MOORHEAD, Minn. – Winona State fell 45-21 at MSU Moorhead behind a dominant performance from Jack Strand. The Dragons high powered offense had three receivers with over 100 receiving yards to rout the Warriors.
MSU Moorhead jumped out to a 17-0 lead at halftime. The Warriors would cut it to 24-14 at the closest, but the Dragons offense was too much for WSU.
How it Happened:
Winona State forced a punt on the Dragons opener drive behind a big third down sack by
Jamison Klein. Both teams would be held scoreless in the rest of the first quarter, as the Warriors forced a turnover on downs with 9:52 left in the first quarter, in the Dragons redzone.
MSU Moorhead struck first with a 17-yard touchdown pass from Strand to Brady Perryman with 13:51 left in the first half. WSU punted again on their following drive with MSUM scoring again on a 12-play 85-yard drive capped off with a Strand rushing touchdown to make it 14-0 with 3:37 left in the first half. The Dragons then tacked on a 46-yard field goal to end the half to make it 17-0 at the break.
The Warriors got on the board to start off the second half on a 33-yard touchdown pass from
Jackson Flottmeyer to freshman
Nolan Ginskey to cut the Dragon lead to 17-6, with 9:55 left in the third quarter. Both teams would force punts on their ensuing drives. MSU Moorhead extended their lead to 24-6 after another Perryman receiving touchdown from Strand. The Warriors started their following possession from the 50-yard line after a 25-yard kick return from Ginskey. WSU then marched down the field with a three-play 50-yard drive finished off by a 45-yard bomb to another freshman receiver
Jake Schultz. The Warriors
James Durst caught a two-point conversion to tighten the Dragon lead to 24-14.
The start of the fourth quarter saw more success from Strand as he found Gage Florence for a four-yard score to make it 31-14 with 13:40 left in the contest. Perryman caught his third TD from Strand after an interception turned over a short field for the Dragons making it 38-14. Following another score from MSU Moorhead,
Anthony Powell found the end zone for the second straight week for the Warriors to make it a final 45-21.
Statistical Comparison:
- Winona State tallied 318 total yards with 210 passing and 108 rushing yards.
- MSU Moorhead gained 472 yards with 372 through the air and 100 on the ground.
- MSUM led in time of possession 30:52-29:08.
- The Warriors threw two interceptions on the afternoon with the Dragons recorded zero turnovers in the victory.
- Flottmeyer started at quarterback for WSU and went 17-30 with 191 yards through air with two passing touchdowns and two picks. Justin Wohlers also played for Winona State; he went 1-4 for 19-yards.
- Powell led the rushing attack for the second straight week after going for 69 yards on 15 attempts and a rushing touchdown.
- Freshman receivers Schultz and Ginskey each recorded touchdowns in the loss. Schultz amassed 79 yards on four receptions with Ginskey recording 52 yards on his two catches.
- Joe Sikma led the Warriors in receptions with seven for 52 yards.
- Defensively for WSU, Klein led the squad with 1.5 sacks with Ethan Doucette and David Nies each recording a sack apiece.
- For the Dragons, Jack Strand put on a clinic going 27-46 for 372 yards and four touchdowns through the air. He tacked on a rushing score to go with his 21-yards on the ground.
- MSU Moorhead had a trio of receivers record over 100 receiving yards in the win. The Dragons were led by Perryman who had five catches for 124 yards and three touchdowns. Florence racked up ten catches for 103 yards and a touchdown with Madden Thorson hauling in five passes for 101 yards.
Winona State (1-2, 1-1 NSIC) will look to turn it around next week as they return home to play Minot State University on Saturday, September 20
th with a 1:00pm kickoff at Altra Federal Credit Union Stadium.
