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Wayne State University Athletics

XaVior Tyus 2024 vs. Northern Michigan
Michael Dubicki
XaVior Tyus rushed for a career-high and game-best 116 yards in the win over Northern Michigan.
14
Northern Mich. NMU 0-11 , 0-7
30
Winner Wayne State WSU 2-9 , 2-5
Northern Mich. NMU
0-11 , 0-7
14
Final
30
Wayne State WSU
2-9 , 2-5
Winner
Score By Quarters
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th F
NMU Northern Mich. 0 7 0 7 14
WSU Wayne State 14 10 0 6 30

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

Football Wins Season Finale 30-14 Over Northern Michigan

DETROIT -- The Wayne State University football team (2-9 overall, 2-5 GLIAC) notched a 30-14 triumph over visiting Northern Michigan University (0-11 overall, 0-7 GLIAC) Saturday afternoon at Tom Adams Field to conclude the 2024 campaign.

HOW IT HAPPENED
First Quarter
WSU won the toss and deferred.  The Wildcats drove 55 yards in 11 plays but a 38-yard field goal attempt by Michael Karlen was wide.

Sophomore signal caller Champion Edwards (Los Angeles, Calif. / American Fork H.S., Utah [El Camino College]) had an 80-yard keeper on the second play from scrimmage for the Warriors.  It was Wayne State's longest rush in 2024 and the longest since Deiontae Nicholas had an 85-yard scoring run at Walsh on September 2, 2017.

After the WSU defense forced a three-and-out, the Warrior offense went 64 yards in just four plays to extend their lead to 14-0.  Edwards connected with senior JoShawn Lewis (Lorton, Va. / South County [Gannon] for 24 yards on second-and-one, and two plays later redshirt freshman XaVior Tyus (Portage, Mich. / Northern) scampered 24 yards for his third rushing touchdown of the season.

Second Quarter
The next Northern Michigan drive carried over into the second period with quarterback Austin Ridl scoring on one-yard plunge with 12:52 remaining before intermission.  The Wildcats scoring drive covered 65 yards in 14 plays and took nearly seven minutes.

Wayne State's offense responded with a five-play, 65-yard touchdown drive in just 2:04.  Senior Myles McKatherine (Chicago, Ill. / St. Rita of Cascia [College of DuPage] hauled in a 48-yard pass from Edwards on the second play of the drive, and three plays later tight end John Rayba (Rochester Hills, Mich. / Stoney Creek] caught a 20-yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback Rob Brazziel (Chicago, Ill. / Taft H.S., Cincinnati [College of DuPage]).  It was Rayba's fifth touchdown reception of the season, the most by a WSU tight end dating back to at least 1960.

On NMU's ensuing possession the Wildcats drove to the WSU 30-yard line, but sophomore defensive end Colby Horn (Menomonee Falls, Wis. / Sussex Hamilton) tackled Vince Martin who fumbled at the WSU 28.  Sophomore middle linebacker Quincy Salter (Livonia, Mich. / Stevenson) returned the fumble 18 yards to the WSU 46.

Tyus started the drive with a 30-yard run, and the next play McKatherine had a 15-yard reception putting the Warriors in the red zone.  Place-kicker Griffin Milovanski (Saugatuck, Mich.) connected on a 32-yard field goal increasing the hosts advantage to 24-7 with 3:44 left in the first half.

Each team punted on its final possession before halftime.

Third Quarter
Wayne State drove to the NMU 34 to start the third period thanks to a 45-yard run by Tyus on the first play.  Milovanski's 52-yard field goal attempt, which would have been the longest in WSU history in the last 103 years, clinked off the right upright.

The WSU defense spearheaded by senior Kaleb Coleman (Detroit, Mich. / Birmingham Grove [Morgan State]) tackled Kainoa Lacar for a three-yard loss on fourth-and-two from the Warrior 17.

Wayne State punted on the ensuing possession, before a Wildcat drive ended on the second play of the final stanza.

Fourth Quarter
On the 11th play of the aforementioned Northern Michigan drive, Coleman intercepted a pass by Ridl in the end zone thwarting a Wildcat scoring opportunity.

Tyus was stopped short of the chains on a fourth-and-one from the WSU 29, and NMU capitalized going 29 yards in seven plays in just 2:23.  Linebacker Mitch Larkin scored on a one-yard run making the score 24-14 with 10:10 remaining.

Once again, the Warriors offense answered with a scoring drive that went 65 yards in seven plays.  Brazziel and McKatherine hooked up on a 64-yard pass play to the NMU three-yard line on third-and-11.  It was McKatherine's longest reception of the season.  Milovanski finished off the drive with a 19-yard field goal.

Following a Northern Michigan three-and-out, the Wayne State offense went 25 yards with Milovanski drilling a 35-yard field goal with 2:24 left in the contest to complete the scoring.

TEAM STATS
Wayne State totaled 442 yards of offense (247 rushing, 195 passing) compared to NMU's 303 yards (293 rushing, 10 passing).  The Wildcats led 36:17 to 23:43 in time of possession.  The Warriors went 4-for-4 in the red zone (one touchdown, and three field goals), while limiting Northern Michigan to 2-of-5.

LEADING THE WARRIORS
Tyus rushed for a career-high and game-best 116 yards and a score, while Edwards accumulated 95 yards on the ground in 19 minutes of action.  Edwards passed for 72 yards on 2-of-3, while Brazziel completed 5-of-13 passes for 123 yards and a touchdown.  McKatherine posted game-high totals of three receptions and 127 receiving yards (69 yards after catch).  Coleman tallied a game-high 14 tackles, including one for loss along with his lone interception of the season.

LEADING THE WILDCATS
Jahi Wood rushed for a team-high 108 yards on 14 carries, while Ridl added 65 yards and one touchdown on the ground.  Ridl was 0-for-5 passing with one interception, while Trevor Theuerkauf completed 2-of-5 passes for 10 yards with one interception, and was sacked twice.

RECOGNIZING THE CLASS OF 2024
Prior to the game the Wayne State University football program recognized 17 seniors - #2-D'Marco Singleton, #3-Myles McKatherine, #4-Carl Ware, #8-Jeremy Taras, #9-JoShawn Lewis, #21-John Rayba, #30-Kaleb Coleman, #31-Draven Wilson, #38-Griffin Milovanski, #48-Justin Hart, #58-Aaron Mass, #70-Owen Salingue, #71-Tyler Schompert, #80-Colin Gardner, #84-Tommy Guajardo, #90-Jordan Lewis, and #92-Gus Taylor.

UP NEXT
Wayne State will prepare for Spring Ball beginning in March with the 2025 season-opener slated for 6 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 4, 2025, at Tom Adams Field vs. Tiffin.

 
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