UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. – The Winona State University football team tallied four of the game's final five scores in their season opening matchup with Saginaw Valley State on Thursday, but were unable to over a significant first-half deficit in a 34-24 loss to the Cardinals.
Winona State fell behind 27-0 with three minutes left in the first half before Warrior quarterback
Cole Stenstrom connected with receiver
Kaleb Skelly just before the break to open the scoring for WSU.
Final Score: Saginaw Valley State 34 – 24 Winona State
How it happened:
Saginaw Valley State collected the first five scoring plays of the contest, opening with a 39-yard field goal, followed by a pair of Cardinal touchdown runs of 67 and 8 yards, respectively.
SVSU would move their lead to 27-0 with an another field goal, this time from 38 yards out, and TD pass with just over three minutes remaining in the first half.
Winona State would head into the locker room with some momentum however, when starting Winona State QB
Cole Stenstrom connected with
Kaleb Skelly on an 8-yard touchdown pass just before the halftime horn. The scoring effort capped a 9-play, 72-yard drive for Winona State.
After the break, Winona State struck again, doubling their point total and cutting the home side's lead to 27-14.
SVSU would answer with a 47-yard touchdown run to stretch their advantage to 34-14, but the long-distance TD rumble would be the final scoring play of the night for the fast-starting Cardinals.
Winona State saw
Jacob Scott connect on a 45-yard field goal in the third quarter, his second-longest career effort to date. Scott's kick closed the scoreboard gap to 34-17.
In the fourth quarter,
Dakota Matthees pulled in a touchdown pass from Stenstrom, finishing off an 11-play, 68-yard drive. Matthees scoring haul pulled Winona State to within two possessions at 34-24, but WSU was unable to further dent the SVSU advantage.
Winona State Individual statistical standouts:
Cole Stenstrom got the start at QB, going 16-of-37 for 160 yards and two touchdowns. SVSU picked off Stenstrom twice.
Noah Carlson and
Ty Gavin combined for 18 carries, accumulating 38 total yards.
Dakota Matthees and
Kaleb Skelly both earned 42 yards receiving on the night, with each claiming a touchdown grab.
Clay Schueffner led Winona State with 14 total tackles, including 10 solo stops.
Four other defenders;
Tristan Root,
Nathaniel Wilcher,
Trey Borske and Griffin Weigel, all had seven tackles each on the night.
Myles Hawthorne and
Aarion Lacy both had an interception in the game; Lacy returned his for 12 yards.
Tristan Root punted eight times for 341 total yards, dropping one kick inside the Cardinal 20-yard line.
Jacob Scott was perfect on the night, going 3-for-3 on PATs and connecting on a 45-yard field goal.
Winona State as a team:
Winona State earned one more first down than SVSU, 18-17, but were only able to muster 57 total rushing yards. WSU averaged 1.8 yards per carry on the night.
WSU won the aerial battle, with Stenstrom throwing for 182 yards, compared to 90 for Saginaw Valley.
Saginaw Valley State stat standouts:
Terrance Brown rushed for 168 yards and two touchdowns.
As a team, SVSU accumulated 406 yards on the ground in the game.
SVSU converted 8-of-15 (53%) of their 3
rd down attempts.
That's a stat:
Winona State's
Clay Schueffner notched double-digit tackles in the game (14), marking the fourth time in five games has tallied ten or more, dating back to Oct. 29
th of last year.
SVSU's Terrance Brown ran for 168 yards on 20 carries while Cardinal teammate Jarius Grissom averaged 12.3 yards per rush to pace the Saginaw Valley State run game.
Beyond the box score:
Thursday's contest marked the first-ever meeting between Winona State and Saginaw Valley State.
SVSU claimed the Red Feather Trophy following the contest, an annual accolade that has been affixed to college football in the Saginaw, Mich. area since 1952.
The Thursday night season opening contest marks the only contest Winona State will play on a day other than Saturday in 2023. It was also the only night game on the 2023 WSU regular season schedule.
Next up:
Winona State (0-1, 0-0 NSIC) will host Concordia St. Paul (1-0, 0-0 NSIC) on Saturday, Sept. 9. The Warriors and Golden Bears are set for a 1 p.m. kickoff in Altra Federal Credit Union Stadium in the NSIC opener for both teams. CSP defeated Upper Iowa 43-20 on Thursday at home in St. Paul, Minn.
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.
