Football | 10/12/2016 9:00:00 AM

DETROIT -- The Wayne State University football team (5-1, 5-1 GLIAC) return home for back-to-back games beginning with Walsh (0-6, 0-6 GLIAC) on Saturday at noon.

There will be plenty of activities for fans of all ages to enjoy as well inside Tom Adams Field.  Lyndsay Butler will be honored as the NFCA DII National Player of the Year.  In addition, the gate giveaway will be a green and gold pom-poms for the first 1,000 fans and the first 600 students inside the stadium (with their OneCard) will walk away with a free Warrior beanie.

It also is the Breast Cancer Awareness game so the football team, coaches and spirit squads will be wearing pink.  Head football coach Paul Winters is part of the Real Men Wear Pink of Detroit and you can show your support by donating here.

GAME STORYLINES
The Warriors return home with a four-game winning streak to their name after topping Findlay.  Wayne State is aiming for its first winning streak of five or more games since WSU won 10 straight from Oct. 23, 2010 to Oct. 8, 2011.  A win against Walsh would secure WSU's sixth consecutive month of playing .500 or better football.  The Green & Gold are 14-6 since Nov. 1, 2014.

Wayne State has started 4-1 or better for the sixth time in the last nine seasons.  
2015:  2-2, 2014:  3-1, 2013:  3-2,  2012:  4-1, 2011:  6-0, 2010:  5-1, 2009:  5-1, 2008:  4-1.

LAST TIME OUT
The 27th-ranked Wayne State football team never trailed in claiming its second road win of the season with a 37-21 triumph at the University of Findlay (2-4 overall, 2-4 GLIAC) Saturday afternoon.

Holding a slim 27-21 advantage early in the fourth quarter, the Warriors took possession at their own 11 yard line following a UF punt. On the 16th play, of the ensuing drive Luke Bevilacqua made a 33-yard field goal to give WSU a two-score lead (30-21).

Wayne State added a touchdown less than two minutes later as an Anthony Pittman interception led to a 25-yard touchdown run by Jamel Hicks to complete the scoring.

After a three-and-out on the opening drive of the game, Findlay drove inside the Warrior 10-yard line but Valorian Cunningham blocked a 23-yard field goal attempt by Tyler Bugeja.

Following a punt by each squad, WSU went 64 yards in nine plays using the final 4:32 of the opening stanza. Romello Brown converted one third down and Donovan Zezula had a 29-yard completion to Hicks on a fourth-and-four leading to Brown's two-yard rumble on the ensuing play.

The Oilers gained two yards on their next possession and the Warrior offense responded with a 69-yard touchdown drive to take a 14-10 lead. A big play was a Zezula 46-yard hook-up with Deiontae Nicholas on a third-and-10. Demetrius Stinson) scored on a six-yard jaunt.

UF cut the Wayne State advantage in half with a 43-yard touchdown pass from Rhys Gervais to Jason Moore.  Both teams failed to convert fourth down opportunities and the first half ended with WSU holding a 14-7 lead.

The Oilers tied the game at 14-14 by taking the second half kickoff and going 79 yards in 14 plays. A 10-yard Gervais to Moore completion on third-and-goal was the tying score.

A WSU punt followed by a fourth down incompletion by the Oilers preceded a four-play, 69-yard scoring drive by the Warriors. Stinson raced down the sideline for 54 yards on the second play, then Zezula found Aaron Weston in the end zone for a 10-yard TD play. It was Weston's second career touchdown grab.

Wayne State defense forced a three-and-out and it took the Warrior offense just 62 seconds to go 88 yards with Nicholas covering the final 86 on play No. 2 of the drive. Bevilacqua made the extra point after missing his attempt earlier in the quarter to give WSU a 27-14 lead.

Findlay used just five plays to cover 72 yards on the drive following the kickoff to pull within six points. The TD pass from Gervais to Moore went for 61 yards setting up the 16-play drive for WSU following a punt by each team.

SCOUTING THE CAVALIERS
Walsh will have a tough task with its sights set on its first win of the season.  WU's opponents are outscoring them by a 215 to 55 margin.  A 10-point defeat (27-17) at home against Saginaw Valley State is the team's high point in 2016.  Head coach Ted Karras in his third season with the program after serving seven season as the head coach at Marian, where he won an NAIA National Championship in 2012. Mitchell Ault is the teams signal caller and he has thrown for 690 yards and two touchdowns, while completing 65.1 percent of his passes.  Aaron Male leads the team with 213 rushing yards and two TDs.  Antonio Tate and Matt Matuska have combined for 36 catches, 327 yards and one score.  Perhaps the Cavs' best player is linebacker Nick King who leads the GLIAC with 65 total tackles.  Something that Walsh does well is returning punts as the Cavaliers rank first in the league with a 13.9 average.

