Saturday, September 6, 2008
Wayne State 28 MSU Moorhead 21
Silas Fluellen threw for 315 yards and four touchdowns to lead Wayne State College in a 28-21 win over MSU Moorhead in the Northern Sun Conference opener for both teams Saturday afternoon at Cunningham Field in Wayne. The Wildcats are 2-0 for the first time since 1995 and are now 1-0 in the league while dropping MSU Moorhead to 0-2 overall and 0-1 in the NSIC.
Despite Wayne State holding a sizeable edge in total offense throughout the game, the visiting Dragons remained close due to three Wildcat turnovers. Wayne State opened the scoring midway through the first quarter when Fluellen found Logan Masters on a 15-yard scoring strike to cap a five play, 60 yard drive following an MSU Moorhead fumble by running back Enol Gilles that put the Wildcats in front 7-0 with 4:36 left in the first quarter. WSC struck again late in the first quarter when Fluellen hit Eric Meyer with a 38 yard scoring pass, putting the Wildcats up 14-0 with 1:39 to go in the first quarter.
MSU Moorhead took advantage of a botched punt snap by the Wildcats late in the second quarter, giving the Dragons the ball at the WSC 35 yard line with 2:45 remaining in the second quarter. The Dragons marched 35 yards on four plays with quarterback Craig Kutz connecting with Bruce Green on a nine-yard scoring play, cutting the Wildcat lead to 14-7 with 54 seconds left in the first half. However, WSC came right back and the Wildcats used a five-play, 62 yard drive just before halftime as Fluellen and Masters teamed up for their second score of the day, this one from 16 yards out, as the Wildcats took a 21-7 lead into halftime.
After WSC turned the ball over on a fumble on the first possession of the second half, MSU Moorhead drove 22 yards on just three plays to score as Kutz found Tyrone Small on a 14-yard scoring play, trimming Wayne State’s advantage to 21-13 with 11:47 remaining in the third quarter. Later in the quarter, Wayne State put together a four-play, 97 yard scoring drive as Fluellen found a wide open Brian Chapman on a 75-yard scoring pass, giving the Wildcats a 28-13 lead with 6:58 to go in the third quarter.
The final score of the game came late in the fourth quarter as MSU Moorhead marched 70 yards on 11 plays, capped by a five-yard pass from Kutz to Nick Scharpf, making the score 28-21 with 2:05 to play. The Dragons then tried an onside kick, but the ball was recovered by Wayne State’s Logan Masters and the Wildcats held on for a 28-21 win.
Wayne State had 469 yards of total offense while holding MSU Moorhead to just 215 yards. The Wildcats had 154 yards rushing and 315 passing while the Dragons had just 28 yards on the ground and 187 yards passing.
Fluellen finished the game completing 19 of 32 passes with four touchdowns and one interception for 315 yards. Brian Chapman had seven receptions and 155 yards with one score to lead Wildcat receivers while Logan Masters finished with six catches for 82 yards and two touchdowns. Travis Rhone was the top rusher for Wayne State with 69 yards on 20 carries.
MSU Moorhead quarterback Craig Kutz was 23 of 50 passing for 187 yards and three touchdowns with one interception. Jabari Taylor led the Dragons in receiving with seven catches for just 16 yards while Bruce Green had four receptions for 45 yards and one score.
Senior defensive end Troy Pribnow had a big game for the Wayne State defense, recording a team-high nine tackles with a fumble recovery, a forced fumble, three tackles for losses of 14 yards, 1.5 sacks for minus 11 yards and four quarterback hurries. Linebackers Luke Hoffman and Ryan Reeves each added seven tackles for the Wildcats.
Wayne State will be on the road next weekend as the Wildcats visit St. Cloud State for a 1:00 p.m. contest at Husky Stadium.