WINONA, Minn. – The Winona State football team moved its record above .500 Saturday afternoon with a 45-31 victory over Wayne State at Altra Federal Credit Union Stadium.
The Warrior offense put up some big numbers, surpassing the 500-yard mark in total offense, finishing with 511 on the afternoon while the WSU defense held Wayne State to just 286 total yards and just 70 through the air.
Jack Nelson had another methodical 300-yard passing day completing 20-of-30 passes for 336 yards and three touchdowns.
Running back Paul Preston racked up 218 all-purpose yards, including 104 yards through the air and 58 on the ground before leaving the game early in the third quarter.
Preston played a big role in WSU's early lead. After a Wayne State 30-yard field goal, Preston caught a 40-yard screen pass down to the Wildcat 24-yard line. After an eight-yard run from Eric Birth, Nelson found Lorenzo Mitchell for a 16-yard score to make it 7-3 late in the opening quarter.
Wayne State answered back again with a methodical 16-play, 75-yard drive that chewed up 8:15. The result was a 15-yard touchdown from running back Ryan Ludlow to put WSC up 10-7, but it would be Wayne State's last lead of the game.
The Warriors responded with three touchdowns to end the second half. The first came on a 30-yard touchdown run from Birth with 4:46 to play. After a Wildcat three-and-out, Preston continued the strong running game with a 19-yard scamper to up the lead to 21-10 with still 2:06 remaining in the half.
A second consecutive three-and-out gave WSU the ball back with a tick under a minute to play and plenty of time for the WSU's quick-strike offense. On the second play, Nelson found Preston once again on a screen, this time for 66 yards down to the 13-yard line. After an 11-yard pass to Cameron Johnson, Nelson found his second tight end of the day – this time Nick Margiotta, for a two-yard touchdown with 21 seconds to play to put the Warriors up 28-10 at half for what seemed like a comfortable lead.
But the momentum would turn immediately to start the second half, as Alan May fumbled on the opening drive. The WSU defense would hold, but Preston fumbled as well on the first play of WSU's next possession that set up Wayne State deep in Warrior territory. The Wildcats capitalized with a six-yard scoring run by Lane Yates to cut it to 28-17.
On the ensuing kickoff, WSC's Zach Johnson put a big hit on Preston, who'd fumble again at midfield, and the Wildcats would recover and eventually score on a Ludlow touchdown to suddenly pull to within four just midway through the third quarter.
WSU responded with a field goal on the next possession to get it back to a seven-point game, and early in the fourth quarter Nelson found Johnson who made a pretty catch in the corner of the end zone to extend the lead to 38-24. WSU would later add one more thanks to a two-yard rush by Elliot Cox before milking the clock to the 45-24 final.
Birth finished as Winona State's leading rusher, carrying the ball 14 times for 76 yards, an average of 5.4 yards per carry. Preston was WSU's leading receiver with 106 yards, while Johnson added six catches for 88 yards, May seven catches for 60 yards and Dylan Ulferts three catches for 64 yards.
Ian Murray led the Warriors with a game-high and career-high 14 tackles, while Mike Imperiale added nine tackles. Lauden Wood turned in a fine performance, making five stops – 2.5 for loss – and recovered a key fumble deep in Wildcat territory. Jarrett Wood, meanwhile, had WSU's lone sack and forced the fumble that Lauden recovered.
WSU racked up its offensive numbers despite a large discrepancy in time of possession. The Warriors held the ball for just 23:46, while Wayne State chewed up more than 36 minutes of game time.
Winona State (5-4, 3-2) is back at home next Saturday when it welcomes Augustana to Altra Federal Credit Union Stadium for a 1 p.m. kickoff.
