Football | 11/9/2016 8:51:00 AM

DETROIT -- The Wayne State University football program (7-3, 7-3 GLIAC) will conclude the 2016 season at noon on Saturday by hosting second-ranked Grand Valley State (10-0, 9-0 GLIAC) at Tom Adams Field.  The Warriors have dropped consecutive games for the first time this season after winning six straight from Sept. 17th. to Oct. 22nd.  It will be the final home game for 23 seniors, who will be honored prior to kickoff.

The Department of Athletics will honor first responders during its annual Veterans & Law Enforcement game, while also celebrating the 50th anniversary of the WSU Police Department.  In addition, fans can pick up "Rally to Beat Grand Valley" towel upon entering the stadium.  The first 1,000 students with their OneCard will receive a limited edition scarf.

GAME STORYLINES
Looking to close out the 2016 season on a high note, Wayne State hosts the GLIAC Champions and second-ranked Grand Valley State Lakers.  The Warriors will honor their 23 seniors prior to kickoff.

LAST TIME OUT
Wayne State was outscored 22-7 in the second half in suffering a 28-17 setback at Ohio Dominican in its final regular-season road game of the 2016 campaign.

After WSU punted on its opening possession, the host Panthers drove into Warrior territory and were gifted a first down on a 3rd-and-9 incompletion as an uncatchable ball with a pass interference call.  The Wayne State defense rose to the occasion forcing a 34-yard field goal attempt by ODU's Justin Bonchek, which was blocked.

The WSU offense responded with a 12-play, 80-yard drive to take a 7-0 lead on a one-yard plunge by Romello Brown.  Brown had eight carries for 54 yards on the scoring drive.

The Warrior defense allowed two first downs but forced a punt.  On WSU's first play, sophomore quarterback Donovan Zezula's (Clarkston, Mich.) pass was tipped by a Wayne State receiver and an ODU defender before a second defender made a diving interception.

On the very next play, Panther signal caller Grant Russell tossed a 23-yard scoring pass to Aaron Stephens.  WSU blocked the extra point maintaining the one-point advantage at 7-6.

Early in the second quarter, the Warriors drove 55 yards with Luke Bevilacqua connecting on a career-long 36-yard field goal attempt increasing the Wayne State advantage to 10-6.

Neither team was able to score over the final 12 minutes before intermission as Warrior James Howard notched his first interception of the season.

Brown gained 158 yards on 21 rushing attempts in the first half as Wayne State totaled 168 rushing yards in the first half compared to 24 yards on 13 carries for the Panthers.

Ohio Dominican took the second half kickoff and drove 75 yards in seven plays with Russell completing an 18-yard scoring pass to David Turner.

Wayne State answered with a 72-yard touchdown drive that took 12 plays as Jamel Hicks hauled in a six-yard scoring strike from Zezula.  Bevilacqua's PAT gave the Warriors a 17-14 lead.

On the ensuing drive, ODU had a 3rd-and-1 from its own 44 when Joe Hines took a handoff and went 56 yards for a go-ahead touchdown.  It appeared that a potential holding penalty opened the corner for Hines.

On the kickoff, WSU was flagged for a holding penalty along with a deadball unsportsmanlike conduct infraction pushing the ball back to the Warrior 5.  After a Warrior punt, the Panthers drove into the red zone, but Jalen Lewis recovered a fumble by Russell.  Following another WSU punt, Ohio Dominican was able to increase its lead on a nine-yard touchdown throw by Russell to Dar Stanford which appeared to go through the hands of a WSU defender.

Wayne State was able to drive into the red zone but back-to-back passes in the end zone were incomplete.

SCOUTING THE LAKERS
It took two overtimes to do it, but Grand Valley State won its 17th conference title last week with a 62-56 victory at Saginaw Valley State.  It is the team's first outright title since 2008.  Head coach Matt Mitchell is in his seventh season at the helm and has led the Lakers to three NCAA DII Playoff appearances.  Sophomore running back Marty Carter leads the offense with 1,425 rushing yards and 17 touchdowns, while sophomore quarterback Bart Williams is completing 61 percent of his passes for 2,538 yards and 24 scores.  Senior wideout Matt Williams is GVSU's top pass catcher with 44 receptions for 807 yards and eight TDs.  Sophomore wide receiver Nick Dodson is also a weapon through the air, catching eight passes for touchdowns.  Junior linebacker Collin Schlosser tops the team with 83 total tackles and senior defensive lineman Sydney Omameh has notched 12 tackles for loss, including 10 sacks.  As a unit, the defense has picked off a GLIAC-best 15 passes.

ALL-TIME SERIES
Wayne State trails the all-time series with a 5-32 mark versus Grand Valley State.  The Warriors have not beaten the Lakers since 1984 (27 consecutive meetings).  WSU is 3-15 at home during the series.  The teams began playing in 1975 and WSU won the first meeting 15-6 in Detroit.  For seven straight contests (2002-08) GVSU was the top-ranked team in Division II.

THE EFFICIENT (AND EXPLOSIVE) ROMELLO BROWN
Romello Brown's 6.36 yards per carry for a career is the third-highest by any WSU player with at least 75 rushing attempts behind Gary Baillargeon, who averaged 7.29 (166-1,210) in 1951-52 and Vic Zucco (6.41 / 165-1,057) in 1953-54.  In addition, he is gaining 7.66 yards per carry this season, which ranks fourth all-time (min. 40 attempts).  His 113.2 yards per game after 25 contests ranks second in school history behind Joique Bell's 152.9.

RARE AIR FOR BRODBECK
Trent Brodbeck enters Saturday's game vs. Grand Valley State, second in WSU history in receptions by a tight end with 63.  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.

