Football 10/30/2024 3:20:00 PM Jeff Weiss, Senior Associate Director of Athletics/Media Relations

Football Visits Grand Valley State For Final Road Game Of 2024

GAME STORYLINES
The Wayne State University football squad will travel to Allendale, Mich. for its final road game of the 2024 campaign. The Warriors will attempt to play spoiler for the Lakers, on their Homecoming. WSU has lost five consecutive road games and 13 of the last 14 contests away from Detroit since a 16-3 victory at Davenport in 2021.

SCOUTING GRAND VALLEY STATE
The Lakers (7-1) enter the contest ranked No. 7 in the nation, according to the AFCA. GVSU is 3-1 in GLIAC play with a home win against Northern Michigan and wins at Davenport and Saginaw Valley State. Grand Valley State fell 34-7 to No. 3 Ferris State in the annual Anchor-Bone Classic last Saturday.

Scott Wooster is in his second season as head coach of Grand Valley State. Wooster lead the Lakers to an 11-2 mark (6-0 in GLIAC play) and an NCAA Division II Playoff berth, where GVSU would fall to Harding in a competitive quarterfinal match.

Leading the way through the air for the Lakers is Avery Moore. In 2023, the senior garnered All-GLIAC honors and earned GLIAC Offensive Player of the Week after a competition against Ferris State. Thus far, in 2024, the signal caller has completed 63-of-107 attempts for 863 passing yards and five touchdowns. Moore has also rushed for 398 yards, which ranks second on the team.

Kyle Nott has proven to be the top option through the air for GVSU. Nott has totaled 314 receiving yards this season, while catching 14 passes. The senior has also rushed for 32 yards on four attempts.

Top rusher, Khalil Eichelberger has carried the ball 102 times for 592 yards and six touchdowns. Those 592 yards are the second most in the GLIAC through eight weeks. The sophomore has caught eight passes for 50 yards and two scores as well.

ALL-TIME SERIES
The Warriors trail 6-39 in the all-time series, which began in 1975. The most recent victory for the Green and Gold came in 2019, when WSU prevailed 31-17 at GVSU.

TYUS RUNNING HARD
XaVior Tyus rushed for 70 yards on 18 attempts during the annual Homecoming game against Saginaw Valley State last Saturday. In the four games this year he had at least nine carries, Tyus has averaged 4.3 yards per attempt and 50.5 yards per game.

RED ZONE EFFICIENCY
Through eight games, Wayne State is tied-for-10th nationally in offensive red zone efficiency. The Warriors have been able to score 18 times in 20 attempts (.900). WSU has crossed the goal line 13 times and connected on five field goals.

TOUGHEST SCHEDULE
Heading into week nine, WSU has played the toughest schedule in D2 with past opponents having a .714 winning percentage (40-16). Future opponents have a .348 winning percentage (8-15), while the composite strength of schedule (48-31, .608) is third nationally.

RECOVERING FUMBLES
Through eight weeks, Wayne State has forced eight fumbles, and has recovered six. Senior linebacker Carl Ware is tied-for-second in Division II for forced fumbles this season with four. The Warriors are tied-for-first the GLIAC with Michigan Tech and 27th nationally in fumble recoveries with six.

MILOVANSKI CONTINUES SUCCESS
Griffin Milovanski connected on his lone field goal attempt against Saginaw Valley State and is tied-for-first in field goals made (39) in WSU history. He also had a touchback on each of his three kickoffs and went 1-for-1 on PATs to extend his successful PAT streak to 57. Milovanski is sixth among active Division II kickers for field goals made with 39 (which ranks 53rd among all active NCAA kickers). The senior's 197 career points ranks 16th among active Division II kickers and 29th among all players. Six of his 13 career missed field goals have been at least 50 yards.

HARRIS CONTINUES TO BE VERSATILE
Junior wide receiver Manny Harris played on both kickoff coverage and punt coverage at Davenport. In the first quarter with WSU leading 6-5, Harris recovered a fumbled punt. He forced a fumble on the second half kickoff which went out of bounds.

After scoring his first two career touchdowns on the ground, 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). He caught a 72-yard touchdown pass at Davenport on October 19.

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.

EDWARDS SETTING QUARTERBACK STANDARD FOR RUSHING
Champion Edwards is leading the way on the ground for the Warriors with a team-high 452 rushing yards and a 5.3 yards per attempt. Edwards rushed for 146 yards and one touchdown on 13 carries against Findlay in week two. In that game, 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. He gained 93 yards on 13 carries in less than a half at Davenport before being injured. He did not dress for last Saturday's game vs. Saginaw Valley State due to the injury suffered at DU.

