Sam Thiel/ Winonan
Coming off of a loss against No. 4 Minnesota Duluth last week, the No. 25 Winona State University football team hit the road and faced Wayne State College last Saturday.
This away game resulted in the Warrior’s second loss in a row 27-7.
During the opening drive, quarterback Jack Nelson was sacked twice. The play-caller was dropped five times in the first half and eight times on the afternoon.
Nelson ended his day completing 14 of 39 pass attempts for 174 yards, a touchdown and a pair of interceptions. The Warriors posted 196 total yards on the offensive end while the Wildcats recorded 510.
Anthony Resnick led the team with 28 yards on four carries, while Paul Preston racked up 26 yards on seven carries. Alan May snagged six passes for 73 yards and the team’s lone touchdown.
Wayne State posted a 14-0 advantage by the halfway point of the first quarter. The Wildcats started the scoring with a two-yard rush by Ryan Ludlow.
The Wildcats tacked on another score with 5:09 remaining in the first half on Ludlow’s second score of the afternoon, this one a five-yard rush to give Wayne State the 20-0 lead.
The Wildcats found the end zone once again in the third quarter when Dunson recorded his second touchdown of the game on an 18-yard grab from Osborn to increase their lead 27-0.
Winona State got on the scoreboard on its first play of the fourth quarter when Nelson connected with May on a 21-yard score to cut the deficit 27-7.
The Warriors converted only third down on 15 attempts.
On the defensive end, the Warriors were able to intercept three balls thrown by Wayne State’s quarterback. Andrew Spencer and Anthony Catanese each recorded picks for Winona State. Larry Mbayu and Jarrett Wood also had ten tackles apiece to add to the defensive effort.
Head coach Tom Sawyer said, “We played very poorly. We expect to regroup for Mankato at home on Thursday.”
Lunder agreed and said the Warriors were not as sound as they needed to be.
“As a team we need to flush this game as soon as we step off the bus and turn our focus to Mankato,” Lunder said. “We understand the challenge we have in front of us and we will be ready to get back to work tomorrow.”
Winona State (3-2, 0-1 NSIC South) faces No. 3 Minnesota State at Winona on Thursday night for a nationally televised standoff underneath the Warrior Stadium lights. Kickoff is set for 7:06 p.m. on CBS Sports Network.
