Football || Wayne State University

WAYNE STATE FOOTBALL (1-3, 1-2 GLIAC)
vs. Ashland (0-5, 0-4 GLIAC)
Saturday, Oct. 25 • Detroit, Michigan

MATCH-UP AT A GLANCE:
Stadium: WSU Stadium (6,000)
Surface: Natural
Kickoff: 12:00 p.m.
Site: Detroit, Michigan
Series Record: Ashland leads 14-3

THE GAME
The Wayne State University football team will try to record back-to-back victories for the first time since Oct. 6-13, 2001, when the Ashland Eagles visit WSU Stadium for a noon kickoff this Saturday.

The Warriors won last year’s game in Ohio, 19-16, as Stephen Wayne made a 33-yard field goal on the game’s final play.

Dan Gray (278) and Jason Charron (148) combined to pass for 426 yards. Pierre Brown had 10 receptions for 179 yards and two touchdowns, while Sterling Walker had six catches for 113 yards.

THE COACHES
WSU head coach Steve Kazor is in his third season as the Warrior bench boss. He has an 8-16 record at Wayne State with an overall collegiate head coaching mark of 33-33 in his seventh season.

Ashland head coach Gary Keller has a 47-42 record in his ninth season with the Eagles. Keller has been with the Ashland program since 1982 following stints at Kenyon (1980-82) and Ohio University (1979-80).

THE SERIES
Ashland leads 14-3 in the all-time series having won the six of the last seven meetings. The Warriors are 1-7 in the games played in Detroit, and 2-7 in Ashland. WSU’s lone series win at home came in 1976, 31-28.

IN THE POLLS
The Warriors were selected 11th in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) preseason coaches poll. Ashland received 86 points in the GLIAC coaches preseason poll, which placed them fifth.

SCOUTING ASHLAND
The Eagles (0-5, 0-4 GLIAC) opened the season with two narrow losses (30-23 vs. Michigan Tech, and 29-26 at Edinboro). In the last three defeats, Ashland has been outscored 121-34 (32-7 vs. Northwood, 37-7 at Hillsdale, and 52-20 vs. Saginaw Valley State).

J.R. McCoy leads the squad in rushing with 444 yards on 131 carries. John Szabo has completed 81 of 153 passes (52.9%) for 852 yards and five touchdowns with six interceptions. Michael Hull (26 catches for 252 yards) and Kevin McMahon (23 catches for 310 yards) are the leading receivers. Place-kicker Austin Wellock is three of three on field goal attempts, and eight of nine in PATs.

Free safety Toby Stepsis leads the team with 39 tackles, while defensive Brett Bartlow has a team-high five sacks.

FERRIS STATE GAME NOTES
Sophomore quarterback Randy Hutchison had his third collegiate two-touchdown passing game in Saturday's come-from-behind win at Ferris State. Hutchison had two TD tosses last year against both Saginaw Valley State and Grand Valley State. He also had his first collegiate rushing touchdown against the Bulldogs.

Redshirt sophomore Lynn Morton, who had his first four career receptions, for 18 yards, against Grand Valley, had four catches for a career-high 108 yards and his first collegiate touchdown at FSU.

Junior running back Craig Duppong had his best game as a Warrior rushing for 75 yards on 19 carries.

Duppong, senior Thabiti Williamson and Hutchison helped the Warriors rush for 217 yards in the victory at Ferris. It was the first time WSU had rushed for more than 200 yards as a team since Sept 30, 2000, against Findlay when the Warriors racked up 213 yards on the ground.

Senior strong safety Qasim Basir returned to the lineup and had a team-high five solo tackles. He also forced a fumble at midfield with two minutes left in the game and WSU leading 29-21. Williamson increased his career total of all-purpose yards to 3,819 after rushing for 77 yards and having a 48-yard kickoff return late in the first quarter.

WAYNE STATE 36, AT FERRIS STATE 21
The Warriors earned their first victory of the season by scoring 33 unanswered second half points to record a GLIAC triumph at Ferris State.

