Kilat Fitzgerald/Winonan
The Winona State University football team endured a last-second loss against Augustana University in its home finale, falling 35-34 on Saturday in Winona.
“Our kids really played well. They were resilient, did what they had to do to get the ball and we should’ve won,” head coach Tom Sawyer said. “I’m really sad for our seniors, I mean they played their tails off, and to see them walk out of here, it was one I wish they could’ve had.”
The first half of the game was defense-oriented as the first three drives by Winona State ended in interceptions. Warrior quarterback Jack Nelson fired an interception on the first play of the game and the Vikings capitalized with an early touchdown for the 7-0 lead within the first two minutes.
The Warriors answered later in the first quarter with less than a minute and a half left, tying the score 7-7 with a trick-play pass from senior wide receiver Alan May to fellow senior wideout Josh Mikes for an 80-yard score, closing the first quarter with the game tied 7-7.
Mikes found the end zone again in the second quarter, this time Nelson connecting with him for the 68-yard strike to give the Warriors a 14-7 advantage. The two teams traded touchdowns throughout the game, as the Vikings tied the score 14-14 two minutes later with a 51-yard touchdown from Heid to wide receiver Jason Greenway.
The Warriors reclaimed their lead with a little over six minutes remaining when running back Eric Birth vaulted over the Vikings’ defensive players as well as the goal line pylon for the 10-yard touchdown, putting Winona State up 21-14. However, with less than a minute left, Augustana’s CJ Ham made a one-yard run into the end zone to tie the score again as the scoreboard read 21-21 heading into the locker room.
With the first half of the game filled with matching touchdowns and a number of turnovers, the Warriors managed to establish the lead in the third quarter. During an early point in the third, Nelson set another Winona State record in the season, this time in single-season passing yards. Drew Aber set the previous record in 2007, marked at 3,004 passing yards.
The Warriors took the lead again, 24-21, with a field goal from Carter McCauley. Late in the third, a 22-yard reception from May for the score extended the lead 31-21 before Augustana’s Ham added his second one-yard touchdown of the day to cut it to 31-28.
The last points the Warriors put on the board were by McCauley on a 34-yard field goal for the 34-28 lead, setting the stage for an intense finish to a tight game.
From the nine-yard line, the Vikings had 20 seconds left in the game to surpass the Warriors, who held a six-point lead. Augustana quarterback Trey Heid rushed for a three-yard gain, falling out of bounds with one second left on the game clock.
One second would be all Heid needed, as he escaped oncoming pressure from the Warrior defense and tossed the game-tying touchdown in the middle of the end zone, followed by the extra point to secure their victory 35-34.
“Honestly, it hurts when you think you won the game, then it comes down to a crazy play at the end and it goes their way, but that’s the game of football,” Mikes said. “We gotta get right back to work tomorrow, get ready for Southwest, finish out the season with a one-game win streak.”
Senior defensive lineman Jeff Brown said playing a full game has been the team’s motto all season.
“It’s just the fact that we didn’t finish, you know, that’s what we preach. That’s our motto. We always preach to play a full game, and we played 59 minutes,” Brown said.
Mikes posted his second career game with at least 200 yards receiving, corralling five receptions for 203 yards and two touchdowns. Mikes currently has 31 scores in his Warrior career, jumping into third place on the all-time board and is one behind Scott Peters for second.
Nelson finished the game 21-of-33 for 318 yards with a couple of touchdowns and one sack, despite tossing four interceptions-a first in the quarterback’s career.
“I just wasn’t throwing very good balls,” Nelson said. “The first play of the game I just didn’t hit it high enough, the second one I just tried fit it in a window, mistakes I usually don’t make. The fourth one I was just trying to get the ball out of bounds.”
Defensively, senior linebacker Ian Murray led the way with a career-high 16 tackles, a tackle-for-loss, a half sack and an interception. Redshirt first-year linebacker Nickai Poyser and sophomore linebacker Mike Imperiale each added 13 tackles while sophomore defensive back Andrew Spencer chipped in 11. As a team, the Warriors dropped the Viking quarterback five times.
Sawyer said the team could improve in their fundamentals.
“It’s just fundamentals; it’s the same thing that’s haunted us before. Special team’s penalties in this game were crucial, I mean it just killed us in field positioning. We didn’t see the midfield until the end of the second quarter,” Sawyer said. “We just gotta clean up our penalties, and obviously turnovers. That was just a freaky deal. That’s seven we’ve had in two games so something’s got to change. But we’ll get it fixed.“
Winona State (5-5) wraps up its regular season Saturday when it heads to Marshall, Minn., where the team will face Southwest Minnesota State University for a 1 p.m. kickoff.
