BOX SCORE

ABERDEEN, S.D. – Early mistakes proved to be the downfall of the Northern State Wolves football team once again Saturday, as Winona State used a 21-point first quarter to lead them to a 52-17 victory over the Wolves at Swisher Field in Aberdeen.

With the loss the Wolves fall to 0-2 on the year and 0-1 in the NSIC.

The trouble started early as the Wolves were forced to punt after just three plays on offense from their own 8-yard line.  Ryan Williams broke through the line and blocked the kick while teammate Kenneth Damron recovered the ball in the end zone.  A point after by Cullen Fahey gave the visitors an early 7-0 lead before their offense hit the field.

The Wolves tried a little trickery on their second drive when, forced to punt again, up-man Ryan Olerud took a direct snap and rumbled 18 yards for a Wolves first down giving the home team some new breathing room.  The Wolves could not take advantage and were once again forced to punt.

On the ensuing Winona State drive, the Warriors covered 67 yards in ten plays, culminating in a 14-yard scamper to paydirt by Rayon Simmons to put Winona State up 14-0.

The two teams then traded possessions until Northern State started a drive with 2:19 remaining in the first quarter on their own 32-yard line.  Wolves' quarterback Joei Fiegler had a pass intercepted by Matt Ulrich who returned the ball to the Northern State nine-yard line.  Three plays later Winona State quarterback Greg Preston found tight end Kyle Melcher in the back of the end zone for a touchdown, putting the Warriors up 21-0 after the Fahey point after.

The Wolves then got a spark on offense when, facing a first and ten on their own 25-yard line, Northern State quarterback Joei Fiegler got the Winona State defensive line to jump offsides, giving the Wolves a free play, which they used to their advantage.  Fiegler found junior wideout Trent DesLauriers streaking up the right sideline and hit him in stride for a 57-yard gain down to the Winona State 18-yard line.  A roughing the passer penalty would move the ball all the way down to the 9-yard line, giving the Wolves a first and goal.  They could not convert a touchdown, however, and were forced to settle on a Thomas Parrott 28-yard field goal, bringing the score to 21-3 in favor of Winona State.

A Winona State punt and a Northern State fumble would give the visitors the ball with 7:58 remaining in the half, and the Warriors capitalized on the turnover via another touchdown run by Simmons, his second on the day, which put the visitors up 28-3 with 5:22 remaining in the half.

Northern State then used a mixture of run, pass, and Winona State penalities to give them a first and goal with less than 30 seconds remaining in the half.  With two seconds remaining, and fourth and goal to go, Fiegler found an open Josh Aho crossing from left to right in the end zone to give the Wolves their first touchdown of the day as time expired.  A Parrott point after would bring the halftime score to 28-10.

The Warriors used their passing game in their first possession of the second-half, as Preston found Mulcher a second time for a 26-yard touchdown to put the Warriors up 35-10.

The Wolves then moved from their own 40-yard line down to the Winona State 22-yard line using a mixture of run and pass.  Then, facing a third and nine situation, Fiegler was intercepted by Chris Norgaard who returned the ball 75 yards back to the NSU 17-yard line before Brian Jark could chase him down. 

Three plays later the Wolves got a turnover of their own as Chris Hurd stepped in front of a Preston pass and took it back 52 yards to the Winona State 30-yard line.  The Wolves capitalized on the takeway in the form of a 1-yard run by Fiegler on third and goal with 1:23 remaining in the third quarter.  The point after by Parrott would make the score 35-17 in favor of Winona State.

It would take Winona State all of two plays on their next possession to put more points on the board, as Simmons continued his day by adding a 74-yard scamper with 27 seconds remaining in the third quarter to bring the score to 42-17. 

At the start of the fourth quarter Fiegler hit Brian Jark for a two-yard gain, bringing the senior wide out to 218 career receptions, a new all-time total in the Northern State record books.

Mike Houts would add a four-yard touchdown run and Fahey would add a 23-yard field goal in the fourth quarter to round out the scoring, bringing the final score to 52-17.

The Warriors finished with 264 rushing yards and 168 passing yards for a total of 432 total offense yards on the day.  The Wolves churned out 119 rushing yards and 183 passing yards for 302 total offensive yards.

WSU's Simmons was the story of the day, as he gained 167 yards on 17 carries including three touchdowns.  Warrior quarterback Greg Preston completed 15 of 19 passes for 168 yards and two touchdowns.  Melcher led the receiving corps with four receptions for 57 yards and the two scoring strikes.

The Wolves were led by Montrel Richardson's 67 rushing yards on 16 carries, featuring a long of 34 yards.  Fiegler finished his day completing 17 of 33 passes for one passing touchdown, one rushing touchdown, and two interceptions.   Trent DesLauriers led the Wolves receivers once again with seven receptions for 96 yards, both new career highs for the junior captain.  Defensively, Anthony Ponzo, Jr. led the team with eight tackles (four solo) while teammate Ryan Barenaba had three tackles and one sack on the afternoon.

The Wolves will look to regroup next Saturday when they make the long trip to Fayette, Iowa to take on the Upper Iowa Peacocks.  Start time for that game is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.

GAME NOTES:  Northern State's Brian Jark becomes NSU's all-time receptions leader with 218 receptions…Trent DesLauriers sets career-high marks in both receptions and yards with seven catches for 96 yards…Northern State starts 0-2 for the third-straight year…Winona State takes 20-16 lead in all-time series…Northern State has now lost ten in a row to Winona State...

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**