The Northern State University football squad opens up their conference and home schedules this Saturday, when they host Winona State at Clark Swisher Field with kickoff slated for 1:00 p.m.  The Wolves enter the contest with an 0-1 record, while the Warriors are 1-0 on the young 2009 season.

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WINONA STATE TWO-DEEP ROSTER

THE GAME: Northern State University looks to open their conference shedule on the right foot when they take on Winona State Saturday at 1:00 p.m. at Clark Swisher Field in Aberdeen.  This will serve as the conference opener for both schools and the home opener for the Wolves.  Gene Reich will handle the play-by-play on 94.1 FM “The Rock“.

LIVESTATS:  Those Northern State fans that can't attend the game can follow along by watching the game's livestats, which are located HERE.

WEBCAST:  The game will be broadcasted on Northern Sun TV, and the event is free to watch.  Just go to www.northernsun.tv or click HERE to watch all this weekend's NSIC football games.

THE MATCHUP: The Wolves of Northern State open up their home schedule Saturday after a disappointing first game at Missouri Western in which they lost 49-14 and had trouble on both the offensive and defensive ends, starting their season 0-1 for the fourth-straight year. Northern State was picked to finish 11th in the NSIC and tied for fifth place in the North Division.
    The Warriors of Winona State opened up their season nicely with an upset of then #9 Carson-Newman last Thursday in Winona.  Winona State starts the year 1-0 after starting 0-1 last year by losing 26-21 to Michigan Tech a season ago.  Winona State was picked to finish sixth in the NSIC and fourth in the South Division.
    The Warriors have won the last nine meetings by averaging 42.3 points each contest compared to Northern State's 24.1 points per game over that same span.

SERIES HISTORY:  Winona State holds a 19-16 lead in the overall series including winning the last nine matchups between the two teams.  The last time Northern State won was a 37-34 final on October 30, 1999 in Winona, Minn. when the Wolves racked up 298 rushing yards on the day.

ABOUT NORTHERN STATE:  The Wolves dropped their first game of the season last Thursday, as the host Missouri Western State Griffons handed the Wolves a 49-14 beatdown at Spratt Stadium in St. Joseph, Mo.  This is the fourth straight year the Wolves have started 0-1.  The last time the Wolves started a year 1-1 was 2006.
    The Wolves never really got their offense going, with starting quarterback Joei Fiegler connecting on only 11 of 27 passes for 63 yards and two interceptions.  They did rush for 113 yards on the day, but most of that was amassed during the second half when the MWSU starting defense was resting on the sidelines.  Defensively, Anthony Ponzo, Jr. picked up right where he left off in 2008 by leading the Wolves with nine tackles during the evening.  Senior defensive tackle Josh Carpenter might have put together one of the better games during his stellar career by spending a lot of time in the Mo. Western backfield en route to seven tackles (two TFL) and one sack.
    The Wolves -3 turnover ratio (4 give/1 take) really cost them as Mo. West held tremendous field position for most of the first half, using that advantage to put up 49 first half points.

WINONA STATE:  The Warriors opened up their season last Thursday as well, but they fared better in their season-opening matchup, as they knocked off the Carson Newman, the #9 ranked team in the country by a 17-12 score.
    WSU used their always strong running game to carry them to victory behind 253 rushing yards, led by Rayon Simmons, Jr. and Curtis Dewberry who ran for 138 yards and 80 yards and a touchdown each respectively.
    The Warriors captialized on the duo's rushing efforts on their way to taking a 17-0 lead with 3:27 remaining in the third quarter.  Carson Newman was able to score 12 points in the fourth quarter, but the Warriors recovered an onside kick with 31 seconds left to solidify the win.
    The Warriors return four all conference performers from a season ago, including first team offense selection Seth Haun, second team offense selection Jake Enos, second team defensive selection Lucas Wolf, and second team special teams return specialist Eric Swan.

JARK EYES HISTORY BOOKS:  Senior wide receiver and Aberdeen native Brian Jark is closing in on receiving records for both Northern State and the NSIC.  After a three-catch effort vs. Missouri Western State last week, Jark needs just two receptions to tie, and three receptions to break the NSU career receptions mark held by Brent Sheehan.  Jark also needs just ten receptions to tie, and 11 receptions to break Damien Hoffman's career NSIC receptions mark of 185.

