Winona State kicks off its 2015 season on Thursday, Sept. 3 at 6 p.m. in the first game on the newly-christened Scheels Field in Moorhead, Minn. This is the fourth straight season the Warriors will open the season under the lights on a Thursday night. 

Hear the call live on 89.5 FM KQAL or kqal.org with broadcasters TJ Leverentz and John Wojcik. Live video of the game can be seen at www.winonastatewarriors.com/watch or on HBC Channel 24.

20 FOR SAWYER: Winona State head coach Tom Sawyer begins his 20th season leading the Warriors. Since taking over the head job in 1996, the Warriors have posted a 151-67 mark with eight postseason appearances and three Mineral Water Bowl victories, and have won at least 10 games on five occasions.

MEET THE CAPTAINS: The 2015 edition of Warrior Football will be led by seniors (WR) Alan May, (CB) Tamrick Atwood, (DE) Jeff Brown and junior (LB) Jarrett Wood.

A FAMILIAR OFFENSE: The 2015 Warriors' offense will look a lot like it did in 2014. WSU returns starting junior quarterback Jack Nelson; his top four receiving targets in Josh Mikes, Alan May, Dylan Ulferts and Cameron Johnson; the team's leading rusher in junior Paul Preston; hybrid fullback Zach Olstad and four of its starters on the offensive line.

NELSON YEAR THREE: Since taking over the starting job in game two of 2013, junior quarterback Jack Nelson has consistently been one of the top quarterbacks in the NSIC and in Winona State history. After throwing for 2,715 yards and 25 touchdowns in his inaugural 2013 campaign, Nelson bettered his effort last season, throwing for 2,843 yards and 27 touchdowns.

THE NELSON RECORD BOOK: Entering just his junior season, Nelson's name is already plastered all over the WSU record book. He currently holds four of the top six all-time passing games, is seventh in career passing yards (5,558; just 2,010 shy of the all-time record), and is fourth in career touchdown passes (52; 12 shy of the WSU record). A complete list of records can be found on pages 8-9.
MIKES' OPENING ACT: Senior wideout Josh Mikes had a breakout season in 2015, gaining 1,025 yards and hauling in 13 scores. No game, however, was bigger than his monster opener at Northern State, where he hauled in 13 catches (2nd most in Winona State history) for 224 yards (5th most) and four touchdowns (tied for most). In all, Mikes grabbed multiple touchdowns in five of 11 games.

KICKOFF FORECAST: It'll be a hot one in Moorhead, with temperatures at kickoff predicted to be in the low 90s with no threat of rain.

LOPSIDED RECENT HISTORY: Despite a 33-37-1 MSUM advantage in series history, the Warriors have dominated the rivalry in recent times. Winona State has won the past 14 meetings between the two teams dating back to 1996, when MSUM won 33-28 on Nov. 2 in Moorhead. The Warriors have won the past three meetings by a combined score of 171-34 (65-21 in '13, 48-10 in '11, 58-3 in '10). 

A LOOK AT THE DRAGONS: Steve Laqua owns an 11-33 record as he begins his fifth season as head coach at MSU Moorhead. The Dragons return starting senior QB Jake Hodge, who passed for 1,981 yards and 16 TDs a year ago. Top pass catcher Adam Jiskra also returns, who caught 74 passes for 1,039 yards and eight scores. 1,000-yard rusher Zayne Medhaug also is back in 2015 after putting up 1,127 yards on the ground along with 17 TDs. The Dragons are led defensively by returners DB Abe Roehrich (91 tackles, 3 INTs), LB Aaron Bohl (77 tackles), CB Chris Binford (67 tackles, 3 INTs), DL Steve Schutz (60 tackles, 12.5 TFL), and DL Jake Busse (32 tackles, 5.5 sacks).

PRESEASON POLL: WSU is picked to finish third in the South Division and sixth overall in the 2015 NSIC Preseason Coaches' poll. Minnesota State was the league's top pick, followed by Minnesota Duluth, Sioux Falls, Augustana and St. Cloud State.

PLAYERS TO WATCH: Offensively, senior wideout Josh Mikes was named the team's player to watch this season. On the defensive side of the ball, the spotlight went to senior lineback Collin Corcoran.

CORCORAN MOVIN' UP:  Speaking of Corcoran, the quarterback hater has 15 career sacks, which puts him ninth on the WSU career sack chart. To break into the top five, he'll need six sacks this season. That's doable for Corcoran, who recorded nine sacks in his sophomore season, which was the eighth-most in WSU single-season history (see page 11 for complete list).

IMPROVED DEFENSE: The Warrior defense was much improved from 2013 to 2014, especially when it came to stopping the pass. The Warriors shaved nearly 70 yards per game off their yearly average. After giving up a league-worst 274.7 yards per game in 2013, the Warriors allowed a stingy 205.7 yards per game last season, which ranked fourth in the NSIC.

QUICK START WARRIORS: WSU scored first in eight of its 11 games last season. In those games, they were 4-4. In games where its opponent scored first, the Warriors were 0-3.

COACHES COME BACK: Head coach Tom Sawyer looked to familiar faces to replace coaching vacancies in the offseason. Brett Holinka, who spent the past two seasons at Rutgers, rejoins the Warriors as the special teams coordinator and linebackers coach after previously spending time at WSU as a graduate assistant in 2012. Former four-year player Matt Splon also joins the staff this season as an assistant. While new to the Warriors, run game coordinator and offensive line coach Mike Cunningham is not new to the NSIC. Cunningham has previously made stops at conference foes Concordia-St. Paul and Minnesota State before most recently working for the University of Nebraska.

TIME OF POSSESSION MATTERS: The Warriors in 2014 statistically proved that controlling the clock equates to wins. WSU won the time of possession battle in all four of its wins, while the other team held the ball longer in each of its seven losses.

STEADY MAY: The Warriors know they can count on their primary punt return man, as Alan May has handled the duty for the past three seasons. May ranks fifth in WSU history in career punts returned (50), fourth in punt return yardage (503). (A complete list can be found on page 12)