GAME STORYLINES
The Wayne State University football team opens conference play on the road as it travels to Houghton Mich. to face the Michigan Tech Huskies. 

Saturday's contest will be WSU's third road game of the year, with just two more on the schedule - Oct. 19 at Davenport and Nov. 2 at Grand Valley State.  Much shorter trips than the 2,300-mile round trips the Warriors have been on the last two weekends combined.

Wayne State will be looking to post a road GLIAC victory in the conference opener for the first time since a 28-3 triumph at Northwood in 2016.

SCOUTING MICHIGAN TECH
The Huskies enter week five with a 3-1 mark after prevailing 44-7 at Wisconsin-Oshkosh on September 21st.  This is the second consecutive 3-1 start for Michigan Tech.  MTU would finish the 2023 season at 5-5 overall and 1-5 in the GLIAC.

Dan Mettlach is in his second season at the helm after being named head coach in November of 2022.  Mettlach has served on the Huskies staff since 2017 as the offensive coordinator, assistant head coach, and associate head coach.  The Gwinn, Michigan, native was named an All-American and GLIAC Player of the Year in 2004, while playing for Michigan Tech.

Senior quarterback Alex Fries is in his second year as the Huskies starter.  Through four games, the veteran signal caller has thrown for 1,019 yards and 11 touchdowns, while only throwing two interceptions.  Fries was named GLIAC Offensive Player of the Week after completing 29-of-51 passes for 457 yards and five scores in a 52-50 (four overtime) win over South Dakota Mines.

Ethan Champney is the team's leader in both receiving yards (397) and touchdowns (4), while ranking second in receptions (23).  Darius Willis has a team-best 28 catches for 343 yards and three scores.

On the ground, Jake Rueff is leading the way with 163 yards on 31 attempts.  After having just 11 carries through three weeks, the sophomore would see a large increase in workload at Wisconsin-Oshkosh, finishing the game with 20 rushing attempts for 137 yards.

ALL-TIME SERIES
Wayne State has a 20-13 lead in the all-time series despite the squads splitting the last six meetings.  The Green and Gold started the series with 10 straight wins (1967-1994).

RECOVERING FUMBLES
Through four weeks, Wayne State has forced six fumbles, and has been able to recover four.  The Warriors are tied for first in the GLIAC along with Ferris State and Michigan Tech with four fumble recoveries.  The Green and Gold rank 16th in the nation in fumble recoveries.

HARRIS BECOMING A TOP TARGET
After a quiet performance against Indianapolis, wideout Manny Harris would return to form in week four at Truman State.  The redshirt junior recorded eight catches for 43 yards and added one rushing attempt for two yards on the ground.  Those eight receptions are the most for a Warrior since Trevonte Davis hauled in nine passes on Sept. 18, 2021, at Missouri S&T.

MILOVANSKI CONTINUES SUCCESS
Griffin Milovanski connected on his only field goal attempt (43 yards) at Truman State extending his streak of consecutive field goals made from inside 50 yards to 11.  Milovanski is tied fifth among active Division II kickers for field goals made with 36 and is one of 12 kickers that has not missed this year.  The senior's 182 points ranks 14th among active Division II kickers and 25th overall.

LEWIS CONTINUES TO IMPRESS IN PASSING GAME
Senior JoShawn Lewis led the WSU receiving corps with 76 yards on three receptions vs. Indianapolis in his Wayne State debut.  Over the last two games, five of his seven receptions have resulted in a first down.

EDWARDS SETTING QUARTERBACK STANDARD FOR RUSHING
Champion Edwards rushed for 146 yards and one touchdown on 13 carries against Findlay.  He became the first WSU quarterback with a 100-yard rushing effort since Doug Griffin rushed for 112 yards at Michigan Tech on Nov. 16, 2013.  The previous 100-yard games by a signal caller were when Randy Hutchison gained 116 on the ground at Michigan Tech on Oct. 19, 2002, and 101 vs. Gannon on Aug. 30, 2003.  It is believed to be the most rushing yards in a game by a WSU quarterback since Ed Skowneski rushed for 203 yards on Oct. 4, 1975, against Valparaiso.