NSU RECORDS:   
Receptions -     Brent Sheehan     - 217
                                     Brian Jark     - 215   
Yards -                Brent Sheehan    - 3,072
                                      Brian Jark    - 2,423           
TD's -                       Josh Martin     -22
                                      Brian Jark    -19
NSIC RECORDS:
Receptions -     1. Damien Hoffman, Minnesota-Morris - 185
                              2. Brian Jark, NSU - 175
Yards -            1. Chris Samp, WSU - 2, 855
                            11. Brian Jark, NSU - 1,939
TD's                1. Chris Samp, WSU - 43
                           t-8. Brian Jark, NSU - 16

SPECIAL TEAMER:  Sophomore Calvin McGruder had a nice return to the football field in his first game action last week by returning a muffed punt snap 12 yards for the Wolves first touchdown of the season.  The play helped earn himself and NSIC Special Teams Player of the Week nomination and made him one of two NSU Athletes of the Week.

DOUBLE DUTY:  Junior quarterback Joei Fiegler, also doubling as the team's punter this year, is currently sixth in the NSIC in punting average after Thursday night's contest, in which he averaged 38.2 yards per kick.

SCORING FRENZY:  The Warriors and Wolves have seen some impressive offensive shootouts over the past ten seasons, averaged a combined 66.9 points in each of those ten contests.  The two teams combined for 105 points in 2001, as Winona State took a 70-35 win in Winona.

RUNNING GAME:  Northern State ran for 113 yards as a team in their season opener last week, which would have stood as their third-highest rushing total in 2008.  It was the first Wolves game in which the team rushed for over 100+ yards since October 4, 2008 in their 35-0 win over Minnesota, Crookston during Gypsie Days.  Montrel Richardson led the Wolves rushing attack with 54 yards on 13 carries in the ballgame.
    The Warriors used the ground game in their win over #9 Carson Newman College last Thursday, amassing 253 yards during the game.  The Warriors were led by Rayon Simmons, Jr. and Curtis Dewberry who ran for 138 yards and 80 yards and a touchdown each respectively.
    In last season's matchup, the Warriors rolled for 336 team rushing yards led by then senior running back Randy Spring's 188 yards and a touchdown.
    Northern State's own senior running back Tavis Ve'e recorded 111 rushing yards on 14 carries (7.7 ypc) including a 59-yard TD scamper.  Ve'e also caught a 25-yard scoring pass from Eric Ellingson.

DESLAURIERS STORIES:  Northern State junior wideout Trent DesLauriers had an almost identical game to the one last year against Mo. Western.  This year he caught five passes for 65 yards and a touchdown, while last season he caught five passes for 66 yards (a career-high) and a touchdown.
    His five catches Thursday was tied for the third-highest total in the conference.

DID YOU KNOW?:  The first time Northern State and Winona State met was 1938, with Winona State Teacher's College earning the win by a score of 14-0.  The 1938 Northern State Teacher's College team went 2-4-2 on the year under coach W.L. Carberry.

STOP THAT SKID:  The Wolves have lost six-straight games since their homecoming win vs. Minnesota, Crookston last season on October 4th.  The Wolves lost their season finale in 2007 and started 0-5 last year to build a six-game losing streak.  Prior to those two streaks, the last time the Wolves lost six-straight games came back during the 1984 season.

TOMMY BOY:  Northern State junior kicker Thomas Parrott a junior from Tampa, Fla. was named to the Fred Mitchell Award Watch List prior to the 2009 season.  A 2008 Second Team All-Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference selectionafter being an Honorable Mention in 2007, Parrott has connected on 48 of 53 PAT's in past two seasons.  He earned NSIC Player of the Week honors as a Freshman after connecting on 7 of 7 PAT's and adding a FG in the Wolves 52-9 win over Minnesota-Crookston on October 20, 2007.  Parrot donates his time to the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and volunteers as a chemistry tutor to Northern State students, and also participated in the United Way and Northern State University Day of Champions event to assist with various community service projects in the Aberdeen area.
    The Watch List for the Fred Mitchell Award includes 18 Division II and III collegiate place-kickers that were nominated by their colleges for excellence on the football field and in the community.  The Award's Selection Committee Chairman Chris Kearney said, “These place-kickers are a very impressive group on and off the football field.  They admirably represent their schools, their football teams, their communities, their families and themselves.”  The Watch List includes place-kickers from schools in 16 states, with three place-kickers playing in Ohio.  Fred Mitchell said, “The diversity of these fine young men is terrific and it is a pleasure to include them on the Watch List for this Award.  Division II and III place-kickers seldom receive national recognition, and we are delighted to recognize them based on outstanding performance in the community and expectations going into the 2009 college football season.”

Northern State University is an NCAA Division II affiliated school participating in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference and is located in Aberdeen, South Dakota.

**GO WOLVES**