WINONA, Minn. – There is no better day than game day. Except, Homecoming game day.
The Winona State University football team hosts Northern State University today, Saturday, Oct. 9 in a 2021 Homecoming matchup as the Warriors welcome back alumni, fans, friends, and family members to a festive campus atmosphere in Winona.
The Warriors (3-2, 0-1 South) and the Wolves (3-2, 0-1 NSIC North) will kick off at 2pm in Altra Federal Credit Union Stadium on Maxwell Field in what will be a turning point game for both teams. The contest marks the final non-division game for WSU and NSU, as both programs will spend the final five weeks of the regular season competing in the South and North Divisions of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC), respectively.
Northern State is coming off a week five 49-42 loss to UMary, their third-straight contest eclipsing the 40-point plateau. Hunter Trautman leads the NSU offense with 120 completions on 197 attempts, with 19 touchdowns and two interceptions. Dewaylon Ingram and Dakota Larson have been the top two Wolves receivers, both just shy of 500 yards receiving on the year. Chase Teiken and Nate Robinson lead their team with 36 and 34 tackles. Mike Schmidt is in his second year at Aberdeen as the head coach, having previously served four years at Wisconsin – La Crosse. As a team Northern State is scoring just over 34 points per game while conceding an average of 26.8.
For longtime head coach
Tom Sawyer, Saturday's Homecoming will be his last in a headset, having announced his retirement from Winona State effective at the conclusion of the season. Sawyer was honored on Friday by the Winona State Football Players Association (FPA) for his remarkable legacy and loyalty to the University. Sawyer has served as the head coach at Winona State for the past 25 years, and his 193 wins are second in the country among active NCAA Division II head coaches. For the Warriors, a Homecoming win is at the top of the list the well-respected mentor and is important to team success as Winona State heads into the home stretch of their 2021 season.
On offense, Winona State is led by quarterback
Owen Burke, whose steady hand has been key to Warrior success. Burke is steadily rising in several Winona State football record book categories, as his 5,993 passing yards is sixth all-time and is on the verge of overtaking Jason Mitchell's 6,027 at fifth all-time. Burke is also three completions away from surpassing Drew Abner's 445 completions for fifth on the all-time passes completed list. In 2021, Burke has been 83-of-150 for seven touchdowns and four interceptions. Burke is averaging just over 251 passing yards per game.
A pair of favorite targets for Burke have been
Ethan Wittenburg and
Jake Balliu, both of whom have 16 catches on the year. Wittenburg has four touchdown grabs in his stat line and averages an impressive 23.6 yards per catch. Like Wittenburg, Balliu's breakaway speed is a threat on every play, as evidenced both by his 65-yard reception earlier this year and his effectiveness as a kick returner, a role in which he excels to the tune of 349 combined punt and kick return yards.
Sawyer Maly has had some key receptions throughout the season and is one of fourteen Warriors who have at least one catch on the year. In addition to downfield vertical options, Burke has at his disposal two towering tight ends in
Jaylen Schleicher and
Dakota Matthees, both of whom have been effective underneath in short passing situations.
On the ground, Winona State has a deep roster of ready running backs.
Javian Roebuck had a breakout game to open the 2021 season against Concordia – St. Paul but has battled the injury bug in the most recent two weeks, as has teammate
Ty Gavin.
Dominik London stepped up in week three against UMary when his name was called, reeling off a impressive 158-yard rushing performance.
Noah Carlson has factored significantly in the WSU ground game in the most recent two games, scoring his first Warrior touchdown against UMary in week three as well. Combined, WSU running backs have 669 yards on the ground so far this year with 12 touchdowns.
The Winona State defense has taken a next-Warrior-up mentality into all five contests so far this year, with a different defensive standout stepping up in each game.
Clay Schueffner leads the team in tackles with 39 total stops, while
Carter Duxbury has six ½ sacks and 37 tackle-for-loss yards on the year, tops on the team in both categories.
Devon Moore and
Mitch Snitker rank second and third in tackles for the Warriors at 37 and 25 respectively, while the secondary is led by
Cam Gavin, the NSIC South Preseason Player-of-the-Year,
Aarion Lacy,
Richard Azunna and
David Munson. Snitker, Moore and linebacker
Ben McCabe all have interceptions on the year for a defense that depends on the pressure up front by a Warrior defensive line that includes
Luc Leszczynski,
Cole LaLiberty, and
Darius Manuel.
Regardless of which team is doing the kicking, special teams play has been a point of attention. Kick returners
Jake Balliu and
Darryl Williams have brought fans out of their seats with some spectacular returns this year, including Balliu's 62-yard punt return for a touchdown in week three, the first returned kick for a score in the NSIC this year. Junior college transfer
Jacob Scott is perfect on PAT's this year with a 20-for-20 mark and is 6-of-9 on field goals with a longest make of 35 yards.
Tristan Root has handled the punting and kickoff duties for the Warriors, racking up 612 yards in punts and 1,495 yards on 16 kickoffs.
Fans not fortunate enough to be a part of today's celebration in person can watch the contest on the NSIC Network with coverage and commentary provided by HBC 25 Sports, led by Justin Barrientos. On the radio, Jacob Litman will have the call on 89.5 KQAL. the radio home of Winona State Athletics.
For the most up to date news in Warrior Athletics, please visit:
www.WINONASTATEWARRIORS.com and
@WinonaStateATH.
About Winona State University Athletics:
The Winona State University Department of Intercollegiate Athletics, as an integral part of the educational mission of the institution, is committed to offering opportunities to experience academic and athletic excellence for our student-athletes through two simple words:
Graduate Champions.
Fourteen Warrior programs compete at the NCAA Division II level within the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC). Winona State University competes as an affiliate member of the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) in the sport of women's gymnastics.