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.  Donovan Zezula (2015-16), 13-7-0, .650
5.  Mark Friday (1991-93), 13-13-0, .500
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

WINNING WHEN EXECUTING
Wayne State has won 15 of its last 18 games when rushing for over 200 yards.  The only setbacks when accomplishing the feat came at Ashland, where the Warriors ran for exactly 200 yards in a losing effort, at Ferris State and last week at Ohio Dominican when WSU ran for 242 yards.  During the past four-plus seasons (2012-16), Wayne State is 25-7 when rushing for 200 yards including a 10-4 mark on the road.  Under Coach Winters, the Green & Gold are 44-16 under those parameters, including a 26-6 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 - 71
Ashland - 66
Ferris State - 56
Michigan Tech - 55
WAYNE STATE - 53
Saginaw Valley State - 50
Ohio Dominican - 46

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 eight games.  Romello Brown scampered 86 yards against Lake Erie, and Deiontae Nicholas' TD run against Findlay put WSU ahead 27-14.

Brown's 1,000-yard rushing season makes him the third running back in the Paul Winters' era to have back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons joining Joique Bell (2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009) and Josh Renel (2010 and 2011).  WSU has had 11 1,000-yard rushers in the last 12 seasons (only 2012 and 2013 without a 1,000-yard rusher, but the Warriors had two in 2011).

Brown surpassed Hall of Famer Joe Gough (1991-94) for fourth place on the all-time rushing touchdowns chart and is two away from matching Ed Skowneski (197-75) total of 37.  Brown has rushed for at least 145 yards in 11 of the last 15 games, including the final five contests of the 2015 campaign.

Jamel Hicks became the seventh player in school history with at least 100 career receptions at Ferris State.

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 had a six-game winning streak prior to Oct. 29th's game at Ferris State.  Northwest Missouri State currently holds the longest winning streak at 25 games.

The six-game winning streak for the Warriors was the longest in program history since the 2010 and 2011 squads combined for 10 consecutive victories from October 23, 2010, through October 8, 2011.  The Tartars produced two seven-game winning streaks from Sept. 23, 1967, through Nov. 4, 1967, and Oct. 25, 1975, through Sept. 25, 1976.  The first six-game winning streak in program history was accomplished by the 1951-52 squads from Oct. 20, 1951, through Sept. 20, 1952.

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).

LAST 100 GAMES
Wayne State has compiled at least a .500 season in eight of the last nine years (2008-16) combining for a 63-39 mark over the last 102 games.  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.  This year, WSU has rushed for 2,818 yards and a GLIAC-best 34 touchdowns.  This year's offensive line contingent has quality, versatility and depth.  The five projected starters have made 141 collegiate starts after the first nine 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 40 times, while both Theaker and Richardson have 32 starts with Zimmerman (20) and Pillars (17) getting most of their starts a year ago and in 2016.

ANOTHER BACKFIELD WEAPON
Deiontae Nicholas is technically WSU's third running back on the depth chart but he very well could be the starter for most programs across Division II.  On the season, he is averaging 9.16 yards per carry, which is a program record.  For his career, the Chesterfield native is collecting 8.45 yards per carry, which would also be a program record.

NCAA RANKINGS
The NCAA released its national statistics on Nov. 8th for Division II Football.  In terms of team rankings, WSU is fourth nationally in rushing offense (281.8).  In addition, the Warriors are also ranked in the top 20 nationally in the following categories:
8th in fewest tackles for loss allowed (3.90 per game)
9th in fourth-down conversion allowed (4-for-17)
10th in red zone defense (.613)
14th in fumbles recovered (12)
15th in kickoff return defense (17.49 yards per return allowed)
15th in punt return defense (4.00 yards per return allowed)
16th in fewest passes had intercepted (6)
17th in kickoff return average (24.24)
18th in fewest turnovers lost (12)

Romello Brown is second in both rushing yards (1,441) and rushing yards per game (144.1), third in yards per carry (7.66), 13th in rushing touchdowns with 15, and 33rd in all-purpose yards per game (145.70).  Demetrius Stinson ranks 25th in rushing touchdowns with 12. Donovan Zezula is 21st in passing yards per completion (14.64), 27th in yards per pass attempt (8.42) and 45th in passing efficiency (143.4).

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 114-28 in the first quarter and 209-85 during the first half.  However, on the other side of the coin, WSU is only outscoring its opponents 133-131 in the second half.

GOING OUT IN STYLE
This year's senior class has produced three winning seasons and are 20-12 since the start of their redshirt sophomore season.  The 23 wins by this year's senior class is tied-for-ninth all-time with the classes of 1934-37, 1976-79 and 2006-09.  The 2008-11 contingent holds the school record with 35 wins.

TURNOVER MARGIN SUCCESS
Wayne State has improved in several areas from last season but perhaps the most important is in the turnover margin department.  The Warriors are +7 this season (19 takeaways and 12 giveaways) compared to a -9 mark in 2015 (23 giveaways and 14 takeaways).

WARRIORS IN NOVEMBER
The month of November has not been as kind to Wayne State as October.  Over the last eight seasons, the Warriors are 10-10 in the 11th month of the year.  WSU went 3-0 in 2014 and 2-0 in 2010, while compiling a 3-1 mark in 2011 and 1-1 marks in both 2008 and 2015.

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 - Donovan Zezula to Jamel Hicks
10 - Carl Roscoe to Michael Johnson
10 - Dan Gray to Pierre Brown
9 - Dan Gray to Brandon Brown
9 - Richard Brown to Elbert Richmond
8 - Anthony Frederick to Nate Bush
7 - Randy Hutchison to Nick Body