GAME STORYLINES
The Wayne State University football team will play on the road for the second consecutive week as the Warriors travel to the Veterans Memorial Field Sports Complex to face the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse.  After suffering back-to-back losses to start the year, WSU looks to nab its first win of the season at UWL.

The trip marks the first time since November 4, 1972, that WSU has traveled to the state of Wisconsin.  In 1972, the Tartars fell 28-7 at Wisconsin-Milwaukee.  Prior to that contest, Wayne State had played two games at UWM, being thwarted 33-9 on October 17, 1964, and prevailing 39-31 on September 30, 1967.  In the 1967 win, quarterback A.J. Vaughn accumulated 555 yards of total offense.

SCOUTING WISCONSIN-LA CROSSE
UWL entered the 2025 season as the No. 9-ranked squad in Division 3 and impressed in its season opener.  The Eagles won 38-14 at No. 18-ranked Carnegie Mellon.

Matt Janus is in his sixth campaign with Wisconsin-La Crosse, holding a 38-11 ledger that includes an appearance in the NCAA Division 3 Quarterfinals in 2023.  Janus has twice been named the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Coach of the Year, earning the honor in 2022 and 2023.  Before being named head coach, Janus served as the team's defensive coordinator for three seasons.

Junior Kyle Haas is in his second year as UWL's quarterback.  In the season-opening game at CMU, Haas passed for 272 yards and three touchdowns, while completing 75 percent of his throws (24-32).  The Prior Lake, Minn., product added 40 yards on the ground.  Last season, Haas connected on 185 of his 283 passing attempts for 2,196 yards and 20 touchdowns, while rushing for 235 yards and six scores.

Jack Janke and Keaton Arendt are the top pass-catchers for the Eagles, as Janke hauled in seven receptions for 107 yards and one score, while Arendt caught six passes for 70 yards and a touchdown.  In its first game, Wisconsin-La Crosse had a total of 10 players with at least one catch.  

The lead back for UWL is Gabe Lynch, who carried the ball 18 times for 69 yards against the Tartans.  Last season, Lynch earned First Team All-Region honors and First Team All-WIAC accolades after rushing for 1,056 yards on 189 attempts, while crossing the goal line 10 times.  

The top-returning tackler from last season is Tate Pitcher.  The senior collected 41 tackles in 2024 and notched two in the first contest this year.  

Seven UWL student-athletes had three tackles last week, with Sal Balistrieri being the only one with three solo.  Sam Baumgard, Henry Walsh, and Trent Mullen each had an interception in the first game.

Handling PATs and kickoffs is Michael Stack.  The senior connected on all five of his attempts in the squad's season-opening win over Carnegie Mellon.   

Maddox Pratt takes care of field goals for the Eagles, making one of his two tries at CMU from 34-yards out.

Ethan Tranel averaged 41.8 yards on four punts with two inside the 20.

ALL-TIME SERIES
The Warriors and Eagles have met once before, with WSU falling 28-21 at home during the 2022 campaign.  

UWL produced 443 yards of total offense to Wayne State's 285.  The Green and Gold forced three turnovers while surrendering the ball once.  Current Warrior team captain Elijah Fowlkes had two interceptions in the loss, returning one for a score.  

HICKMOTT HAULING IN PASSES
Redshirt freshman Drew Hickmott is the leading receiver for the Warriors through two weeks, with eight catches for 115 yards and a score.  In week one, Hickmott caught three passes for 37 yards and scored the only WSU touchdown in the 34-7 loss to Tiffin.  

In the week two contest at Findlay, Hickmott had five receptions for a team-best 78 yards, including a 27-yard catch that put WSU at the UF two-yard line and led to a Wayne State field goal.

Hickmott is tied-for-fifth in the conference when it comes to receptions per game with four, and is averaging the sixth-most yards per contest at 57.5.

FENNEMA SETTING AN EDGE
Redshirt junior Will Fennema collected 3.5 tackles for loss, including 1.5 sacks in the four-point loss at Findlay.  On the year, the defensive end has nine tackles (5-4), including 4.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, and one quarterback hurry.  

In the GLIAC, Fennema ranks fourth in total tackles for loss and tied-for-11th in sacks.

McGRAW LEADING THE WAY
Linebacker Logan McGraw has made an immediate impact in his first two games wearing the Green and Gold.  The Wyandotte product filled the stat sheet with 12 tackles (6-6) vs. Tiffin, including 3.5 tackles for loss, and two forced fumbles, one of which was a punch-out on the one-yard line that halted a 63-yard drive.  

The productivity continued in WSU's game at Findlay, as McGraw notched seven tackles, including 2.5 for loss.
His three tackles for loss per game ranks second in Division 2, while the six total is tied-for-third.  The redshirt junior's six solo tackles per contest is tied-for-33rd in the nation.

FOWLKES COMMANDING THE SECONDARY
Senior safety Elijah Fowlkes grabbed his first interception of the season, and fifth of his career, a week ago at Findlay after picking off UF's Chase Harrison in the third stanza.  The two-year captain added one pass break-up along with six total tackles in the setback.

WARRIOR DEBUTS
Of the 58 players who saw action in the season opener vs. Tiffin, 28 had previously donned the Green and Gold in a regular-season contest.  Another 12 players made their season debut in the contest at Findlay.

