DETROIT -- The Wayne State University football program (1-4, 0-2 GLIAC) will attempt to snap a four-game losing streak on Saturday night when Davenport (5-0 overall, 2-0 GLIAC) visits Tom Adams Field for the first-time ever.

GAME STORYLINES
Wayne State hosts Davenport this weekend in hopes of ending a four-game losing streak.  WSU is hosting the Panthers for the first time in program history.  The Warriors will look to put September behind them as it was their first winless month (with at least three games) since November 2013.  Saturday's game is the 899th contest in program history.

SCOUTING THE PANTHERS
Davenport is 5-0 to begin its second year in the GLIAC and third year of having football, including two wins over conference opponents.  The Panthers won 23-21 at Michigan Tech two weeks ago, and 31-30 at home in overtime versus Northern Michigan last Saturday.  Head coach Sparky McEwen is in his second season with the program.  Redshirt junior quarterback Haiden Majewski has thrown for eight touchdowns and 855 yards, while completing over 60 percent of his passes.  Redshirt junior running back Seth Acda leads the team in rushing with 270 yards and one TD, while redshirt freshman Nate Couturier is the squad's top pass catcher with 18 receptions for 282 yards and three scores.  Redshirt freshman Keion Powers is also a threat at wideout, with 17 catches for 205 yards and three touchdowns.  

Redshirt freshman linebacker Jamal Veazey has a team-best 32 total tackles, including two tackles for loss and an interception.  Senior defensive end Rob Simmons has 7.5 TFLs, including three sacks.  

As a team, DU is scoring 26.2 points per contest, while allowing 14.2 points per game.

ALL-TIME SERIES
Wayne State won the first-ever meeting against Davenport, 34-27 in overtime, which occurred in the 2017 season finale in Caledonia.  

LAST TIME OUT
Wayne State lost its fourth consecutive game falling 27-13 against visiting Tiffin last weekend.

The 33rd-ranked Dragons drove 60 yards after the opening kickoff and took a 3-0 lead on a 32-yard field goal by AJ Nickoli.  TU increased its lead to 10-0 on a 78-yard pass play from Nick Watson to Derell Williams, two plays following a Warrior punt.

Tiffin extended its lead to 17-0 early in the second period on Watson's 11-yard touchdown pass to Charles Holland.

After a Paul Graham field goal, Holland's second TD reception of the game with 15 seconds remaining before halftime pushed the Dragon lead to 24-3.  The Warriors added another field goal as did the Panthers.  

WSU's lone touchdown drive covered 65 yards in 15 plays that took 5:59 in the final stanza as DeOntay Moffett ended the drive with a one-yard plunge.  Sophomore Steven Glenn recovered the onside kick, but two interceptions in the final five minutes thwarted that drive and the ensuing possession.

KICKING HIS WAY INTO THE RECORD BOOKS
Paul Graham became the third place-kicker in school history to score at least 200 points with his second quarter field goal against Tiffin.  Graham is tied with David Chudzinski (2005-08, 206 points) and trails Stefan Terleckyj (2010-13, 286 points).  Graham has 35 field goals, which ranks second behind Terleckyj's 39, while his 101 PATs is third behind Terleckyj (169) and Chudzinski (107).

200-YARD PASSING GAMES
Jake AmRhein has thrown for at least 200 yards in each of the last three contests.  The last WSU quarterback to throw for at least 200 yards in four consecutive games was Randy Hutchison from Oct. 11 until Nov. 1 during the 2003 season.

CLIMBING THE CHARTS
Demetrius Stinson became the 12th running back in school history to surpass the 2,000-yard rushing total with his 81 yards vs. Walsh.  His career total is at 2,331 following the TU contest, which ranks 11th all-time.  Stinson has his sights set on 10th place (2,404) and ninth place (2,415).  He ranks fifth in the conference at 74.6 yards per game.

OVERTIME NUMBERS
WSU played its second overtime contest in the last five games at Saginaw Valley State on Sept. 22nd, after ending 2017 with a 34-27 extra session victory at Davenport.  Wayne State is 4-9 in overtime games and 3-4 in road overtime contests.  This was the first extra period game between WSU and SVSU.

A MATURING OFFENSIVE LINE
Going into the 2017 season, fans of Warrior football knew the offensive line was going to be a work in progress after losing 144 combined starts from the group of Robert Kelly (41), Nate Theaker (33), Tommy Richardson (32), Andrew Zimmerman (21) and JT Pillars (17).  The group of Israel Helms (10), Justin Tockstein (11), Charlie Younger (11), Lane Potter (11) and Adam McJunkin (1) gained valuable experience since the 2017 season began with only three combined starts (all by then senior Greg Webber).  With the return of Tommy Richardson and his 36 career starts, the 2018 offensive line now has 101 career starts.

