAC in rushing yards per game (245.6).  Junior quarterback John Banyasz has completed 55 percent (84-of-152) of his passes for 1,030 yards with three touchdowns and seven interceptions.  Banyasz is the Storm's second leading rusher with 339 yards, with senior Anthony Bilal having rushed for 1,055 yards in just seven games with 14 rushing touchdowns.  He was a Harlon Hill national semifinalist a year ago.  Senior Shane Van Fleteren has 49 receptions, more than twice any other teammate.  He has 739 receiving yards and one score.  Two kickoff returners (Dontrael Brown and Tony Andrews) each average over 20 yards per return.  Andrews is averaging 21.2 yards on six punt returns this season.  Junior linebacker Nick Szabados has a team-best 61 tackles (36 solo, 25 assisted), while freshman defensive end Alex Heldreth leads LEC with 6.5 tackles for loss.  Andrews has recorded a team-high three interceptions.

ALL-TIME SERIES
Wayne State has a 4-1 mark all-time against Lake Erie.  The Warriors won the first three meetings , before the squads split the last two encounters (LEC 35-17 in 2013, WSU 47-28 in 2014) in Painesville, Ohio.  WSU is 2-0 at home against the Storm.  A win versus Lake Erie would give Wayne State a 5-1 home record marking the third time in the last eight years WSU went 5-1 at home.  Since the start of the 2008 campaign, the Warriors are 32-13 at Adams Field.

LAST TIME OUT
Wayne State (5-4 overall, 4-4 GLIAC) extended its winning streak to three games with a 31-26 triumph over the visiting Findlay Oilers last Saturday.
 
The Warriors took a 3-0 lead on 36-yard field goal by Paul Graham on the 11th play of a 38-yard drive following the first career interception by Derrick Rodgers.  A key play on the scoring drive was a nine-yard scramble by quarterback D.J. Zezula on a fourth-and-five.
 
Findlay finished the first period with 10 yards of total offense on 10 plays in 3:38, while WSU totaled 38 yards on 20 plays in 11:22.
 
Wayne State extended its lead to 10-0 at the 9:50 mark of the second quarter on a three-yard run by Romello Brown.  Demetrius Stinson had an 11-yard run on a second-and-nine to put the Warriors in the red zone.
 
After back-to-back punts by UF (because of a fumbled return by WSU), Wayne State drove 92 yards in nine plays with Brown scoring on a one-yard plunge.  It was the Warriors third TD drive of the year of at least 90 yards.  The big play came on a third-and-seven from the WSU 11 as Zezula found Jamel Hicks for a 37-yard gain.
 
Findlay pulled within 17-7 with just seven seconds left before intermission on a two-yard reception by Daiquone Ford on a pass by Rhys Gervais, who began the game 2-of-8 for 16 yards with three interceptions.  Prior to the scoring drive, the Oilers had 32 yards of total offense on 20 plays.
 
After an unsuccessful onside kick by WSU to start the second half, coupled with a 35-yard return by UF's Brad Fenton, the Wayne State defense limited Findlay to just a field goal after three plays for minus three yards.  Tyler Bugeja made a 29-yard attempt to cut the Warrior advantage to 17-10.
 
Following a Wayne State punt, the Oilers went 40 yards in 10 plays and knotted the game at 17 on a one-yard run by Marcus Jones with 9:20 left in the third period.
 
The Warriors punted on the ensuing possession, but WSU special teams stopped an Oiler fake punt rush on fourth down when Preston Pelham tackled Jones after a three-yard gain on fourth-and-four.
 
The Wayne State offense responded with a four-play, 56-yard scoring drive to take a 24-17 lead with 3:07 left in the third stanza.  Corey Ester made his first collegiate catch a memorable one hauling in a 37-yard scoring toss from Zezula on a third-and-four play.
 
Findlay had a 17-play drive but a 36-yard field goal attempt by Bugeja was wide right.
 
WSU fumbled on its second play, but again the Warrior defense held the Oilers to a field goal try with Bugeja connecting on a 41-yard attempt with 8:49 remaining in the game.
 
The Warriors sealed the victory with a five-play, 63-yard touchdown drive that consisted of five runs by Brown.
 
Findlay was able to pull within five points (31-26) on a five-yard touchdown pass from Gervais to Alex Long capping off an 82-yard drive.  The two-point conversion pass by Gervais was intercepted by Jamiil Williams.
 
WSU was able to run out the final 3:46 on the clock by gaining 34 yards on eight plays and garnering three first downs (two by rushing, plus another on a defensive offsides on a third-and-four).
 
