NMU football team takes down Wayne State

MARQUETTE, Mich. — The Northern Michigan University football team led by sophomore quarterback Shaye Brown, who threw for a career high 346 yards, racked up 440 yards of total offense to pick up a 33-30 win over Wayne State in Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Confernce action Saturday at the Superior Dome.

The win snaps a four-game skid for the Wildcats who improved to 2-5 on the season and 1-5 in GLIAC play. NMU’s last five games have been decided by a touchdown or less.

“It feels awesome and it feels deserved, I will tell you that. I think we made some plays late to put ourselves in a position to win the game. I am really excited for the kids, I am excited for our players because they put so much work in for this and they believe so heartedly that we are on the right path and you have to get paid at some point. So just really happy for our student-athltes,” said NMU head coach Chris Ostrowsky.

Freshman kicker Ryan LaBerge drained a 24-yard field goal with 22-seconds remaining in the game to put NMU back on top for the final time. Wayne State began their final drive but junior linebacker Loran Jaddou intercepted Wayne State quarterback Carl Roscoe, effectively ending the game with one second remaining on the clock.

Brown went 29-42 through the air with a touchdown and no picks in the contest. Junior wide reciever Marcus Tucker led NMU in receiving yards with 114 on six receptions while also returning six kicks for 204 yards to record 318 all-purpose yards.

Junior wide recieiver Trey Hipke led NMU with nine receptions and racked up 95 receiving yards.

Wayne State got on the scoreboard first when Desmond Martin ran in a score from 20-yards out with 6:53 left in the first quarter.

The Wildcats got on the board when LaBerge kicked his first of four field goals with 2:13 left in the first quarter, cutting the Wayne State lead to 7-3.

Wayne State’s Paul Graham kicked two field goals in the second quarter from 47 and 31-yards to give the Warriors a 13-3 lead.

NMU found the end zone for the first time when junior running back Wyatt Jurasin ran in a three-yard score to cut the Wayne State lead to 13-10 with 1:54 left in the first half.

Wayne State struck again before the half came to a close when Roscoe connected with Jamel Hicks for a 37-yard touchdown pass with 27-seconds left in the opening half carrying a 20-10 lead into halftime.

The Warriors stretched their lead to 23-10 on their first drive of the second half when Graham converted a 44-yard field goal with 12:39 left in the third quarter.

The Wildcats then took the lead after converting three unanswered scores. Brown connected with junior running back Terrance Dye from five yards out for a touchdown with 8:36 left in the third.

The NMU defense then held the Warriors to a three and out on their next drive. Grahm punted the ball 35 yards to NMU junior wide reciever Austin Young who then returned the kick 66-yards for a touchdown with 6:48 left in the third.

LaBerge tacked on another field goal with 10:52 left in the game to give NMU its first lead, 27-23.

Wayne State was able to recapture the lead on a nine-yard touchdown pass from Roscoe to Michael Johnson with 6:18 left in the game, 30-27.

LaBerge then connected on a 25-yard field goal with 4:58 left in the game before draining his final 24-yard attempt to put NMU back on top in the final minute.

Senior linebacker Nick Krause  and sophomore linebacker Dalton Stenberg led the NMU defense with seven solo tackles each, while Stenberg also recorded a sack in the contest. Junior defensive back Brandon Auguste had two interceptions in the game while Jaddou had one.

Jurasin led the NMU running attack with 68 yards on the ground and a touchdown on 22 carries.

The Wildcats continue action at 1 p.m. Oct. 25 when they travel to GLIAC foe Ashland.

(Information Courtesy of NMU Athletics)