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Wayne State University Athletics

Nick Poterack
Nick Poterack had a touchdown catch at Slippery Rock.
10
Wayne State WS 0-1
42
Winner Slippery Rock ROCK 1-0
Wayne State WS
0-1
10
Final
42
Slippery Rock ROCK
1-0
Winner
Score By Quarters
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th F
WS Wayne State 0 3 0 7 10
ROCK Slippery Rock 21 14 7 0 42

Game Recap: Football | | Jeff Weiss, Senior Associate Director of Athletics/Media Relations

Football Falls In Season Opener At Slippery Rock

Poterack catches touchdown pass from Taylor.

SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. -- The Wayne State University football squad began its 2022 campaign with a 42-10 setback at 23rd-ranked Slippery Rock Saturday evening at Mihalik-Thompson Stadium.

The Rock scored touchdowns on their first four drives to open a 28-3 advantage.

SRU drove 42 yards after the opening kickoff aided by a 58-yard kickoff return by Cohen Russell.  The first scoring play was a 14-yard pass from Noah Grover to Kyle Sheets.

Russell returned the ensuing Warrior punt 37 yards to the WSU 32-yard line.  Chris D'Or took and handoff and scampered 32 yards around left end for a touchdown giving the hosts a 14-0 lead just 4:42 into the contest.

WSU freshman punter Hadi Jawad's (Dearborn, Mich.) next punt was downed at the SRU one-yard line.  The Rock went 99 yards in five plays with Russell hauling in a 74-yard scoring toss from Grover.

Kendall Williams (Farmington Hills, Mich. / Farmington) had a 26-yard kickoff return.  WSU earned three first downs with sophomore kicker Griffin Milovanski (Saugatuck, Mich.) converting a 36-yard field goal attempt.

Slippery Rock took the kickoff and went 77 yards in 11 plays with Grover scoring on a one-yard keeper to extend the SRU advantage to 28-3.

Wayne State garnered three first downs but turned the ball over on downs at the Slippery Rock 27.

Following a punt by the Rock, a batted WSU pass resulted in an interception.

Russell caught an eight-yard touchdown pass from Grover in the final minute of the first half capping off a 21-yard scoring drive.

The Warriors took the second half but went three-and-out.

The WSU defense stepped up on the next play and forced a fumble.

Wayne State had to punt, and Slippery Rock missed a field goal on the ensuing drive.

Slippery Rock scored the only points of the third quarter on a 16-yard run by Isaiah Edwards.

Graduate student Nick Poterack (Byron Center, Mich.) caught an eight-yard pass from freshman quarterback Elijah Taylor (Warren, Ohio / Warren G. Harding) to complete the scoring.

TEAM STATS
Slippery Rock had a 407 to 241 edge in total offense, including a 276-104 advantage in passing yards.

WARRIOR LEADERS
Williams rushed for a team-high 45 yards.  Starting quarterback Josh Kulka (Clinton Township, Mich. / Chippewa Valley) completed 5-of-16 passes for 34 yards, while Taylor passed for 70 yards and one score on 7-of-20.  Poterack had a team-high four receptions for 34 yards, with freshman Manny Harris (Kanakee, Ill. / Bishop McNamara) recording a team-best 36 receiving yards.

ROCK LEADERS
D'Or gained a team-best 52 yards on the gain.  Grover passed for 276 yards and three touchdowns on 20-of-28.  Jacob Odom led SRU with team-high totals of eight catches and 97 receiving yards.

UP NEXT
Wayne State will have its home opener next Saturday (Sept. 10th) with a 6 p.m. kickoff vs. Shaw.  There will be a post-game fireworks show.





 
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