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Football 11/11/2021 8:10:00 AM Cameron Weidenthaler, Assistant Media Relations Director

Football to Finish Season at Top-Ranked Ferris State

GAME STORYLINES
In the final game of the season, WSU will play at top-ranked Ferris State on Saturday afternoon. The Warriors will look to shake up the national and regional playoff picture with an upset. The last time that WSU played the number team in the country was to finish the 2008 season at home vs. GVSU, which the Lakers won 24-10.

SCOUTING FERRIS STATE
Pulling off that upset will be a tall task, as the Bulldogs are 9-0 overall and 6-0 in the GLIAC. Head coach Tony Annese is in his ninth season at the helm. FSU leads the league in nearly every statistical category, including points per game (46.4) and yards per game (506.3). Senior quarterback Jared Bernhardt is completing over 75 percent of his passes for 1,030 yards and eight touchdowns with five interceptions. Sophomore Mylik Mitchell will also see snaps and has thrown for 927 yards and eight TDs with two picks.

Bernhardt is also the team's top rusher with 779 yards and 13 scores. Senior running back Tyler Minor is averaging 7.3 yards per carry and has 495 yards and seven TDs on the season. Junior wideouts Marcus Taylor (679 yards and four touchdowns) and Xavier Wade (570 yards and nine touchdowns) are a dangerous duo.

On defense, senior linebacker Liam Daly leads the roster with 53 total tackles, while sophomore defensive end Caleb Murphy has an impressive 13.5 tackles for loss, including nine sacks. Senior cornerback Alex Thomas has a team-high three interceptions. Junior Sy Barnett has made all four of his field goal attempts with a long of 34 yards, while sophomore Quentin Black is averaging 41.7 yards per punt.

ALL-TIME SERIES
Ferris State leads 30-22 in the all-time series and has taken each of the last six match-ups. The Bulldogs have been ranked in the last four meetings. WSU is 9-15 in Big Rapids. The last Green & Gold victory was on Oct. 17, 2009.

LAST TIME OUT
Wayne State started out strong on Senior Day leading 10-7 early in the second period, but the seventh-ranked visiting Grand Valley State Lakers scored the next 27 points and defeated the Warriors 62-13 to win back the Wooden Shoes trophy. Kendall Williams rushed for a game-high 63 yards on 16 carries. Chase Churchill passed for 127 yards on 11-of-20 with zero interceptions. Tre Davis, Nick Poterack and Williams each had two receptions, with Davis recording a team-best 47 receiving yards.

FIRST QUARTER SUCCESS
Wayne State has out-scored its opponents 71-58 in the opening stanza of games this season. However, the Warriors are unable to maintain that advantage throughout the game as their opponents hold a 91-68 edge in the second quarter, 88-50 in the third period, and 83-63 in the fourth stanza.

RUSHING DOWN THE FIELD
Redshirt freshman running back Myren Harris rushed for a career-high and program record 327 yards vs. Northwood, including four touchdowns. Over his last five games played, Harris gained 873 yards on 103 carries with eight touchdowns. The 327 rushing yards is the most in Division II this year. Harris earned GLIAC Offensive Player of the Week honors for his performance. It is the first weekly award of the season for the program.

VETERAN OFFENSIVE LINE
Four of the five starters on the offensive line had combined to start 62 career games prior to the start of the 2021 campaign, led by Lane Potter's 33 consecutive starts. The other three were Landin Mitchell (11 starts), Reid Thompson (10 starts) and Joe Ziedas (8 starts). Both Chrishoun Roberts and Noah Nicklin made their first collegiate starts this season. The six aforementioned O-Line guys have totaled 112 career starts heading into the contest at Ferris State.

RED ZONE TRENDS
The Warriors struggled in the red zone out of the gate, posting a 56% (9-for-16) red zone percentage through the first four games. Over the last six contests, the Green & Gold are converting 88 percent (15-for-17) of their red zone trips. Additionally, WSU is a perfect 12-for-12 with drives inside the 20-yard line over the last five weeks.

FIRST CAREER TOUCHDOWNS
Both Nick Isley and Kameron Ford found the end zone for the first time in their careers in the Northwood contest. It was Isley's 15th career game played and Ford's 10th appearance.

NEXT MAN UP
Junior quarterback Chase Churchill had made only one appearance as a signal caller (2019 vs. Ferris State) prior to stepping in for the injured Jake AmRhein and Josh Kulka at Missouri S&T.

Churchill has passed for 1,267 yards and 10 touchdowns, with only five interceptions, while completing 89-of-180 passes. He has had a completion of at least 40 yards in six of his last eight games.

ALMOST A SCHOOL RECORD
Warrior freshman Eli Haddad recorded the second-longest non-scoring punt return in school history with a 68-yard return at Northern Michigan. The school record for longest non-scoring punt return is 73 yards set by James "Tex" Whisonant vs. Akron on October 2, 1937, exactly 84 years ago to the day prior to Haddad's return.