ALL-TIME SERIES
Wayne State has won the only two meetings against Walsh.  The Warriors won 52-17 in Detroit in 2014 and in Canton, Ohio, 31-16, last season.  This will be the last GLIAC meeting with the Cavaliers as Walsh is leaving the league to join the G-MAC this summer.  The teams are scheduled to meet in the season-opener both in 2017 (at Walsh) and 2018 (in Detroit).

WARRIORS IN OCTOBER
Five of the last seven October's have seen WSU go .500 or better.  The Warriors went 4-1 in 2010, 3-2 in both 2011 and 2015, and 2-2 in 2012.

QUARTERBACK WIN TOTALS
In baseball, the starting pitcher gets a win for going at least five innings so we thought we would take a look at the best win totals for WSU starting quarterbacks since 1972 (except 1980-83).  The same rules from baseball apply here -- the QB that was in when the winning points were scored received the decision.

1.  Mickey Mohner (2009-12), 30-15-0, .667
2.  Ed Skowneski (1972-75), 20-12-0, .625
3.  Jim Gendron (1976-78), 15-7-0, .682
4.  Mark Friday (1991-93), 13-13-0, .500
5.  Donovan Zezula (2015-16), 11-5-0, .688
6.  Richard Popp (1983-86), 8-15-1, .354
      Trent Pohl (2006-07), 8-10-0, .444
8.  Kevin Smith (2008), 7-2-0, .778
      Carl Roscoe (2012-15), 7-7-0, .500
      Anthony Frederick (1992, 94-95), 7-12-0, .368
      Michael Gluski (1994-95, 97-98), 7-16-0, .304

RARE AIR FOR BRODBECK
Trent Brodbeck enters Saturday's game vs. Walsh, tied-for-third in WSU history in receptions by a tight end with 54.  John Aird (1995-98), who began his career as a linebacker, also had 54 catches.  Richard Hall (1991-94) is second with 59 receptions, while Joe Benke (1987-88) is the all-time leader among tight ends with 67 catches.  Additionally, Brodbeck was selected to the Allstate AFCA (American Football Coaches Association) Good Works Team®, which recognizes football student-athletes for their community service efforts.  He is only the second player in school history (Alan Guy, 2007) to receive the honor.  He is featured in a two-page spread in the Oct. 3rd edition of ESPN The Magazine.  Also, Brodbeck was named a semifinalist for the National Football Foundation's William Campbell Trophy on Sept. 28th.

WORTH NOTING
Wayne State had five rushing plays of at least 86 yards in the first 98 years of football, but the Warriors have two (both 86-yard touchdown runs) in the last four games.  Brown scampered 86 yards against Lake Erie, and Deiontae Nicholas' TD run today put WSU ahead 27-14 late in the third period.

Jamel Hicks moved into eighth place on the WSU all-time receptions list with 92 catches passing Dean Morrison (1974-77), Nate Bush (1993-95) and current Notre Dame strength coach Paul Longo (1978-81).  Hicks trails Dominique Maybanks (2010-13) by one reception for seventh place.

Romello Brown tied Troy Burrell (2008-11) for 10th place on the WSU all-time scoring chart with 168 points.

WSU had two running backs gain over 100 yards for the first time this season.  Brown (161) and Stinson (108) accomplished this feat in a 31-16 victory at Walsh on Oct. 24, 2015.

THE EFFICIENT (AND EXPLOSIVE) ROMELLO BROWN
Romello Brown's 6.39 yards per carry is the third-highest by any WSU player with at least 150 career rushing attempts since Gary Baillargeon averaged 7.29 (166-1,210) in 1951-52.  In addition, he is gaining 8.99 yards per carry (min. 25 attempts) this season, which is a program record (8.14 -- Gary Baillargeon, 1951).  That number puts Brown second in the country.  

WINNING WHEN EXECUTING
Wayne State has won 13 of its last 14 games when rushing for over 200 yards, including last week at Findlay.  The only setback when accomplishing the feat came at Ashland where the Warriors ran for exactly 200 yards in a losing effort.  During the past four-plus seasons (2012-16), Wayne State is 23-5 when rushing for 200 yards including a 10-2 mark on the road.  Under coach Winters, the Green & Gold are 42-14 under those parameters, including a 24-6 mark at home.

