Wayne State edged Northern State 13-6 Saturday evening in a defensive-minded Northern Sun Conference football game played at Bob Cunningham Field in Wayne. It's the fifth straight meeting between the two clubs that the final score was seven points or less as Wayne State improves to 2-0 while the Wolves fall to 1-1.
Northern State had the first scoring opportunity of the game on their first series, moving from their own 29 to the WSC 8 until a fumble was recovered by Caleb Brouse to stop the drive.
Later in the quarter, Northern State got on the scoreboard thanks to a Payton Eue 34-yard field goal for a 3-0 NSU lead.
Wayne State answered on the following drive with a 37-yard boot from Alex Powders to even the score at 3-3 with 38 seconds remaining in the first quarter.
Midway through the second quarter Wayne State scored what would end up being the lone touchdown of the game as sophomore quarterback Nick Bohn connected with Jadon Johnson on a 60-yard scoring play, putting the 'Cats in front 10-3 at intermission.
The Wildcat defense forced a turnover on Northern State on the opening series of the third quarter as junior Tanner Cooper intercepted a Wolves pass giving the 'Cats possession at the Northern State 30. Powders then connected for a 43-yard field goal giving Wayne State a 13-3 advantage.
Northern State turned the tables on the Wildcats later in the third quarter, taking advantage of a Wayne State turnover to score three points. The Wolves recovered an Anthony Watkins fumble and had the ball first and goal at the WSC 8, but the 'Cat defense held and forced a Northern State field goal of 33 yards from Payton Eue to reduce the WSC lead to 13-6 with 1:03 to play in the third quarter.
The Wolves put together a lengthy drive covering 72 yards early in the fourth quarter, but Eue missed on a 31-yard field goal to keep the score 13-6.
WSC had just one first down and 30 yards of offense in the fourth quarter, but the defense responded and held the Wolves scoreless to preserve the 13-6 win.
Northern State held a 264-241 edge in total offense over Wayne State. The 'Cats gained 118 yards on the ground and 167 passing while the Wolves had 116 rushing and 148 passing.
Watkins gained 72 yards on 22 carries to power the Wildcats in rushing followed by Nick Bohn with 30 yards on 13 attempts.
Throwing the ball Bohn was 10 of 17 for 123 yards and one TD. Ashten Schmaderer had three catches for 29 yards followed by Mason Lee with three for 21. Sophomore Jadon Johnson had two grabs for 67 yards including the 60-yard scoring TD.
Sophomore linebacker Alex Kowalczyk led the Wildcat defense with 12 tackles (nine solo), one interception and two quarterback hurries. Senior Jaylan Scott added nine stops with 1.5 tackles for loss and one sack. Junior Tanner Cooper had two interceptions as the Wayne State defense forced four turnovers.
The Wildcats hit the road next weekend for their second trip to North Dakota in three weeks visiting Minot State Saturday for a 1 p.m. contest.
Original source can be found here.
Alerts Sign-up