WINONA, Minn. – The Winona State University football team takes on Upper Iowa University today, Nov. 6, returning home to Altra Federal Credit Union Stadium to host the Peacocks. Kickoff is set for 1pm on Maxwell Field and today's game is Military Appreciation Day at Winona State; all fans with a military I.D. are admitted to the game free of charge.
Upper Iowa (1-8, 1-3 NSIC South) and Winona State (5-4, 2-2 NSIC South) are separated by just 100 miles, the closest NSIC football program geographically to the Warriors. Over the past 16 years however, WSU has separated themselves well from UIU, owning a 14-2 all-time mark against their friends from Fayette. However, the Peacocks are coming off an eyebrow raising win over Wayne State College last week, grinding out a 42-41 win over the Wildcats who had won six of their last seven games up to that point. Winona State has won two of the last three games, beating Southwest Minnesota State 26-14 in the BIG Athletics / Adidas Sledge Game and then winning on the road over the University of Sioux Falls in a defensive battle, 14-10. Last week, WSU fell to #19 Augustana University, 38-20; the Vikings are currently the top-ranked team in the NCAA Division II Super Region rankings.
A nuance to Upper Iowa's game is their ability to block kicks; the Peacocks stuffed five kick attempts so far in 2021. A major focus of the Winona State defense will be containing the three-back UIU rotation of Willy Camacho, Keontae Luckett and Desean Phillips, who have averaged over 150 yards a game combined across the last three Peacock outings. And, while the Warriors have a decided advantage in the all-time record, UIU has pulled the occasional upset, as in 2018 when the Peacocks pulled off a 34-33 upset over the nationally ranked Warriors.
For head coach
Tom Sawyer, today's game will be his second-to-last contest on Maxwell Field, as the 25-year Warrior mentor announced last spring his pending retirement at the conclusion of the 2021 Winona State campaign. Leading Sawyer's offense will be quarterback
Owen Burke, who has battled his way up the record book charts this season, and has 2,376 passing yards so far this year. Burke's ability to distribute his throws to a variety of receivers has been a key component of the Winona State offense, but a handful of Warriors sit at the top of the list, including
Ethan Wittenburg who has 564 yards and five touchdowns on 29 receptions.
Jake Balliu leads the team in terms of the most catches with 34, while Jaylen Scheicher has averaged 15.39 yards per catch from his tight end position.
On the ground,
Dominik London has 445 yards on 84 attempts, while
Javian Roebuck has a team-leading six touchdowns on 56 carries.
Noah Carlson has scored three times while earning 226 yards on 56 attempts.
Defensively, linebacker
Clay Schueffner will be called upon to deal with the UIU ground game, as he leads Winona State with 72 total tackles in nine starts.
Mitch Snitker leads the squad in solo stops with 45 and has 69 total tackles, as well as two interceptions and three pass breakups. Schueffner and Snikter are seventh and eighth, respectively, in the NSIC in total tackles. Joining Snitker in the secondary is
Richard Azunna with 44 stops and four pass breakups.
Carter Duxbury leads the lead in sacks with eight and ½ so far this season and is seventh in tackles for loss with 11.5 on the year, earning 65 TFL yards.
While Upper Iowa may be good at blocking kicks, Winona State is outstanding at returning them.
Jake Balliu has scored on both a punt return and kickoff return this season, one of just three NCAA Division II players to achieve that feat, and is averaging 27.41 on kickoff returns and 13.13 yards per punt return this season. When teams look to avoid Balliu,
Darryl Williams has stepped up to the tune of 318 return yards this year.
On Saturday, Winona State will look to emulate their most recent win over Upper Iowa, a 28-0 shutout on Sept. 19, 2019. In that game, WSU scored 14 first quarter points and rode a stifling defense to a key NSIC victory. For fans not fortunate enough to be in attendance at Altra Federal Credit Union Stadium today, the UIU - Winona State matchup will be carried live on the
NSIC Network by
HBC 25 Sports, at this link, and fans can also follow along on
KQAL 89.5, the radio home of the Winona State Warriors.
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.