McKATHERINE PUTTING SIX ON THE BOARD
Redshirt senior wide out Myles McKatherine caught an 18-yard pass from Edwards for his second touchdown in as many contests.  The last wide receiver to have a touchdown reception in back-to-back games was Trevonte Davis in 2021 (Sept. 18 at Missouri S&T [2] and Sept. 25 against Saginaw Valley State).  Tight end Nick Poterack had touchdown catches in consecutive games in 2022 - Sept. 3 at Slippery Rock and Sept. 10 at home vs. Shaw.

HARRIS FINDS END ZONE WITH FIRST TD RECEPTION
After scoring his first two career touchdowns on the ground, junior wide receiver Manny Harris hauled in a 20-yard touchdown pass from Champion Edwards late in the third quarter against Findlay.  It was Harris' first TD at home having scored rushing touchdowns at Grand Valley State (Nov. 5, 2022) and at Slippery Rock (Sept. 2, 2023).

HART MAKES MOST OF FIRST CAREER START
Redshirt junior linebacker Justin Hart made his first collegiate start in the Findlay contest and responded with a game-best 11 tackles (4 solo, 7 assisted), plus a pass break-up.  He played on special teams and as a back-up linebacker in the first three games of 2023 before suffering a season-ending injury.  Hart was credited with eight assisted tackles against Indianapolis, along with a quarterback hurry.

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
A low snap on a punt attempt forced Findlay kicker Owen Clevenger to throw the ball resulting in an intentional grounding penalty which statistically is a sack for WSU's Dahmir Farnum, who was the closest Warrior to Clevenger when the pass was thrown.

LETTERWINNERS RETURNING
Wayne State has just 29 returning letterwinners from 2023 (including 2022 if missed all of last year due to injury).  As mentioned previously, place-kicker Griffin Milovanski is the lone three-year WSU letterwinner on the squad.  There are nine two-year letterwinners and 19 student-athletes with one letter for the Warriors.

WARRIOR DEBUTS
Through the first four games of 2024, 73 players have been on the field for WSU, including 17 who have made their collegiate debut and 17 who made their Warrior debut.

Two student-athletes made their collegiate debut in the Indianapolis contest (Amauri Haller and Steven McCrary, Jr.), while another four student-athletes made their WSU debut (Avery Burch, Colin Gardner, Xzavier Goldsby-Rogers and JoShawn Lewis) vs. the Greyhounds.

Four players made their collegiate debut in the Findlay contest (Max Edwards, Cane Mack, Will O'Brien and Da'Carion Taylor), while transfers Clifton Buchanan, Jr. and Jeremiah Drake made their WSU debuts against the Oilers.

Of the 69 players who traveled to Tiffin for the season-opener, 56 saw game action.  Ten (10) Warriors made their collegiate debut in the contest vs. the Dragons (Jobe Benschoter, Amarion Brownlee, Kejuan Houston, Jordan Hutchinson, Kristian Kilpatrick, Jayden Lewin, Roshuan McGee, Raymond Payne, Jasir Rahaman, and Richardo Wourman).  In addition, another 11 Warriors made their WSU debut (Jaylon Banks, Mekhi Battle, Kaleb Coleman, Champion Edwards, Will Fennema, Shamilyn Joppy, Jordan Lewis, Myles McKatherine, Lester McManaway, Jonathan Tillman, and Justyz Tuggle).

TOUGH ROAD AHEAD
After a 2023 season that saw Wayne State play the toughest schedule in Division II, according to the NCAA, the Warriors will face another challenging task in 2024.  Of the 11 teams that the Warriors will compete against this fall, 10 finished the 2023 season at or above .500.  In all, WSU's opponents had a combined record of 80-41 (.661). 

Wayne State will cross paths with three teams that appeared in the preseason top 25 poll, those being Ferris State (No. 3), Grand Valley State (No. 4), and Indianapolis (No. 16). The Warriors will also face three teams that have been pegged to win their conferences, the aforementioned Indianapolis and Ferris State of the GLVC and GLIAC respectively, along with Findlay representing the G-MAC.

