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 Jake Weingartz had a game-high three receptions for 114 yards. |
Oct. 28, 2006
Midland, Mich. - The Wayne State University football team (5-4 overall, 5-3 GLIAC) battled 17th-ranked Northwood (7-1 overall, 7-1 GLIAC) to the wire before falling 48-34 at Hantz Stadium.
The Warriors committed two costly turnovers that led to a 34-20 halftime deficit. On the opening possession of the game, WSU drove to the Timberwolves three yardline aided by a 58-yard kickoff return by senior Derrion Fuqua (Detroit, Mich.). But a false start penalty and then a fumble prevented an early Wayne State lead.
The WSU defense came up with a turnover to squelch Northwood's first two drives. Alan Clay recovered a fumble near midfield on NU's opening drive, then Jerriel Burrus intercepted a pass, also near midfield, on Northwood's next possession.
Wayne State turned the second turnover into an early advantage as freshman running back Joique Bell (Benton Harbor, Mich.) tossed a 40-yard pass to senior wide receiver Jake Weingartz (Lapeer, Mich./East) on the first play following Burrus' interception.
Northwood drove 85 yards following the kickoff, but the extra point kick was no good and WSU had a 7-6 advantage.
Dante Dunn (Lansing, Mich./Waverly) took the kickoff 44 yards across midfield. Four Bell carries set up a 38-yard field goal by David Chudzinski (Belleville, Mich.) which gave WSU a 10-6 lead wtih 2:15 remaining in the first quarter.
On the first play from scrimmage following the kickoff, NU's Torris Childs went 67 yards for the go-ahead touchdown and a 13-10 NU lead.
Wayne State responded with a 13-play, 65-yard drive with Chudzinski making a 25-yard field goal attempt to tie the game at 13. A big play on the drive was a 13-yard reception by freshman Matt Verley (Grand Rapids, Mich.) from freshman quarterback Trent Pohl (Lansing, Mich./Grand Ledge) on a third-and-four.
Northwood used a 12-play, 52-yard drive following the kickoff to take a 20-13 lead on a five-yard run by Antonie Ivy. WSU punted on its next possession and Northwood used just five plays to cover 67 yards with Ivy scoring on a six-yard run.
On WSU's next drive, the fourth down snap went over the punter and Northwood recovered at the Wayne State one-yard line with 48 seconds left before intermission. Childs scored a touchdown on the first play for a 34-13 NU lead.
A 16-yard kickoff return by Dunn, plus a 15-yard personal foul penalty on Northwood gave WSU the ball at the NU 40. Verley caught a 20-yard pass from Pohl on the first play, then Pohl found Bell in the end zone on the next play for a 20-yard scoring toss. WSU went into the locker room trailing 34-20.
Northwood gained 343 yards in the first half (334 on the ground) compared to WSU's 209 yards (107 rushing, 102 passing).
The Wayne State defense stopped Northwood on a fourth-and-five at the WSU eight on the opening drive of the third quarter. The Warriors responded with an 11-play, 95-yard drive to pull within seven on a Bell one-yard rushing touchdown. Bell had eight carries for 60 yards on the drive, while senior Chris Middlebrooks (Romulus, Mich.) had three rushes for 20 yards.
Neither team was able to score on its next possession, but WSU was unable to field a punt after a three-and-out by the Northwood offense. The Timberwolves took over at the WSU 20 following the muffed punt return and scored two plays later for a 41-27 advantage.
Wayne State's fake punt on its next drive resulted in an incomplete pass and Northwood drove 48 yards in four plays for a 48-27 lead with 2:24 left in the game.
The Warriors did not quit and drove 70 yards in seven plays with Pohl scoring on an eight-yard scramble on fourth down. A big play on the drive was a 49-yard reception by Weingartz.
Bell finished the contest with 179 yards on 30 carries as WSU gained 197 yards on the ground. Three different NU ball carries reached the century mark as the Timberwolves rushed 51 times for 495 yards.
Pohl completed eight-of-18 passes for 159 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions. NU's Kyle Kolbe was two-of-five for 12 yards.
Wayne State will play its final home game of the season on November 4th at noon against Ashland at Adams Field.
Notes:
Wayne State dropped its first road game of the season on Saturday to fall to 3-1 away from Detroit.
The Warrior defense has allowed 820 yards rushing the last two games after Northwood gained 495 yards on 51 carries.
WSU allowed just 687 rushing yards in the first seven games.
Senior wide receiver Jake Weingartz (Lapeer, Mich./East) recorded his first 100-yard receiving game with three catches for 114 yards. He had a 40-yard TD reception from Joique Bell (Benton Harbor, Mich.), a 49-yard reception from Trent Pohl (Lansing, Mich./Grand Ledge) that set up WSU's final touchdown, after a 25-yard catch from Pohl.
Bell had a "hat trick" of touchdowns with a rushing touchdown in the third quarter, the aforementioned first quarter TD pass to Weingartz, and a receiving touchdown just before halftime.
WSU's third quarter TD drive of 95 yards ties a season-long set against Grand Valley.
Pohl had his first career rushing TD. He has thrown 77 straight passes without an interception.
Place-kicker David Chudzinski (Belleville, Mich.) tied the school career mark by making all four extra points on Saturday increasing his consecutive PAT streak to 32. Chudzinski needs one field goal made to tie the WSU single-season mark of 12.
Bell set WSU single-season records for rushing yards (1,663), touchdowns scored (19), points (114) and GLIAC rushing yards (1,553 - Michael Simpson of Findlay had 1,545 in 2004). He is currently tied for the most rushing TD (18) in a season and is second in all-purpose yards.
