Sam Thiel/ Winonan

The No. 20 Winona State University football team had fourth-ranked University of Minnesota Duluth on the ropes for the majority of the game, but they watched the Bulldogs walk away with a 28-21 victory Saturday night at Warrior Stadium.

“We had a great game against a great opponent,” head coach Tom Sawyer said. “We had opportunities and have a young football team in some areas, but we made some mistakes.”

In the first half quarterback Jack Nelson completed two of his seven pass attempts for 43 yards, which came from a touchdown to Josh Mikes to give Winona State a 7-0 lead.

The Warriors maintained their lead for most of the first half until Minnesota Duluth got on the scoreboard with a 30-yard field goal to head into the locker rooms with a 7-3 score.

Early in the third quarter, Nelson connected with Alan May on a 57-yard strike to increase the Warrior lead, 14-3.

The Bulldogs responded less than three minutes later when quarterback Drew Bauer found Zach Zwifel with a 27-yard pass to cut the lead to 14-10.

Later in the quarter, the Bulldogs connected on a 27-yard field goal to make the score 14-13.

In the fourth quarter Nelson connected again with Mikes, this time an acrobatic tip-and-catch for a 46-yard touchdown to save Winona State a 21-13 lead with 12:18 remaining in the game.

“I think we both got a hand on it. The pass was a little short,” Mikes said. “I was just trying to make a defensive play and bat the ball down, and I just happened to tip the ball into the air and finish the play.”

Sawyer said Mikes is a very important player for the Warriors.

“He’s a fantastic athlete, he’s in a different class,” Sawyer said. “We’re very fortunate to have him here. He’s a great leader, and he’s still got another year to go.”

But this would be all the Warriors would get.

Minnesota Duluth’s Bauer connected with Nate Ricci on passes of 12 and 15 yards for touchdowns to tie and ultimately take the lead for good at 28-21.

Paul Preston—who replaced Theo Burkett as the main running back after Burkett went down with an injury in the third quarter—ended his night with 11 carries for 79 yards while Winona State recorded 86 as a team.  The Bulldogs racked up 273 yards rushing.

Nelson ended the game with nine complete passes out of 24 thrown in addition to 274 yards and three thrown touchdowns.

Defensively, Collin Corcoran and Ryan Cain led the way for the Warriors.

Each recorded game-high 11 tackles, while Morgan Weaver recorded ten and Mitch Lunder had nine.

Weaver said, “We made a few mistakes and didn’t capitalize on our opportunities.”

Tyler Kubler posted six tackles and one and a half sacks. Ian Murray and Corcoran also had a sack apiece while Jarret Wood earned a half sack.

Anthony Catanese recorded an interception in the first quarter.

“A huge opportunity slipped through our hands tonight,” Mikes said. “They were scoring, but we did get some points on the board and do some good things offensively. We definitely let it slip by us.”

Winona State (3-1 in the NSIC) will hit the road next weekend, where they will face NSIC opponents, Wayne State University.

Kick-off is set for 1 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 4 in Wayne, Neb.