WINONA, Minn. - The Winona State Warriors (6-1, 5-0 NSIC) extended their winning streak over the Northern State football team (2-5, 2-3 NSIC) to eight games with a 49-20 win on Saturday afternoon. This also marks WSU's 29th consecutive home NSIC win.
The Warriors scored on their first drive of the game and marked points in each quarter of the game. The Wolves answered WSU's first touchdown with an Adam Halseth reception for a touchdown late in the opening quarter. The Warriors took the lead back just three plays later with another rushing touchdown.
The Wolves were held scoreless in the second quarter, giving the ball up twice on turnovers, once on downs, and once with a punt. Northern's defense held Winona to just one score in the second quarter, as they made a stop to get the ball back on downs and also made an interception. The Warriors led 21-7 at the half.
The second half featured plenty of scoring. The Wolves opened the half with a touchdown pass from Eric Ellingson to Mike Cahoy and Northern was back to within seven points, 21-14. This would be the closest they got in the game as Winona notched four more touchdowns before time expired.
Northern had 344 yards of offense against the Warriors, with 330 coming from their passing game. Ellingson completed 39 of 55 passes with three touchdowns and two interceptions. Cahoy was the top receiver with 104 yards in eight catches with a touchdown. Jared Mack and Halseth were the receivers of Ellingson's other scoring passes. Mack caught for 58 yards. Zain Gower was Northern's leading rusher with eight carries for 17 net yards. Mike Preciado and Jackson Hegerfeld each had eight tackles. Nate McGruder made the interception for the W olves.
The Warriors racked up 537 offensive yards against the Wolves. They had seven touchdowns, four passing and three rushing. Drew Aber completed 20-of-30 passes for 288 yards. Scott Peters caught six passes for 110 yards and two touchdowns. Tyree Burks caught seven passes for 92 yards and a touchdown. Alex Wiese led the running game with 17 carries for 111 yards. Three different players marked rushing touchdowns for WSU. Cody Cummer led all players with 11 tackles. Shawn Cunningham had nine tackles, a sack, and three tackles for a loss of 19 yards.