Seventeen (17) student-athletes made their collegiate debut against the Dragons - Jordan Bell, Haiden Bollini, Dove Eitzen, Zaiden Hall, Drew Hickmott, Donovan Isaac, Trezelle Jenkins, Jr., Luke Johnson, Spencer Lyons, Nahji Mabry, Trae'vion Meadows, Blake Nelson, Griffin Nowak, Keathan Smith, Wendell Smith, Ryan Spate and Gavin Troy.  Five more made their collegiate debut at UF - Dharon Flowers, Mikey O'Brien, Drew Rankin, Jaheem Richmond, and Tyler Torey.

Thirteen players made their WSU debut vs. TU - Justhin Austin, D'Vaun Bentley, Angel Carrillo, Omar El Khatib, Sherod Green, Trent Leicht, Logan McGraw, Mar'Tavion Robinson, Josh Sekiyoba, Ashawn Sims, Braden Siri, Darel Washington and Martell Williams.  Two others - Peyton Hatten and Mikey Thomas - made their WSU debut at Findlay.

FRESH FACES
Despite having 127 players on the roster, WSU only has 52 returners, including 18 letterwinners.  In total there are 75 newcomers (49 freshmen, four mid-year transfers, and 22 summer transfers).  In addition, the coaching staff features seven new hires including four full-time coaches and three graduate assistants along with the promotion of Mustafa Khaleefah to full-time Tight Ends Coach from Offensive Line Graduate Assistant Coach.

DON'T MISS ANY OF THE ACTION
Wayne State enters a new era for the broadcast of its football games with the launch of the Warrior Sports Network.  Veteran Detroit broadcaster Sean Baligian is in his 17th season calling Warrior football.  Former Warrior defensive end Brady Beedon will serve as the color analyst for eight contests, while Kevin Brechmacher will handle color commentary for the other three contests.  In addition, Tony Ortiz will serve as the Sideline Reporter for all five home games.

Every Wayne State GLIAC football game will be on Flo Sports, plus the home non-conference contests against Tiffin and Quincy as well as the road game at Findlay.  The FloSports broadcast of home games will be via The PreP for the third consecutive year.  This Saturday's game at Wisconsin-La Crosse will be streamed on wiacnetwork.com/uwlacrosse.

GLIAC PRESEASON COACHES' POLL
1. Ferris State (47 points, six first-place votes)
2. Grand Valley State (41 points, one first-place vote)
3. Saginaw Valley State (38 points, one first-place vote)
4. Davenport (31 points)
5. Michigan Tech (28 points)
6. Wayne State (16 points)
7. Roosevelt (12 points)
8. Northern Michigan (11 points)

TOUGH ROAD AHEAD
After playing the toughest schedule in the country in 2023, WSU played the third-toughest schedule in NCAA Division 2 during the 2024 regular-season with its opponents combining for a .615 winning percentage (67-42).  

The Green and Gold face yet another tall task during the 2025 campaign.  WSU's opponents have a cumulative record of 14-10 (.583) which ranked tied-for-22nd in D2.  

In addition, Wayne State will see action against five squads that appeared in the AFCA D2 Coaches Preseason Poll in No. 1-Ferris State, No. 3-Grand Valley State, No. 31-Saginaw Valley State, No. 38-Findlay, and No. 40-Davenport.  WSU's lone Division 3 opponent, Wisconsin-La Crosse, was tabbed as the No. 10-ranked team according to the AFCA. 

WARRIORS BY THE NUMBERS
Of the 127 student-athletes on the 2025 WSU football roster, 92 came from high school, 12 joined the squad after playing for a junior college, 17 transferred in after playing for another four-year college, and six more came from a two-year or four-year college, but did not play.

The 2025 Wayne State football team has representatives from 15 states and one Canadian Province with the majority of football student-athletes coming from Michigan (91).  Ohio (10), California (7), Texas (4), Florida (2), Virginia (2) and Washington (2) all have multiple student-athletes, while Alabama, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, North Carolina, Utah, Wisconsin, and Ontario all have one.

A FAMILY AFFAIR
WSU currently has three sets of brothers:
Champion and Max Edwards
Malachi and Matthew Evans (twins)
Devon and Donovan Isaac

Other Warriors with family ties include Evan Bainbridge (father Matthew was an offensive tackle) and Jordan Bell (father Joique is a WSU Athletics Hall of Fame running back).

In addition, true freshman offensive lineman Trezelle Jenkins, Jr., is the son of Trezelle Jenkins, who played at Michigan (1991-94) and nine games in the NFL with Kansas City.  Defensive lineman Jesse Brown is the son of former Green Bay Hall of Famer Gilbert Brown.

WEEKLY WITH WHEATLEY
Join head football coach Tyrone Wheatley and Brady Beedon each Wednesday prior to a home football Saturday for the Weekly with Wheatley podcast.  Beedon is in his fifth season as WSU football analyst and also serves as the host for the Locker Room Report and Senior Spotlight interviews each week for the football broadcast.

There will be five shows in 2025, each with a different assistant coach and student-athlete.  The shows will be taped on Sept. 2, Sept. 24, Oct. 1, Oct. 15 and Oct. 29 in front of a live audience at Woodbridge Pub starting at 5:30 PM.  Each episode will be added to the Wayne State Athletics website for those unable to attend.