DETROIT -- The Wayne State University football team (1-5 overall, 0-3 GLIAC) dropped its fifth consecutive game, falling 37-14 to visiting Davenport University (6-0 overall, 3-0 GLIAC) Saturday evening in a contest delayed 35 minutes due to lightning.

DU struck first following a WSU punt as the Panthers drove 39 yards in 12 plays with Keion Powers scoring on a one-yard plunge with 8:09 remaining in the opening stanza.

The Warriors evened the contest on the ensuing drive going 75 yards in five plays with junior Darece Roberson, Jr. hauling in a 57-yard scoring strike from sophomore quarterback Jake AmRhein (South Elgin, Ill.) on a third-and-eight play.

After the Wayne State defense forced a three-and-out, including a third down sack by junior defensive end Jalen Lewis (Pontiac, Mich. / West Bloomfield) who returned to the lineup since the first half of the opening contest.

Roberson took the punt and went 69 yards for WSU's first punt return for a touchdown since Jerriel Burrus covered 50 yards at Michigan Tech on October 9, 2004.

The Panthers tied the game at 14-14 just over three minutes later as signal called Haiden Majewski completed a fourth-down scoring toss to Daronte Powers from four yards out.

The teams combined for 196 yards of total offense (DU - 115 and WSU -81) in the opening period.

The squads exchanged punts to start the second quarter before Davenport drove 67 yards in 10 yards using 4:51 on the clock.  Majewski connected with Powers on a 12-yard touchdown pass just before the lightning delay.

Midway through the third period, DU had a 41-yard completion to Nate Couturier, but junior cornerback Greg McDade (Sterling Heights, Mich. / Stevenson) forced a fumble which redshirt freshman linebacker Spencer Stephenson (Midland, Mich. / Dow) covered at the WSU 9.

Wayne State's punt from its own end zone was blocked early in the fourth quarter and Keion Powers scored on a three-yard run on the following play increasing DU's lead to 28-14.  Interestingly, the Timeout Coordinator was on the field immediately after the ball punt went out of bounds and was still on the field when the ball was snapped.

Both teams punted on their next possession and the Warriors went to junior signal caller Dakota Kupp (Waterford, Mich. / Mott).  After a pair of fumbles, Kupp was sacked in the end zone by QuVaughn Jones with 5:38 left in the contest.

Following the free kick, Davenport drove inside the WSU five and elected not to take a knee on fourth down with less than 20 seconds remaining, but instead had Michael Catching rush up the middle for a three-yard touchdown run with 13 seconds left to complete the scoring.

TEAM STATS

Davenport held a 377-107 advantage in total offense as WSU managed 25 rushing yards on 24 carries due to six sacks.  The Panthers rushed for 236 yards on 52 attempts as the visitors had a 73 to 43 edge in offensive plays.

LEADING THE WARRIORS

Junior James HIll (Livonia, Mich. / Clarenceville) had a team-high 44 rushing yards on eight carries.  AmRhein completed 7-of-18 passes for 82 yards.  Junior linebacker Leon Eggleston (Sylvania, Ohio / Southview) and junior safety Kyle Toth (Hudsonville, Mich.) tied for game-high honors with eight tackles apiece.  Eggleston and senior linebacker Anthony Pittman (Birmingham, Mich. / Groves) each had 2.5 tackles for loss.

LEADING THE PANTHERS

Seth Acda rushed for a game-high 136 yards on 20 attempts.  Majewski completed 12-of-20 passes for 138 yards and two touchdowns.  Couturier had game-best totals of five catches and 64 receiving yards.  C.J. Thornton led the defense with three tackles for loss, including two sacks.

UP NEXT

Wayne State will try to snap its losing skein with a 1 p.m. contest at Michigan Tech.  WSU's current five-game losing streak is the longest since the Warriors lost six consecutive games to end the 2013 campaign and the opening game of the 2014 season.