Box Score
WAYNE, Neb. – The Northern State University Wolves scored three times to Wayne State's one in the early going of Saturday's Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference inter-divisional football match-up and held a 13-7 lead with just under eight minutes to go in the first quarter before the host Wildcats scored 28 straight points to regain control of the game in the second half en-route to a 44-20 win over the Wolves.
The loss drops the Wolves to 0-4 on the season and 0-3 in NSIC play. The Wildcats, who dropped out of the top 25 after a 42-10 setback to second-ranked Minnesota-Duluth last weekend, moved to 3-1 overall and 2-1 in the league.
WSC sophomore quarterback Evan Johnson threw for 253 yards and a touchdown while running for three more scores on the ground to jumpstart the WSC offense.
Senior place kicker Thomas Parrott nailed a pair of 22-yard field goals sandwiched around a 10-yard Evan Johnson TD run, while senior Trent DesLauriers hauled in a 51-yard touchdown pass from fellow wide-out John Michael Migdal midway through the second quarter to give the Wolves a 13-7 lead.
The Wildcats, however rattled off two straight touchdown drives in the remaining minutes of the second stanza to take a 21-13 lead into the break. After the NSU touchdown, the Wildcats ground out a 12-play, 63-yard drive that ate up 5 minutes and 24 seconds that ended with Johnson's second touchdown dive of the day.
The Wildcats then forced a quick 3-and-out on NSU's ensuing possession, getting the ball back with under two minutes to go in the half. WSC needed just 32 seconds to add an insurance score, however, as Johnson hit Kevin Paulsen for a 40-yard touchdown play on 3rd-and-3.
WSC added a late third-quarter touchdown to go up 28-13 then escaped a promising NSU drive to open the fourth quarter. The Wolves had an 11-play drive going in Wildcat territory when junior quarterback Nick Wanner was picked off for the first time all season. That sparked a Wildcat drive that was aided by a pair of personal foul penalties against the Wolves and ended with four straight Eric Meyer carries and a fourth straight WSC touchdown.
Undeterred, the Wolves got the ball back and wasted little time in breaking the scoring drought as Wanner found redshirt freshman Trevor Mau for a 66-yard touchdown pass. The TD reception was the first of Mau's career.
Down just two scores with under five minutes to play, the Wolves went for the onside kick, but were unable to recover, giving the Wildcats the ball with good field position. WSC kept the ball on the ground and were forced to settle for a 29-yard field goal from Nick Bell.
The ensuing kickoff gave the Wolves the ball back with 2:13 left to go, but on the second play of the drive, Javal Jones tallied his second interception of the day, returning this one for 35 yards and the final WSC touchdown of the day.
The Wolves played the entire second half without senior running back Montrel Richardson, who left the game with a leg injury after a kickoff return in the second quarter. Richardson, who was second in the conference in rushing coming into the game, had six carries for a season-low 34 yards before leaving the game.
In his stead, Wanner and senior Chad Morrison combined for 72 of the Wolves' 110 total yards on the ground. Wanner also completed 18 of 24 passes for 161 yards. Five of those balls went to Mau, who just missed his first career 100-yard performance, finishing with 93 yards on the day.
For the Wildcats, Johnson found wide-out Mitch Montgomery eight times for 138 yards. NSU kept WSC stand-out Frederick Bruno largely in check. Bruno had just four catches for 46 yards on the day.
The Wolves return home next weekend to take on St. Cloud State University. Kick-off is slated for 2:30 p.m. at NSU's Clark Swisher Stadium.
