WAYNE – The first part of the NSIC South Division schedule closed out Saturday evening before the entire month of October will feature cross-division play.
From Bob Cunningham Field on the campus of Wayne State College, WSC entertained Concordia-St. Paul. The Wildcats had another great start to the first half but their lead went away in the second half. The Golden Bears put together the go-ahead drive late in the fourth to win 28-21 to now sit 3-1 on the season and WSC fell to 1-3.
Following an opening drive fumble by WSC, senior kicker Danny Laudet of Concordia-St. Paul made a 49-yard field goal with 10:19 remaining in the first quarter to put CSP up 3-0. WSC then put together a pair of lengthy second quarter scoring drives when sophomore quarterback Alex Thramer hooked up with junior tailback Ryyan Wilkins from 18-yards out (13 plays, 75 yards) and senior running back Lorenzo Logwood rushed in from 11-yards (8 plays, 82 yards) to put the ‘Cats up 14-3.
Concordia-St. Paul ended the second quarter when senior quarterback Maxon Hutton completed a six-yard score to senior wideout Marcus Gustaveson with :27 seconds left until half to trail 14-10 entering the break.
In the second half, Laudet converted a 21-yard field goal with 8:53 left in the third and Hutton ran in for a 76-yard score (5:20 remaining in the third).
Redshirt freshman quarterback Tavian Willis then found junior wideout Taurean Grady for a 17-yard passing score with 7:44 reaming in the fourth quarter. CSP closed the game out when freshman running back Darios Crawley-Reid rushed in from three-yards out with three minutes left in the game (12 plays, 75 yards) to win 28-21.
Willis went 10-13 for 129 yards with a touchdown while running the ball 16 times for 68 yards and had one fumble. Thramer finished 7-12 for 84 yards and a touchdown as he also ran six times for 37 yards. Wilkins led the ground attack with 14 carries for 70 yards (receiving TD) while Logwood finished with seven carries for 31 yards and a touchdown.
The top receivers were Grady (64 yards/TD),junior tight end Corbin Foster (62 yards) and redshirt freshman wideout Jason Hawkins (31 yards) all with four catches. Sophomore wideout Mason Lee added two grabs for 27 yards.
Defensively, senior linebacker Ian Ailts recorded 10 tackles (seven solo), followed by junior safety Kevin Ransom with six tackles (three solo) and senior corner Aaron Wright with five tackles (four solo, 1.5 tackles for loss). Senior lineman Kolbie Foster and sophomore lineman Ryan Parker both accounted for a half sack.
Wayne State finished with 28 first downs compared to 17 by CSP as the ‘Cats ran 75 plays for 440 yards. WSC also won the time of possession 32:29 – 27:31.
The Wayne State College football team will next host Minnesota Crookston during their homecoming/hall of fame game on Saturday, October 5.