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 11 seasons (2008-18) to a 41-20 tune.  WSU had a winning record at Adams Field for nine straight seasons, until a 2-4 record in 2017.  In the Coach Winters' era, the Warriors are 48-33 (.593) in home games.  WSU is 32-17 at Tom Adams Field this decade and carries a 216-218-19 all-time record at home in the first 101 years of the program as Detroit Junior College (1918-23), College of the City of Detroit (CCD / 1923-34), Wayne University (1934-56) and WSU (1956-present).

CONSISTENT LEADER
Paul Winters will become the longest tenured football coach in program history this fall as he is in his 15th season.  He passed the founder of WSU athletics David Holmes in 2014 at 11 seasons (1918-28).  Winters surpasses Hall of Fame coach Joseph Gembis, who held the post for 14 seasons (1932-45).  Winters enters the DU contest tied-for-31st among all active DII football head coaches with 82 wins.  Mercyhurst's Marty Schaetzle and GVSU's Matt Mitchell.  The game at Ferris State on Sept. 30, 2017, was his 150th as the Warrior head coach.  Gembis (101) and Holmes (80) are second and third in career games coached.

LAST 100-PLUS GAMES
Wayne State has compiled at least a .500 season in eight of the last 10 years (2008-17) combining for a 69-50 mark over the last 119 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.

WINNING WHEN EXECUTING
Wayne State has won 22 of its last 27 games when rushing for over 200 yards, including the 2018 season-opener over Walsh, where the Warriors totaled 237 yards on the ground.  The first three setbacks when accomplishing the feat came in 2016-at Ashland, where the Warriors ran for exactly 200 yards in a losing effort; at Ferris State and at Ohio Dominican when WSU ran for 242 yards.

Twice this year WSU has lost when rushing for at least 200 yards - at UIndy on Sept. 8th where the Green & Gold compiled 202 yards on the ground and last Saturday at Saginaw Valley.  During the last seven-plus seasons (2011-18), Wayne State is 32-9 when rushing for 200 yards, including a 13-7 mark on the road.  Under Coach Winters, the Green & Gold are 51-18 under those parameters, including a 32-5 mark at home.

NCAA STATS REPORT
Wayne State ranks fifth nationally in fewest penlties per game (3.80), seventh in fewest total penalties (19), 10th in blocked punts (1), 11th in passing yards allowed per game (137.8), 25th in tackles for loss allowed per game (4.60), 32nd in fourth down conversion percentage (.636), 35th in total defense per game (310.8) and 37th in first down defense (80).

Brandon Tuck-Hayden ranks 15th in Division II in forced fumbles per game (0.40), while Darece Roberson, Jr. is 21st in combined kick return yards (380) and 43rd in receiving TDs (4).  DeOntay Moffett is 29th nationally in rushing touchdowns (5), while DaVarie Halliburton, Spencer Stephenson, Samson Tai and Brandon-Tuck Hayden are all tied-for-44th with one fumble recovery.

STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE
WSU is ranked 17th this week by the NCAA in terms of toughest schedule with an opponent winning percentage of .667 (12-6/ Walsh 1-2, Indianapolis 2-1, Ashland 1-3, Saginaw Valley 4-0, and Tiffin 4-0).

MR. MOFFETT
Redshirt junior DeOntay Moffett tallied his fifth rushing touchdown of the season against Tiffin, which is tied-for-fourth in the league.  He found the end zone twice vs. Walsh, twice at Saginaw Valley State before scoring WSU's only TD last Saturday versus the Dragons.

TUCK-HAYDEN'S IMPACT
Redshirt freshman Brandon Tuck-Hayden had his best game in his short time as a Warrior last Saturday.  He finished with four tackles, including one for a loss.  He also forced and recovered a fumble as part of a sack.

16-GAME SEASON
In the 45-year history of NCAA Division II football, the 2011 Warrior squad is the only team to play a 16-game schedule.

WINNINGEST MICHIGAN FOOTBALL PROGRAMS
Over the last decade-plus (2008-18), Wayne State ranks seventh among all Michigan football programs in winning percentage (both regular season and playoffs).  
    1. Grand Valley State, 106-26 / .803
    2. Michigan State, 96-40 / .706
    3. Ferris State, 82-40 / .672
    4. Adrian, 68-38 / .642
    5. Hillsdale, 71-46 / .607
    6. Michigan, 78-54 / .591
    7. Wayne State, 69-50 / .580

PARTICPATION BREAKDOWN
Of the 65 players to participate this year for WSU, there were three true freshmen, 14 redshirt freshmen, two true sophomores, six redshirt sophomores, one true junior, 22 redshirt juniors, one true senior, nine redshirt seniors and seven graduate students.

#36 WILL SEE YOU IN THE BACKFIELD NOW
Leon Eggleston leads the team with 6.5 tackles for loss, which ranks sixth in the GLIAC.  He started the season strong, totaling a team-high eight tackles, including four for loss (-11 yards) as the Warrior defense limited Walsh to 155 yards of total offense.  He has posted at least an assisted TFL in every game but one, including a sack against Tiffin last Saturday.