Kilat Fitzgerald/Winonan

The Winona State University football team lost momentum in the second half of its homecoming football game, resulting in a 31-20 loss Saturday against St. Cloud State University.

A turnout of 5,313 people marked Altra Federal Credit Union Stadium’s second largest crowd in history, fueling the enthusiastic atmosphere homecoming is known for. However, the loss to the Huskies knocked the Warriors to 2-2 on the season.

“They made big plays, we didn’t,” coach Tom Sawyer said. “Homecoming expectations will never be too high. If they became too high then I’m in the wrong spot.”

The Warriors got off to a fast start, with Paul Preston hauling in a 75-yard pass from Jack Nelson for the touchdown to take the 7-0 lead 14 seconds into the game.

The Huskies responded with a score of their own on a 6-yard run by running back Jaden Huff, tying it at 7-7 four minutes later. Ultimately, the Warriors regained the lead at the end of the first quarter when Nelson found the hands of Alan May to give Winona State a 14-9 advantage.

A 19-yard field goal kick from Carter McCauley built up the Warrior lead to 17-7 at the beginning of the second quarter, a score that remained until St. Cloud connected on a 20-yard field goal that cut the deficit to 17-10 going into the locker rooms.

On the first drive of the third quarter, Huskies’ quarterback Nate Meyer tied the game with a 5-yard scamper that brought the score 17-17. The tie was broken as Winona State took the lead again, 20-17, with a 47-yard field goal that tied the third-longest field goal in program history. McCauley also set the top two kicks at 54 and 53 yards against Minot State in Winona State’s last home game.

The Warriors met their downfall in the fourth quarter after St. Cloud State had the ball for more than 10 minutes.

With the Huskies attempting a field goal from the 6-yard line on the fourth down, a botched snap resulted in a 5-yard run by holder Jameson Parsons to the 1-yard line. The run earned a first down where Huff eventually found the end zone for the go-ahead touchdown to bring the score to 24-20.

“We got some good rhythm going. It was a good game by two Northern Sun opponents,” St. Cloud State University head coach Scott Underwood said.

This rhythm set the pace for a rushing attack in which St. Cloud State running back Ledell White increased the lead 31-20 with a 5-yard score. The Huskies tallied 96 of its 320 rushing yards in the fourth quarter.

May attributed the loss to a lack of focus.

“It’s kind of been the story of our two losses,” May said. “We just kind of shot ourselves in the foot. We gotta get better next week.”

“When we don’t beat ourselves, we win. We just gotta do things right. We can be angry, but we’re still in it. We’re going right back to work tomorrow,” Sawyer added.

May added seven passes for 126 yards and a touchdown to his senior year stats.

Nelson ended the day completing 23 of his 42 pass attempts for 329 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

“We’re definitely going to be ready to get back out on the field next Saturday, I can guarantee that,” linebacker Jarrett Wood said.

Winona State (2-2) begins NSIC South Division play with a road matchup against Concordia-St. Paul at Sea Foam Stadium. Kickoff is set for 12 p.m.