McKATHERINE PUTTING SIX ON THE BOARD
Redshirt senior wide out Myles McKatherine caught his third touchdown pass of the season against Ferris State. In week two, McKatherine hauled in an 18-yard touchdown pass against Findlay 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. McKatherine had a team-best 72 receiving yards at Michigan Tech and leads the Warriors with 245 receiving yards on the season.

PLAYING OVER TWO DAYS
In a search of the Detroit Junior College/Colleges of the City of Detroit (CCD)/Wayne University/Wayne State University historical record book, it is believed the game against Ferris State was the first in program history to be suspended and completed the following day. FSU led 10-0 near the mid-point of the second quarter when play was halted on Saturday evening due to lightning and the contest was resumed on Sunday at 11 a.m.

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 28 returning letterwinners from 2023 (including 2022 if missed all of last year due to injury). Place-kicker Griffin Milovanski is the lone three-year WSU letterwinner on the squad. There are nine two-year letterwinners and 18 student-athletes with one letter for the Warriors.

BEND BUT DON'T BREAK DEFENSE
The 27 points scored by Ferris State at WSU was its lowest ouput since the 2024 season opener at Pittsburg State, and only the fourth time in the last 19 games the Bulldogs were held below 28 points (2023 vs. Grand Valley State and Montana).

WARRIOR DEBUTS
Through the first eight games, 77 players have been on the field for WSU, including 19 who have made their collegiate debut and 18 who made their Warrior debut.

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).

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.

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.
Freshman M'Khi Guy made his collegiate debut at Truman State, while classmate Tanielu Ah-Loe made his collegiate debut at Davenport. Rob Brazziel made his WSU debut vs. the Panthers with first-year cornerback DeCarlos Whiate making his collegiate debut against Saginaw Valley State.

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 (20 career starts, including the last 19 games at center) and redshirt senior Charles Wesley (22 career starts from three different spots). Another five student-athletes who have started games also returned in redshirt sophomore Tomi Bisiriyu (three starts at left tackle); redshirt sophomore Will Edwards (seven starts at right guard); redshirt sophomore Ethan Gates (two starts at right tackle); redshirt junior Owen Salingue (three career starts); and redshirt senior Tyler Schompert (20 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 86. Schompert is the most veteran of this group with action in 27 contests and starting at left tackle (16 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. Freshman Richardo Wourman started twice at right tackle, while Jayden Lewin has started the last seven contests at left guard.

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

There are three younger brothers of former Warriors in 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 106 players currently on the roster, 81 came directly from high school, 14 played at another four-year college, nine 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 11 states with a majority (80) coming from Michigan. The other states include Ohio (8), Illinois (5), Virginia (3), California (2), New York (2), and Pennsylvania (2), along with one each from Indiana, New Jersey, Washington, and Wisconsin.

With only 13 players in their final year (six graduate students, six redshirt seniors, and one senior), the Wayne State roster is loaded with inexperience. There are 18 redshirt juniors, three juniors, 16 redshirt sophomores, four sophomores, 21 redshirt freshmen and 31 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. 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 23rd 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.

Print Friendly Version

Players Mentioned

#51 Steven McCrary, Jr.: LB; 6' 1"; Freshman

#83 Jordan Bell: WR; 6' 0"; Redshirt Freshman

#89 Jobe Benschoter: TE; 6' 2"; Redshirt Freshman

#77 Tomi Bisiriyu: OL; 6' 5"; Redshirt Sophomore

#62 Will Edwards: OL; 6' 2"; Redshirt Sophomore

#13 Dahmir Farnum: RB; 5' 7"; Sophomore

#80 Colin Gardner: SL; 5' 11"; Redshirt Senior

#76 Ethan Gates: OL; 6' 6"; Redshirt Sophomore

#1 Manny Harris: WR; 5' 8"; Senior

#48 Justin Hart: MLB; 6' 2"; Senior

Players Mentioned

#51 Steven McCrary, Jr.
: 6' 1"; Freshman
: LB

#83 Jordan Bell
: 6' 0"; Redshirt Freshman
: WR

#89 Jobe Benschoter
: 6' 2"; Redshirt Freshman
: TE

#77 Tomi Bisiriyu
: 6' 5"; Redshirt Sophomore
: OL

#62 Will Edwards
: 6' 2"; Redshirt Sophomore
: OL

#13 Dahmir Farnum
: 5' 7"; Sophomore
: RB

#80 Colin Gardner
: 5' 11"; Redshirt Senior
: SL

#76 Ethan Gates
: 6' 6"; Redshirt Sophomore
: OL

#1 Manny Harris
: 5' 8"; Senior
: WR

#48 Justin Hart
: 6' 2"; Senior
: MLB