Saturday, October 4, 2008
Wayne State 34 Upper Iowa 14
Logan Masters had 10 catches for 162 yards and two touchdowns, all season-highs, to lead Wayne State in a 34-14 win at Upper Iowa in Northern Sun Conference football played Saturday afternoon in Fayette, Iowa. The Wildcats improved to 4-2 overall and 3-2 in league play while dropping the host Peacocks to 1-5 overall and 1-4 in the NSIC.
Masters, a junior from Storm Lake, Iowa, opened the scoring for the Wildcats late in the first quarter as he hauled in a 22-yard scoring strike from Silas Fluellen to give WSC a 7-0 lead with 1:05 to play in the first quarter. The Wildcats increased their lead to 10-0 midway through the second quarter when Nick Hope booted a 33-yard field goal at the 7:05 mark. Upper Iowa then used a ball control drive, covering 65 yards on 12 plays using 6:25 on the clock, as Peacock quarterback Ben Curran scored on a one-yard run to make the score 10-7 with 44 seconds left in the first half.
But WSC struck for another score just before halftime as the ‘Cats covered 69 yards in just five plays, scoring with just six seconds left before halftime as Masters and Fluellen hooked up on a 25-yard scoring play, putting the Wildcats in front 17-7 at the intermission.
The Wildcats pushed their lead to 20-7 on the first drive in the second half as Hope kicked a 36-yard field goal with 10:07 to play in the third quarter for the only points scored by either team in the third quarter.
Early in the fourth quarter, the Wildcats used a Mario Melvin 44 yard punt return to give WSC the ball at the Upper Iowa 15 yard line. Three plays later, junior Eric Meyer scored on a one-yard run to give the Wildcats a 27-7 lead with 14:20 remaining in the game. Upper Iowa used a big pass play, 57 yards from Ben Curran to Lawrence Hellams, to cut the WSC lead to 27-14 with 13:44 left in the contest. WSC would add an insurance score later in the fourth quarter as Travis Rhone found the end zone on a 10-yard run with 8:08 to play to complete the scoring in the game as Wayne State went on to the 34-14 win.
Wayne State had 401 yards of total offense in the game compared to Upper Iowa’s 273. The Wildcats had 110 yards rushing and 291 passing while the Peacocks were held to just 69 yards rushing and 204 yards passing.
WSC junior quarterback Silas Fluellen completed 18 of 29 passes for 291 yards with two touchdowns. Masters was his favorite target with 10 receptions and 162 yards and two touchdowns, extending his streak of games with at least two catches to 29. Sophomore Robert Perry added four catches for 75 yards in the Wildcat win.
The top rusher for Wayne State was Travis Rhone with 54 yards on 10 carries and one touchdown while Eric Meyer returned to the WSC lineup after missing three games due to an elbow injury and rushed for 35 yards on 12 carries and a touchdown.
Senior outside linebacker Reno Blomquist topped the Wayne State defense with nine tackles, including one sack and two tackles for loss for 15 yards. Junior Ryan Reeves added seven stops and had his team-high third interception of the season.
Wayne State will be at home next weekend as the Wildcats host Bemidji State in the Homecoming/Hall of Fame Game at Cunningham Field in Wayne with kickoff set for 1:00 p.m.