WAYNE, Neb. – The No. 25 Winona State football team opened NSIC South play with a tough loss, suffering a 27-7 setback to Wayne State Saturday afternoon in Wayne.

Quarterback Jack Nelson was sacked twice on the opening drive, setting the tone for the rest of the game.  Often faced with little time to throw and consistent pressure from the Wildcat defense, the signal caller was sacked five times in the first half and eight times in the game.  Nelson finished just 14-of-39 for 174 yards, a touchdown, and two interceptions.  WSU managed just 196 yards of total offense, while the Wildcats racked up 510.  

The Warrior running attack struggled to get going as well, as no WSU running back rushed for more than 28 yards.  Anthony Resnick was the team's leader with 28 yards on just four carries, while Paul Preston totaled 26 yards on seven carries.

Alan May was the Warriors' top receiving target, hauling in six passes for 73 yards and the team's lone touchdown pass.

Wayne State jumped out to a 14-0 lead by the first quarter's midway point.  The Wildcats took a 7-0 lead on a two-yard run by Ryan Ludlow and extended that lead to 13-0 a couple minutes later on a 13-yard strike from Zach Osborn to Marcel Dunson.

While that would be all the Wildcats would need, they added another score with 5:09 to play in the first half on Ludlow's second touchdown of the day, this time a rush from five yards out to make it 20-0.

WSC struck again in the third quarter when Dunson scored his second touchdown of the game on an 18-yard catch from Osborn to make it 27-0.

The Warriors finally got on the board on the first play of the fourth quarter when Nelson found May for a 21-yard touchdown to bring it to 27-7, but that's all WSU could manage in the game.

The Warriors had trouble keeping the offense on the field throughout the contest – converting just one third down on 15 tries.

Defensively, the Warriors were able to pick off Wildcat quarterback Zach Osborn three times.  Mitch Lunder, Andrew Spencer and Anthony Catanese each recorded interceptions for WSU.  Larry Mbayu and Jarrett Wood each were credited with 10 tackles.

Winona State (3-2) now has a short week to prepare for No. 3 Minnesota State, which comes to Winona Thursday night for a nationally televised battle under the lights at Warrior Stadium.  Kickoff is scheduled for 7:06 p.m. on CBS Sports Network.