Football | 9/21/2016 9:13:00 AM

DETROIT -- The Wayne State University football program (2-1, 2-1 GLIAC) continue their three-game home stand against Tiffin (2-1, 1-1 GLIAC) on Saturday at noon and are looking to end a two-game losing skid against the Dragons.  Wayne State is in the midst of playing five of six games at home.

Foam fingers will be given awway to the first 1,000 fans through the gates, while the first 500 students into the WarriorZone will receive a pair of WSU sunglasses.  In addition, students will have the opportunity to participate in a special activity sponsored by Michigan First Credit Union for the chance to win prizes.

SCOUTING THE DRAGONS
Tiffin enters Saturday's contest with a 2-1 record after winning two straight, including a 37-20 Homecoming victory over Hillsdale.  Head coach Gary Goff is in his sixth season and has led the Dragons to back-to-back five-win seasons. TU was picked to finish second in the GLIAC South Division prior to the season.  Tiffin's dual-threat quarterback Antonio Pipkin is one of the most exciting players to watch in the league and is off to a fast start in 2016.  He has ran for 157 yards, while throwing for 566 yards and four TDs.  Pipkin is completing 62.5 percent of his passes.  Kyle Brunson has rushed for 188 yards and two touchdowns, while Jordan Nobles, Charles Holland and Jalen Santoro have combined for 385 receiving yards and three scores.

On defense, the Dragons are paced by Jawan Nelson who leads the team with 30 tackles.  Willie Mays III has collected 2.5 sacks and 4.5 tackles for loss.  Ross More and Roamelle Bell each have an interception to their credit.

ALL-TIME SERIES
Wayne State leads the all-time series 6-2 against Tiffin.  The teams began playing in 1986 and the last six meetings have been as GLIAC foes.  The Dragons have won the last two meetings, including a 31-7 decision in Ohio last season.  WSU is 3-1 against TU at Tom Adams Field.

LAST TIME OUT
Wayne State made its 2016 home opener a memorable one as the Warriors rolled up a school record 655 yards of total offense and tallied 47 first half points in a 50-7 victory over Lake Erie on Saturday evening at Tom Adams Field.

WSU scored touchdowns on its first seven possessions, although the second score was a pick six by Valorian Cunningham.

After forcing a three-and-out by the Storm on the first possession of the contest, Wayne State went 65 yards in six plays with Donovan Zezula tossing a 29-yard scoring strike to senior wide receiver Jamel Hicks.

Three plays after the ensuing kickoff, Cunningham had a 19-yard interception return and the Warriors led 13-0 after the failed PAT.

Another three-and-out by LEC preceded an eight-play, 81-yard drive by WSU.   On a fourth-and-six from the Storm 30, Zezula completed a screen pass to Demetrius Stinson who went 30 yards for the touchdown.

Lake Erie had to punt on its next drive after garnering its first first down of the game.  Romello Brown rumbled 40 yards on the first play and Zezula teamed up with Hicks for a 30-yard score on the second play to complete the two-play, 70-yard drive.

The Storm drove into the red zone, but Nathan White stripped back-up quarterback Tyler Eden then White recovered the fumble.

Stinson capped off the eight-play, 70-yard drive with a two-yard jaunt making the score 33-0 almost four minutes into the second stanza.

On the first play following another Lake Erie punt, Brown went 86 yards for a touchdown, tied for the fifth-longest run in school history.

LEC's next drive lasted one play, as White again caused a fumble, this one on starting signal caller John Banyasz.  Dalton Binkowski picked up the loose ball and rumbled 12 yards to the Storm one-yard line.  On the very next play, Stinson notched his second rushing touchdown of the match and third total score.  Luke Bevilacqua made the extra point to complete the first half scoring.

Wayne State had a 486 to 103 advantage in total offense after 30 minutes, with Brown rushing for 172 yards on five attempts (34.4 yards per carry average).

Lake Erie produced the only third quarter points on a two-yard touchdown run by LunDerek Craig finishing off a 10-play, 52-yard drive.

Bevilacqua connected on his first career field goal, a 29-yard effort, early in the fourth quarter to complete the scoring.