WIDE RECEIVER DUO
Tre Davis and Jesse Prewitt III have combined for 56 receptions in 10 games this year for 1,019 yards and eight touchdowns. Davis is currently second in the GLIAC in receiving yards (671), but leads in yards per catch (18.6), is tied-for-second in receiving touchdowns (5) and fourth in receptions (36). Prewitt would be third in the GLIAC in yards per catch (17.4) if he had enough receptions to qualify.

OFF THE FIELD ACCOLADES
Linebacker Julius Wilkerson was selected to the AFCA Allstate Good Works Team earlier this season. He became the fourth Warrior, joining Alan Guy, Trent Brodbeck and Luke Bevilacqua, to be selected to the 11-man non-NCAA Division 1 squad in the history of the program. Fans are able to vote for Wilkerson to be the captain of the team by visiting the WSU Athletics Twitter page and following the link.

For the second straight year, offensive lineman Lane Potter was named a national semifinalist for the William V. Campbell Trophy by the National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame. He was the only GLIAC player recognized.

SPECIAL TEAMS IMPACT
Redshirt freshman Myles Harris had one kickoff return at Missouri S&T in his first collegiate game. On Sept. 25th vs. Saginaw Valley State, Harris averaged over 30 yards per kickoff return, including a WSU season-long 43-yard return which set up WSU's final touchdown. Ironically, the scoring play was a 32-yard reception by his twin brother, Myren. Myles has 11 kickoff returns for 267 yards this season and leads the squad with a 24.3 yards per return average.

SCOOP & SCORE
Kori Moore's fumble return for a touchdown vs. Saginaw Valley State was the first by a Warrior since Nores Fradi took a Northwood miscue 12 yards in a 31-17 Wayne State victory on October 5, 2013. Ironically, WSU had two fumble returns for a touchdown in 2013 as Ed Viverette had a 42-yard fumble return against Ashland in the first collegiate night game in Adams Field history on Sept. 14, 2013.

CAUSING HAVOC
Linebacker Brandon Tuck-Hayden forced three fumbles versus Saginaw Valley State, equaling the school record set by Greg Hasse in a second round playoff game at Nebraska-Kearney on November 26, 2011. Tuck-Hayden recorded two forced fumbles in both 2018 and 2019, and is tied-for-third in program history (with Hasse with seven forced fumbles in a career. Hall of Famer Ed Viverette is first with nine, while Nores Fradi had eight forced fumbles.

MORE TUCK
Tuck-Hayden had at least one tackle for loss in seven of his nine games played this season and ranks second on the squad with 8.5 tackles for loss. His 25.5 tackles for loss in a career are the most among active players on the WSU roster.

IMPRESSIVE OFFENSIVE OUTPUT
The Warriors eclipsed the school record of 671 yards of total offense (set Sept. 30, 1967, at Wisconsin-Milwaukee in a 39-31 WSU win) by totaling 673 yards at Missouri S&T. The 673 yards is the seventh-highest output in Division 2 this season.
The 96 combined points by the Missouri S&T Miners and Wayne State was only the second-highest scoring extra session game in program history. WSU lost 58-50 in triple overtime at Mercyhurst on Sept. 15, 2007. Joique Bell ran for 227 yards and four touchdowns vs. the Lakers.

The 94 offensive plays at Missouri S&T were the fourth-most in program history and the most since the school-record mark of 103 at Ashland on Nov. 3, 2007, as Wayne State fell 63-42 at the 23rd-ranked Eagles. The 94 plays are the most by an NCAA Division 2 team this fall.

The 735 all-purpose yards recorded by WSU was the fifth most in school history and the most since the school-record total of 787 vs. Lake Erie College on Nov. 7, 2015, in a 56-54 Warrior victory at Tom Adams Field.

OVERTIME WOES
The overtime contest in Rolla, Mo., was the first for Wayne State since the 42-41 double-overtime triumph over Ashland on Oct. 19, 2019. WSU is 5-10 all-time in overtime contests, including a 3-5 road mark. The Warriors are 2-8 in games that a winner was decided in the first overtime.

WARRIORS & BROTHERS
The football roster has five sets of brothers on the squad, including Lane and Ty Potter, Myren and Myles Harris, Noah and Max Nicklin, Jacob and Aaron Mass, and David and Caleb Green. The Harris' and Green's are twins. In addition, senior right tackle Joe Ziedas is the younger brother of former lineman Alex Ziedas. Furthermore, wide receiver Darrin King II is the son of former Tartar Darrin King, who recorded 295 tackles (142-153), while playing in all 41 games during his Tartar career (1988-1992).

NEW FACES
Of the 70 players who have donned the Green & Gold this season, 30 are former letterwinners, and Kameron Ford has been in the program, but has not lettered.

