Wayne State 47 University of Mary 21
Senior quarterback Silas Fluellen completed 15 of 18 passes for 220 yards and four touchdowns to earn Egg Bowl Most Valuable Player honors, leading Wayne State in a 47-21 win over the University of Mary in Northern Sun Conference football played Saturday afternoon in Wayne. The Wildcats end the season at 8-3 and keep alive an outside chance of making either the NCAA Division II playoffs or the Mineral Water Bowl, given to the highest finishing NSIC team that does not reach NCAA post season play. Wayne State entered this weekend’s play ranked eighth in the NCAA Division II Super Region 3 Rankings.
Wayne State took the opening drive and marched 68 yards on six plays and scored on a Frederick Bruno 17-yard run to take a 6-0 lead. Mary countered with a score on the following drive as Jamal Lomax scored on a four-yard run to give the Marauders a 7-6 lead with 9:16 to play in the first quarter. Later in the first quarter, Wayne State took the lead for good as Nick Hope booted a 31-yard field goal to put the ‘Cats in front 9-7 with 2:52 left in the first quarter.
In the second quarter, Wayne State scored three touchdowns to take a 30-14 lead at halftime. David Ferris scored on a six-yard run at the 14:22 mark to give WSC a 16-7 lead. Bruno and Silas Fluellen connected on a 39-yard scoring play with 11:35 left in the first half to make the score 23-7 Wayne State. Mary scored midway through the second quarter on a Terry Newsome 17-yard run with 8:07 to go, cutting the Wildcat lead to 23-14. Fluellen found Mitch Montgomery on a 13-yard scoring pass with 2:52 to play in the first half to make the halftime score 30-14.
In the third quarter, Nick Pulscher was on the receiving end of a nine-yard pass from Fluellen, giving WSC a 37-14 lead with 8:18 to play in the quarter. Later in the quarter, Mary’s Henry Lau hit Lomax on a 15-yard scoring pass with 2:44 left in the quarter to make the score 37-21. WSC then took the ensuing drive and marched 72 yards on seven plays, capped by a 25-yard scoring pass from Fluellen to Logan Masters to make the score 44-21 after three quarters.
The lone score in the fourth quarter was a Nick Hope 32-yard field goal with 12:46 to play, making the final score 47-21.
Wayne State finished the game with 436 yards of total offense compared to 301 for Mary. The ‘Cats had 210 yards rushing and 226 yards passing while Mary had 130 on the ground and 171 through the air.
For Wayne State, Fluellen earned Egg Bowl MVP honors by completing 15 of 18 passes for 220 yards and four scores while adding another 44 yards rushing. Wayne State’s top rusher was David Ferris with 70 yards on 10 carries followed by Nick Pulscher with 50 yards on nine rushes. Frederick Bruno was Wayne State’s top receiver with five catches for 77 yards followed by Logan Masters with four receptions for 63 yards.
Mary was led by Egg Bowl MVP Jamal Lomax, who rushed for 114 yards on 23 carries with one TD along with three catches for 24 yards and another score. Quarterback Henry Lau was 20 of 32 passing for 171 yards with one touchdown and four interceptions.
Defensively for Wayne State, senior linebacker Ryan Reeves had a game-high 11 tackles while Kyle Gardner added eight stops with an interception. Anthony Hale, Matt Greenway and Cody Swanson also had interceptions as the Wildcats forced Mary into five turnovers on the day.
Wayne State ends the season at 8-3 overall and 7-3 in the Northern Sun Conference.