WINONA, Minn. – Winona State football dominated the entirety of the game and defeated MSU Moorhead 33-6 on a beautiful October afternoon in Altra Federal Credit Union Stadium.
The Warriors offense was clicking in the first half, scoring on four of five first-half drives. In his first career start, redshirt freshman
Jackson Flottmeyer led the Warriors on a 17-play, 8:33 scoring drive that ended in a
Jacob Scott field goal.
After forcing a quick three-and-out, which included a
Kyjuan Vengrowsky sack, the Warriors needed just 53 seconds to score their first touchdown of the game.
Josh Buri found paydirt on a 52-yard rush after scampering through the MSUM defense to give Winona State a 10-0 lead in the first frame.
The Warriors added two more touchdowns in the second quarter with the first one capping off an 11-play, 72-yard drive as Flottmeyer collected his first career touchdown on a 29-yard pass to
Sylvere Campbell.
After a
Nick Bucaro interception that stalled a Dragon drive in the redzone with 1:41 remaining in the half, WSU needed just over a minute to score on a trick play. Flottmeyer tossed a lateral out wide to
Joe Sikma, who then hit a wide-open
Cayden Holcomb for a walk-in 25-yard score to give Winona State a 23-0 lead heading into the locker room.
The Warriors extended their lead late in the third quarter with another Scott field goal, this time from 40 yards out and WSU led 26-0 after three quarters.
MSUM found the endzone with 6:40 left in the game on a Jack Strand to Luke Imdieke touchdown pass. The ensuing two-point conversion was no good. The Dragons attempted an onside kick, but the Warriors were able to recover. On the following drive, WSU traveled 61 yards on three plays as
Ty Gavin crossed the goal line on an 11-yard rush.
Winona State was able to stop MSU Moorhead the rest of the game to earn a dominating 33-6 victory.
Flottmeyer shined in his first-career start, throwing for 107 yards and rushing for 87, both team highs. Campbell hauled in six receptions for 77 yards and a score while Holcomb grabbed 3 balls for 28 yards.
Josh Buri notched 80 yards on nine carries while
Cair'ron Hendred and Gavin added 81 yards and 65 yards, respectively.
The Winona State defense had their best performance of the season against one of the strongest offensive teams in the league. MSUM came into the contest averaging nearly 375 yards passing/game, and WSU held them to just 230 yards passing and only 37 yards rushing.
Bucaro and
Brent Jeske each picked up interceptions, and Vengrowsky,
Ethan Torgrimson,
Bronson Schofield, and
John Klinger each earned sacks.
Winona State (2-3, 2-2 NSIC) returns home next week as the Warriors host UMary for Homecoming. Kickoff will be at 2:00pm on Saturday, October 12th.
For the most up to date news in Warrior Athletics, please visit:
www.WINONASTATEWARRIORS.com and
@WinonaStateATH.