Four student-athletes made their Wayne State debuts this year - Tyler Beck played at North Carolina A&T in 2017; Shavez Hawkins, Jr. played in eight games for Minnesota Crookston in 2017 and suited up for the Papago Pumas Junior College in 2019; Karmi Mackey spent the last four years at Eastern Michigan; and Darien Tipps-Clemons appeared in 10 games for Eastern Kentucky in 2018.

In addition, 35 football players have made their collegiate debuts this year. The lone true freshmen to take the field this season are Davison product Te'Avion Warren and Warren (Ohio) Harding alum Emarion Perkins.

Making their collegiate debut in the Slippery Rock contest, in addition to Warren, were Blake Bustard, Damond Duncan, Chandler Edwards, Blake Gilliam, Eli Haddad, Myren Harris, Dayton Keller, Kofe Kimbrell, Darrin King II, Jesse Prewitt III, Kane Quinlan, Donte Reed, Drake Reid, Chrishoun Roberts, Cameron Rogers, Kaveon Ross, Arnold Saidov, Jeremy Taras, A.J. Terry, and Kendall Williams. Jelani Harbor, Josh Kulka and Cole Price made their collegiate debuts in the Truman game. David Green, Myles Harris, Martell Hill and Griffin Milovanski made their collegiate debuts at Missouri S&T.

Amari Hampton and Ty Potter made their WSU debuts at home vs. Saginaw Valley. Emarion Perkins played his first game against Michigan Tech, while Onyeka Ojinnaka saw action at Davenport, and J.D. Johnson played at SVSU. Tyler Schompert made his season debut against Northwood. Hayden Loya is the latest Warrior to play in his first collegiate contest, which he did vs. GVSU.

The lone players in their fourth season of competing are Jake AmRhein, Luke Bevilacqua, Jalen Lewis and Lane Potter. Eleven (11) players are in their third season and another 15 are in their second year of active competition.

NATIONAL STATISTICS
Chase Churchill ranks 20th in NCAA Division II with a GLIAC-leading 14.24 yards per completion, while Myren Harris is third in yards per carry at 7.85 (1,028 yards on 131 rushing attempts). Harris is 12th in rushing yards per game (114.2), 15th in total rushing yards (1,028), 28th in rushing touchdowns (9), 31st in all-purpose yards per game (130.56) and 36th in total touchdowns (11). Tre Davis is 24th in yards per reception (18.64).

Brandon Tuck-Hayden is 19th in forced fumbles per game (0.33 / three in nine games played). Tuck-Hayden is also tied-for-sixth among all active D-2 players with seven career forced fumbles. Damani Green is tied for the GLIAC lead and is tied-for-fifth nationally with two blocked kicks. Julius Wilkerson is 18th in tackles per game (9.6), while Tuck-Hayden is 49th (8.4).

Griffin Milovanski is fifth in field goal percentage (.875 on 7-of-8), and 47th in field goals made per game (0.88).

TURNOVERS
The Warriors had at least one turnover in each of the first eight games this season and is -10 in turnover margin this year. WSU has 21 turnovers (13 fumbles lost and eight interceptions), while garnering 11 turnovers (six interceptions and opponents have lost five fumbles). Wayne State did not turn the ball over in the victory over Northwood, while recovering a miss-played pooch kickoff return by the Timberwolves.

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Players Mentioned

#18 Jake AmRhein: QB; 6' 4"; Graduate Student

#40 Tyler Beck: MLB; 6' 1"; Graduate Student

#42 Luke Bevilacqua: PK/P; 6' 1"; Graduate Student

#74 Blake Bustard: T; 6' 7"; Redshirt Freshman

#14 Chase Churchill: QB/H; 6' 4"; Senior

#93 Damond Duncan: DT; 6' 2"; Redshirt Sophomore

#1 Chandler Edwards: RB; 5' 10"; Redshirt Sophomore

#87 Kameron Ford: WR; 5' 11"; Redshirt Senior

#46 Blake Gilliam: OLB; 6' 0"; Redshirt Freshman

#16 Caleb Green: QB; 6' 0"; Redshirt Freshman

Players Mentioned

#18 Jake AmRhein
: 6' 4"; Graduate Student
: QB

#40 Tyler Beck
: 6' 1"; Graduate Student
: MLB

#42 Luke Bevilacqua
: 6' 1"; Graduate Student
: PK/P

#74 Blake Bustard
: 6' 7"; Redshirt Freshman
: T

#14 Chase Churchill
: 6' 4"; Senior
: QB/H

#93 Damond Duncan
: 6' 2"; Redshirt Sophomore
: DT

#1 Chandler Edwards
: 5' 10"; Redshirt Sophomore
: RB

#87 Kameron Ford
: 5' 11"; Redshirt Senior
: WR

#46 Blake Gilliam
: 6' 0"; Redshirt Freshman
: OLB

#16 Caleb Green
: 6' 0"; Redshirt Freshman
: QB