Bismarck, N.D. - The Winona State University football team took to the road this weekend for a week four NSIC matchup at the University of Mary. Kickoff in Bismarck at the MDU Resources Community Bowl is set for 2pm CST.
The Warriors (2-1, 0-0 NSIC South) and the Marauders (1-2, 0-0 NSIC North) meet in a pivotal point in their seasons. Winona State has the opportunity to move to 3-1 overall before commencing NSIC South play next week, while UMary needs a win to get back to .500 or risk falling to 1-3 on the year. Since 2001, no team in NSIC football has won their division or finished as a runner-up while also having three losses.
For Winona State, the focus on Saturday is four quarters of Warrior football. Week one saw that from the WSU squad, as the Warriors rolled to a 47-6 win over Concordia, St. Paul in a contest where Winona State dominated in all three phases of the game from start to finish.
In week two, on the road at Minnesota State - Moorhead, the Warrior offense started slowly while the defense kept the game within reach in a first half that saw WSU enter the locker room down, 0-7 to the Dragons. A superb second half saw Winona State score 27 unanswered points and dial up defensive take-aways to move on from Moorhead with a 27-13 victory and 2-0 season slate.
In week three at home, Winona State welcomed their toughest test of the year to date when Minnesota Duluth, ranked #13 in the country at the time, arrived in Altra Federal Credit Union Stadium. Like in week two, WSU suffered a slow start, down at the break, 3-26. Again, the Warriors rallied - led by quarterback
Owen Burke - and struck for 20 second half points while holding the Bulldogs to a mere fourth quarter field goal. Unfortunately on the day, UMD's first half margin materialized as the difference, with Minnesota - Duluth dealing Winona State a 29-23 setback, the Warriors first loss of the year.
Winona State expects to battle in Bismarck, facing a UMary program that has beaten them just once in seven tries. Other than a 2010 contest in which UMary beat WSU 21-17, the Warriors have experienced significant success under long-time head coach
Tom Sawyer against the Marauders. The last three matchups have featured a Warrior offense that scored 40 points or more in three victories, including a 51-0 shutout win in 2016.
Week four also provides the first quality benchmark statistically for many players, as several Warriors have logged important minutes in all three games. Offensively, Winona State is led by one of the best balanced quarterbacks in the NSIC, as
Owen Burke has taken almost every snap for the Warriors. In three games, Burke is 51-of-88 for 760 yards and has connected on five touchdowns while giving up just one interception. In the backfield,
Javian Roebuck has 213 yards on 36 carries and four touchdowns, while
Ty Gavin has earned a 8.1 yard-per-carry mark with 132 yards on 16 carries. Gavin has three scores on the yar so far and both Roebuck and Gavin have broke open long runs; Roebuck rambled for a 64-yard TD while Gavin galloped to a 52-yard score, both in week one.
The receiving corps is deep for the Warriors, with 13 players notching catches so far.
Jake Balliu, also a return specialist, leads the team in receptions (11) while
Ethan Wittenburg is tops in total yards (189). Saywer Maly makes the big plays downfield, with several long-distance catches on the year, including a 70-yard effort in week two. WSU also enjoys the twin towers of
Dakota Matthees and
Jaylen Schleicher, targets who typically tower over their coverage at 6'4" and 6'6", respectively.
Winona State is known for its defense, and the Warrior D starts with linebackers. Each NSIC opponent has brought out a different face from the WSU linebacking corps, with
Clay Schueffner,
Mitch Snitker,
Devon Moore,
Corrie King and
Carter Duxbury all featuring prominently at different times for long-time defensive coordinator
Brian Curtin. Schueffner earned NSIC defensive player-of-the-week in week one, while Moore and
Ben McCabe had game-changing interceptions in week two against the Dragons.
The WSU secondary has had its share of key open field stops as well, with
Cam Gavin,
David Munson and
Richard Azunna at the top of the charts in stops so far. Winona State has played its best football when the defensive line dominates their colleagues at the line of scrimmage;
Darius Manuel,
Cole LaLiberty and Nathan Wilcher all have TFL marks on the season, led by Manual with 3.5 TFL's, including two sacks.
One of the biggest questions coming into the 2021 season was the Warrior kicking game. Junior college transfer
Jacob Scott and UMD transfer
Tristan Root have had all the right answers so far, with both first-year Warriors stepping up in a consistent fashion. Scott is perfect on PAT's through four weeks at 11-of-11 and is 4-for-5 in field goal tries, with a longest kick of 35-yards. Root has punted 10 times for 377 total yards, good for a 37.7 yard-per-punt average and has hit 17 kickoffs.
Jake Balliu and
Darryl Williams have looked dangerous for WSU when in kick return mode; either specialist could take one the distance if the opportunity presents itself.
For head coach
Tom Sawyer and his team, a week four win will be about execution and finishing plays. Sawyer's success against UMary speaks for itself - a 6-1 record including the two most recent wins that saw the Warriors eclipse the 50-point plateau; 51-0 in 2016 and a 54-13 victory in 2018.
Sawyer sits at 192 - 86, one of the most successful coaches at any NCAA level and currently the second winningest active coach in the NCAA Division II ranks. Winona State will focus on the three's today in Bismarck; win the three phases of the game, gain their third win of 2021 and deliver win No. 193 to
Tom Sawyer.
Kickoff in Bismarck is set for 2pm; watch the
NSIC Network Livestream at
this link, or listen along on to Winona State's own
KQAL 89.5 FM by
clicking here. UMary's football page, including live stats, is available
at this link.
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.