CENTURY MARK
The last two times WSU had two receivers over 100 yards in the same game, both occurred against Lake Erie.  In WSU's 45-24 home field win on Oct. 8, 2011, Troy Burrell had eight catches for 210 yards and three touchdowns with Dominique Maybanks contributing four catches for 132 yards and two scores.  In last year's meeting in Northeast Ohio, Michael Johnson had game-high totals of nine catches for 105 yards and one touchdown with Hicks adding four receptions for 100 yards and a score.

HICKS HAULING IT IN
Junior wide receiver Jamel Hicks was WSU's leading receiver against UF with two catches for 43 yards.  He has been WSU's top receiver in eight of the nine contests and has moved into 27th place with 781 career receiving yards.

WIN STREAK NUMBERS
Over the last three games, Wayne State has rushed 739 yards and 10 touchdowns on 152 carries, while Zezula has passed for 413 yards and two scores with just one interception on 30-of-56.  WSU has controlled the ball for 102:55 compared to 77:05 for its opponents.

During the winning streak, the Warrior defense has limited its opponents to 173 rushing yards on 83 attempts (2.1 yards per carry) and 729 passing yards on 64-of-108.  WSU has recorded five interceptions, while allowing six touchdown passes. Opponents are just 11-of-41 (27 percent) on third down as Wayne State has recorded 23 tackles for loss.

MORE WSU NUMBERS
After recording four interceptions in the first eight games of the season, the Warrior defense had three interceptions in the first quarter against Findlay.  In addition to the aforementioned pick by Rodgers, Anthony DeDamos and James Howard had their second and third career interceptions, respectively.
 
Drew Dowding recorded a game-high nine tackles (6-3) in the win over the Oilers, including 1.5 for loss in his second career start.
 
The Warrior defense limited Findlay to 13 points in the second half on the three drives that started in Wayne State territory (field goal from WSU 09; touchdown from WSU 40; field goal from WSU 27).

'MELLO ON A ROLL
Romello Brown had his third consecutive 150-yard plus rushing effort finishing with career-highs in carries (30), rushing yards (172) and rushing touchdowns (3) in the win over Findlay.  He also surpassed the 1,000-yard rushing mark for his career (he had 120 yards in 2014).  With 49 rushing yards total in the final two games, Brown will become the 10th running back in Paul Winters' 12 years at WSU with a 1,000-yard rushing season.

FINISHING STRONG
In the final nine quarters this season, D.J. Zezula is:
- 22-of-35 passing for 404 yards and five TD in 63:28 (team has scored 11 TDs with him at the helm; other six TD's were rushing).
- He has rushed 13 times for four yards and accounted for 408 yards of total offense.
- WSU has ran 134 plays for 785 yards and collected 43 first downs (23 rushing, 15 passing, 5 penalty) and Zezula has accounted for 16 of those first downs (15 passing, 1 rushing). 

FOURTH QUARTER WINNING DRIVES
Trailed 20-7 against Truman, but WSU scored two touchdowns in less than four minutes to earn a 21-20 victory.

Trailed Northern Michigan 31-20 entering the fourth period, but two field goals and a game-winning touchdown pass with 36 seconds left propelled the Warriors to a 34-31 triumph.

A 37-yard TD pass to Corey Ester late in the third quarter snapped a 17-17 draw with Findlay and put WSU ahead for good.  After a UF field goal, drove the Warriors 63 yards for a TD which proved to the game-winning points after the Oilers scored a late touchdown. 

WINNING WHEN EXECUTING
Wayne State has won its last nine games, including three times this year (Sept. 19 vs. Malone, Oct. 24 at Walsh and Oct. 31 vs. Findlay), when rushing for over 200 yards.  WSU rushed for 313 yards against the Cavaliers, the most since the Warriors gained 349 yards at Lake Erie on Nov. 8, 2014.  During the past four seasons, Wayne State is 19-4 when rushing when rushing for 200 yards including a 9-1 mark on the road.  Under coach Winters, the Green & Gold are 38-13 under those parameters, including a 22-6 mark at home.

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, 95-166, 1,335 yards, 12 TD, 5 INT, 142.6

- Zezula set the record for most passing TD's by a true freshman QB.
- Has the most passing yards with 1,249 (Trent Pohl had 1,233 in 2006).
- Owns the highest passing efficiency rating at 142.6 (2nd is Zack George from 2006 at 141.7).

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
Wayne State's last home game will be broadcast on Comcast Xfinity Channel 900.  The broadcast team of Joe Abramson, Kevin Brechmacher and Mason Lowry will have the call from Tom Adams Field.  The 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 Warrior Ryan Oshnock will serve as the color analyst for the final two games.