TOP OF THE LEAGUE
Since the start of the 2008 season, here are the most successful teams in the GLIAC in terms of conference victories:
Grand Valley State - 68
Ashland - 64
Michigan Tech - 53
Ferris State - 52
WAYNE STATE - 51
Saginaw Valley State - 49
Ohio Dominican - 42

A STRONG CONNECTION
QB to WR touchdown totals (Since 1991)
24 - Mickey Mohner to Troy Burrell
22 - Jason Charron to Pierre Brown
18 - Michael Gluski to Jimmy Hill
10 - Carl Roscoe to Michael Johnson
10 - Dan Gray to Pierre Brown
9 - Donovan Zezula to Jamel Hicks
9 - Dan Gray to Brandon Brown
9 - Richard Brown to Elbert Richmond
8 - Anthony Frederick to Nate Bush
7 - Randy Hutchison to Nick Body

TEAM CAPTAINS
Paul Winters announced his 2016 captains during a special "Captains Presentation" prior to a scrimmage on August 20th.  The 2016 WSU captains will consist of four fifth-year seniors, plus a graduate student.  Left tackle Nate Theaker, who graduated in December, returns as a graduate student after earning a sixth-year waiver from the NCAA.  The other offensive captain is tight end Trent Brodbeck.  The defensive captains will be defensive end Nathan White, along with linebackers Anthony DeDamos and Valorian Cunningham.  All five are first-year captains.

STREAKING WARRIORS
In eight of the last nine seasons (2008-16) WSU has had at least a four-game winning streak.  This year's Warriors accomplished the feat at Findlay last Saturday.

CONSISTENT LEADER
Paul Winters is the second-longest tenured football coach in program history this fall with 13 seasons.  He passed the founder of WSU athletics David Holmes in 2014 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 is very similar to past seasons.  Along with Winters in his 13th season, defensive line coach and recruiting coordinator Scott Kazmierski is in his 13th season with the Green & Gold.  Offensive line coach Scott Wooster is in his eighth season, defensive coordinator and secondary coach Brad Wilson is in his fifth season and quarterbacks coach Jeff Reardon is in his fourth season with the Warriors. E.J. Henderson is back for his second season in his latest stint with WSU after serving three years previously (2004-06).  A new coach on the staff is a familiar name to Warrior fans as Jon Robinson returns as the linebackers coach after playing for WSU (2007-11).

MODEL OF SUCCESS
Wayne State has compiled at least a .500 season in seven of the last eight years (2008-16) combining for a 61-37 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.

THE FRONT LINE
The running game has always been a calling card of Wayne State football and 2016 looks to be no different as the strongest units of the team appear to be its running backs and offensive line.  Last season, WSU rushed for 2,137 yards and 27 touchdowns.  This year's offensive line contingent has quality, versatility and depth.  The five projected starters have made 121 collegiate starts after the first six games.  Leading the way are graduate student and captain Nate Theaker, fifth-year seniors Robert Kelly, Andrew Zimmerman and JT Pillars, along with junior Tommy Richardson.  Kelly leads the corps having started 36 times, while both Theaker and Richardson have 28 starts with Zimmerman (16) and Pillars (13) getting most of their starts a year ago.

TOP 25 POLLS
Wayne State has moved into the AFCA (American Football Coaches Association) top 25 poll for the first time since the middle part of the 2012 campaign (Oct. 8, 2012).  In addition, WSU is also ranked 25th in the D2Football.com poll released on October 11.

NCAA RANKINGS
The NCAA released its national statistics on Oct. 11th for Division II Football.  In terms of team rankings, WSU is one of four schools nationally not allowing a fourth-down conversion by its opponents (0-for-11).  In addition, the Warriors are also ranked in the top 20 nationally in the following categories:
2nd in fewest tackles for loss allowed (3.0 per game).
4th in passing yards per completion (17.38).
5th in rushing offense (296.3 yards per game).
14th in total offense (496.2 yards per game).
16th in kickoff return defense (16.68 yards per return allowed).
Tied-for-18th in fumbles recovered (7).

Romello Brown is second in yards per carry (8.99), fourth in both rushing yards (881) and rushing yards per game (146.8), tied-for-17th in rushing touchdowns with eight, and 32nd in all-purpose yards per game (148.0).

Demetrius Stinson is tied-for-11th in rushing touchdowns with nine, and tied-for-16th in scoring at 10.0 points per game.

Donovan Zezula is second in passing yards per completion (17.69), fourth in yards per pass attempt (10.39), and 10th in passing efficiency (170.9).

FIRST HALF DOMINATION
Wayne State has been at its best in the first 30 minutes of the game this season.  The Warriors are outscoring their opponents 94-7 in the first quarter and 143-30 during the first half.  However, on the other side of the coin, WSU is being outscored 88-73 in the second half.

TOM ADAMS HOME COOKING
Tom Adams Field is not an easy place to play for visiting programs.  The Warriors have defended their home turf extremely well in the past eight seasons (2008-16) to a 36-13 tune.  WSU is 3-0 in 2016 at home and has had a winning record at home in each of the last eight seasons, including a 5-1 mark last season.