EARLY SEASON SUCCESS
Since the start of the 2008 season, WSU has a 27-10 record for games played in August and September.  Of the 11 months being considered, WSU is .500 in two months, and above .500 in the other nine months.

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), 8-5-0, .615
      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 against Tiffin, fourth in WSU history in receptions by a tight end with 52.  John Aird (1995-98), who began his career as a linebacker, is third with 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.

MILESTONES
WSU compiled a school record 655 yards of total offense last weekend against Lake Erie, surpassing the previous high of 644 from Sept. 30, 1967.  The 436 rushing yards by WSU vs. LEC was the third-most in program history behind the 537 against St. Mary's on Sept. 29, 1934, and the 468 at Valparaiso on Sept. 17, 1988, 28 years to the day.

During the 50-7 victory over Lake Erie, 71 different Warriors saw game action.
Romello Brown's 86-yard touchdown last Saturday was the fifth-longest run in program history.

THE EFFICIENT ROMELLO BROWN
Romello Brown's 6.05 yards per carry is the highest by any WSU player with at least 100 career rushing attempts since Vic Zucco averaged 6.41 in 1953-54.

WINNING WHEN EXECUTING
Wayne State has won 10 of its last 11 games when rushing for over 200 yards, including last week vs. LEC.  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 20-5 when rushing when rushing for 200 yards including a 9-2 mark on the road.  Under coach Winters, the Green & Gold are 39-14 under those parameters, including a 23-6 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 - 65
Ashland - 62
Michigan Tech - 53
Ferris State - 51
WAYNE STATE - 48
Saginaw Valley State - 47

WINTERS ON WEDNESDAYS
The weekly Winters on Wednesdays radio show is in its fifth 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.  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.

D2FOOTBALL.COM PRESEASON ALL-AMERICA
Nate Theaker was voted to the 2016 D2Football.com Preseason All-America First Team.  Prior to a season-ending injury in 2015, he earned a spot on the Lindy's Division II Preseason All-America Second Team, D2Football.com Preseason All-America First Team and the USA College Football Preseason All-America First Team.

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.

2016 SIGNING CLASS
WSU signed nine freshmen and added one transfer on National Signing Day in February.  The nine signees represent eight offensive players and one athlete.  The biggest positions are offensive line (three), wide receivers (two) and quarterbacks (two).  There are six recruits from Michigan, two from Ohio, and one from Illinois.

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 58-37 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 106 collegiate starts after the first three games, while the back-ups have started a combined 28 contests for the Green and Gold.  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 33 times, while both Theaker and Richardson have 25 starts with Zimmerman (13) and Pillars (10) getting most of their starts a year ago.

FIRST 45 MINUTES
If Wayne State wants to return to the playoff discussion it may want to work on getting off to a fast start.  So far, so good in 2016.  WSU scored 28 points before halftime against Northwood, led 12-6 at intermission against the fifth-ranked Eagles and racked up 47 points in the first half against Lake Erie.

In 2015, WSU opponents outscored the Warriors 237 to 187 in the first three quarters, including an 82-42 mark in the third stanza.  However, a strength of the Green & Gold in 2015 was its late game execution, outscoring its opponents 118 to 75 in the final period.

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 (2008-15) to a 34-13 tune.  WSU has had a winning record at home in each of the last eight seasons, including a 5-1 mark last season.

80TH HOMECOMING CONTEST
WSU will host Hillsdale on Oct. 1st in the 80th Homecoming game in program history, dating back to 1935 (no game was played in 1943 and 1944 due to WWII).  The Chargers have met WSU on eight occasions during Homecoming week, including most recently in 2006 when the Warriors were victorious by a 41-26 score.

ALL HOME GAMES TELEVISED
Once again, all six of Wayne State's home games will be televised live on Comcast Xfinity Channel 900.  The broadcast team of Joe Abramson, Rod Beard and Tony Ortiz will have the call from Tom Adams Field.  All games will be shown live plus each contest 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.  Play-by-play announcer Sean Baligian along with former Warrior Josh Renel, who will serve as the color analyst for the season.  Mickey Mohner filled in at Ashland, while Ryan Oshnock will fill in on Oct. 15.