DETROIT – The Wayne State University football team (7-3 overall, 6-1 GLIAC) won for the seventh time in eight games defeating visiting Michigan Tech (4-5 overall, 2-5 GLIAC) 35-14 on Senior Day at Tom Adams Field.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Warriors drove 75 yards in eight plays following the opening kickoff with senior
James Hill (Livonia, Mich. / Clarenceville) scoring his GLIAC-leading 12th rushing touchdown on a six-yard scamper up the middle. Graduate student
Deiontae Nicholas (Chesterfield, Mich. / L'Anse Creuse North) had five carries for 52 yards on the drive.
The Huskies answered back with a seven-play, 65-yard scoring drive with Steele Fortress completing a 14-yard touchdown pass to William Marano.
WSU took the lead for good early in the second period as senior quarterback
Dakota Kupp (Waterford, Mich. / Mott) scrambled 21 yards on a third-and-10 for the go-ahead touchdown.
MTU nearly drove into the red zone but back-to-back incompletions and a fourth-down sack by redshirt freshman linebacker
Julius Wilkerson (Mequon, Wis. / Homestead) ended that threat.
Kupp, despite being blasted in the end zone on WSU's previous offensive play, came back to throw a 65-yard touchdown pass to senior
Darece Roberson, Jr. (Muskegon, Mich. / Mona Shores) on the very next play following Wilkerson's sack.
Fortress' punt on the ensuing drive was blocked by senior
Jalen Lewis (Pontiac, Mich. / West Bloomfield). Kupp completed a first down pass to sophomore tight end
Nick Poterack (Byron Center, Mich.) for 32 yards. On second-and-10 Kupp connected again with Roberson, Jr., this time a 29-yard scoring pass to increase Wayne State's lead to 28-7 with just under two minutes remaining in the first half.
Michigan Tech again drove inside the Warrior 25, but sophomore
Samari Dean (Warren, Ohio / Howland) notched his first career interception on a pass by wide receiver Ben Hartley.
Neither team scored in the third period as the squads combined for only 106 yards of offense.
The Huskies had an interesting drive early in the final stanza, recording 10 yards on 12 plays as the WSU defense tallied back-to-back sacks of minus 11 yards and minus seven yards on third and fourth down, respectively after MTU had driven to the Wayne State 25.
Michigan Tech drove 70 yards in eight plays with Marano scoring on a five-yard run with 3:26 remaining in the game.
Wayne State recovered the onside kickoff attempt, but was forced to punt. Kupp's 49-yard kick went out of bounds at the MTU 11. A combined sack between Lewis and senior
Terry Sanders (Sterling Heights, Mich. / Stevenson) created a second-and-18 from the Huskie three. Fortress tried to pass from his own end zone but the ball was caught by sophomore linebacker
Brandon Tuck-Hayden (Akron, Ohio / Buchtel) for WSU's school record fourth pick six of the season.
TEAM STATS
Michigan Tech led in total offense (386-342) and in time of possession (33:41-26:19), while the Warriors held a 140-103 edge in rushing yards. The Wayne State defense also totaled 15 tackles for loss, including eight sacks.
LEADING THE WARRIORS
Nicholas rushed for a game-high 105 yards, while Kupp completed 12-of-16 passes for 202 yards and two touchdowns. Roberson, Jr. had a game-best 121 receiving yards and two scores. Senior linebacker
Leon Eggleston (Sylvania, Ohio / Southview) notched a game-high 14 tackles (12 solo, 2 assisted), along with a game-best 3.5 tackles for loss. Lewis contributed five tackles (2-3), including 2.5 for loss (1.5 sacks), a pass break-up, a blocked punt and a quarterback hurry.
LEADING THE HUSKIES
Marano rushed for a team-best 76 yards and one score. Fortress was 25-of-44 for 283 yards and one touchdown, along with one interception. Jordan Janssen caught a game-high seven passes for 70 yards, while Jacob Wenzlick added six catches for a team-best 96 yards.
UP NEXT
Wayne State will conclude the regular season with a 1 p.m. kickoff at Grand Valley State (8-2 overall, 5-2 GLIAC) on Nov. 16.