VETERAN OFFENSIVE LINE CONTINGENT
Arguably the most experienced position group for the Warriors in 2024 is the offensive line with two returning starters in redshirt junior Aidan Tweedy (16 career starts, including the last 15 games at center) and redshirt senior Charles Wesley (19 career starts from three different spots).  Another five student-athletes who have started games also return in redshirt sophomore Tomi Bisiriyu (three starts at left tackle); redshirt sophomore Will Edwards (six starts at right guard); redshirt sophomore Ethan Gates (one start at right tackle); redshirt junior Owen Salingue (two career starts); and redshirt senior Tyler Schompert (16 career starts).

Tweedy was a Second Team All-GLIAC selection in 2023 and was very durable as he saw action on every offensive play in eight games a season ago.  Wesley was named WSU's Offensive Most Valuable Player last fall, while earning Honorable Mention All-GLIAC recognition.  He is WSU's nominee for the AFCA Good Works Team (based on community service) this fall.

The five additional offensive linemen that have started boosted the number of career starts for this group to 66.  Schompert is the most veteran of this group with action in 23 contests and starting at left tackle (12 times), left guard (three) and right tackle (once).  Salingue is in his fourth year in the program, while Bisiriyu, Edwards and Gates all are in their third year with the Warriors.

A FAMILY AFFAIR
WSU currently has three sets of brothers:
Champion and Max Edwards
Devon and Donovan Isaac
Shamarr and Shamilyn Joppy

There are four younger brothers of former Warriors in Ben Griskie (older brother Jackson was a kicker), Aaron Mass (older brother Jacob was also a defensive end), Gabe Mendoza (older brother Manny was a wide receiver), and Mekhi Battle (older brother Tiroca was also on the defensive line).

Jeremiah Sterling and Jordan Bell are cousins as Jordan's dad Joique and Jeremiah's mother Ambie are brother-sister.  Redshirt freshman wide receiver Tyler Swick is the younger brother of defensive graduate assistant coach Trey Swick.

WARRIORS BY THE NUMBERS 
Of the 114 players currently on the roster, 87 came directly from high school, 14 played at another four-year college, 11 played at a junior college, and two attended another school (one four year and one two year) but did not see any playing time.

Football student-athletes represent 12 states with a majority (86) coming from Michigan.  The other states include Ohio (9), Illinois (5), Virginia (3), California (2), New York (2), and Pennsylvania (2), along with one each from Indiana, New Jersey, Texas, Washington, and Wisconsin.

With only 14 players in their final year (six graduate students, seven redshirt seniors, and one senior), the Wayne State roster is loaded with inexperience.  There are 19 redshirt juniors, four juniors, 16 redshirt sophomores, four sophomores, 24 redshirt freshmen and 33 true freshmen on the squad.

GLIAC PRESEASON COACHES' POLL
1.  Ferris State (46 points, four first-place votes)
2.  Grand Valley State (44 points, three first-place vote)
3.  Davenport (38 points, one first-place vote)
4.  Saginaw Valley State (30 points)
5.  Michigan Tech (26 points)
6.  Wayne State (20 points)
7.  Northern Michigan (13 points)
8. Roosevelt (7 Points)

DON'T MISS ANY OF THE ACTION
For the 23rd season, every contest can be heard live on WDTK - The Patriot (1400 AM / 101.5 FM) or online at PatriotDetroit.com.  Veteran Detroit broadcaster Sean Baligian is in his 16th season calling Warrior football.  Former Warrior defensive end Brady Beedon will serve as the color analyst for seven games and will handle play-by-play duties in three contests.  He will also conduct the weekly Locker Room Report and Senior Spotlight features for WDTK.  WSU Hall of Fame tailback and kick returner Josh Renel will join Baligian in the booth for the road game at Michigan Tech.  Warrior basketball broadcaster Kevin Brechmacher will serve as the color analyst for the road contests at Truman State, Davenport and Grand Valley State.  In addition, Tony Ortiz will serve as the Sideline Reporter for all six home games.
 
The radio pre-game show will start 15 minutes before a road contest and 30 minutes prior to a home game.  Beedon will also host the Weekly With Wheatley show every Wednesday prior to a home a game.  The next episode will take place on October 9th at Woodbridge Pub starting at 5:30 p.m.

All six home games, plus the road GLIAC contests will be streamed on FloSports.  The home games will be via The PreP with the radio announcers broadcast being simulcast on FloSports.