In a tale of two halves, the Bulldogs scored 21 consecutive points after falling behind 3-0.

After intermission, Wayne State scored touchdowns on five of its six drives, with its sixth drive ending on downs at the FSU 4-yard line.

Ferris led in total offense, 224-128, through 30 minutes but the Warrior defense allowed just 105 yards in the second half and only two drives over three plays (a five-play, 23-yard drive, and a seven-play, 28-yard drive).

Randy Hutchison came in to start the third quarter and led WSU on a nine-play, 48-yard touchdown drive following an interception by Earl Carruthers. Nate Collins recorded his first Warrior touchdown run on a five-yard counter.

Following a Bulldog punt, WSU went 79 yards in six plays to pull within five at 21-16. Hutchison and Lynn Morton connected on a 44-yard pass to put the Warriors in FSU territory. Thabiti Williamson capped the drive with a 22-yard touchdown run, the 11th of his career.

The defense held the Bulldogs to 23 yards after the kickoff, and Stephen Stokes returned the punt 39 yards to the FSU 40. On second-and-two, Hutchison found Morton alone in the end zone for the go-ahead score on a 32-yard touchdown pass.

A 15-yard Hutchinson TD pass to Collins with 2:18 left followed by a 37-yard run by Hutchinson at the :13 mark accounted for the game's final scoring.

The Warriors' offense generated 441 total yards, which included 217 yards rushing and 224 in passing, while Ferris State totaled 329 yards but was held to only 56 yards on the ground.

WSU senior free safety Derrick Thomas compiled a team-high eight tackles and sophomore linebacker Mohamad Bazzi had seven stops in the victory. Freshman defensive end Leo Wells recorded his team-leading fourth sack.

WARRIORS IN THE GLIAC STATS Team Statistics (All Games)
Scoring Offense	10th	17.8 ppg
Scoring Defense	11th	34.2 ppg
Passing Offense	7th	197.5 ypg
Passing Defense	12th	269.0 ypg
Kickoff Returns	4th	21.9 ypr
Punting (net punting avg.)	12th	29.7
Turnover Margin	T-5th	+0.50 pg
Rushing Offense	10th	101.2 ypg
Rushing Defense	10th	203.2 ypg
Total Offense	10th	298.8 ypg
Total Defense	12th	472.2 ypg
Punt Returns	7th	6.9 ypr
Passing Efficiency	10th	95.2
Passing Defense Efficiency	12th	156.2
First Downs	10th	58
Opponent First Downs	T-11th	92
Sacks By	10th	5
Penalties	10th	63.2 ypg
Opponent Penalties	1st	88.2 ypg
Fourth-Down Conversions	8th	44.4%
Opponent Fourth-Down Conversions	11th	66.7%
Red Zone Offense	11th	63.6%
Red Zone Defense	8th	77.8%
Third-Down Conversions	12th	24.6%
Opponent Third-Down Conversions	6th	35.7%
Sacks Against	T-5th	6
Field Goals	10th	57.1%
PAT Kicking	11th	71.4%
Time of Possession	7th	28:51 pg
Kickoff Coverage	10th	21.8 ypr

Warrior Individuals in the GLIAC
Passing Yards Per Game	Dan Gray	10th, 123.2
Interceptions	Alvin Mask	T-2nd, 2
Passing Efficiency	Dan Gray	10th, 79.06
Punt Return Average	Stephen Stokes	8th, 6.9
Kickoff Return Average	Thabiti Williamson	4th, 26.0
Kickoff Return Average	Craig Duppong	9th, 23.3
Punting	Adam Nemer-Kaiser	4th, 39.5
Scoring (Kicking) Per Game	Stephen Wayne	T-9th, 4.2
Field Goals Made Per Game	Stephen Wayne	T-3rd, 1.00
Tackles Per Game	Derrick Thomas	2nd, 9.8
	Mike Nowicki	T-17th, 7.3
	Mohamad Bazzi	T-19th, 7.2
Sacks	Leo Wells	T-3rd, 4
Tackles For Loss	Leo Wells	2nd, 6
Tackles For Loss	Mohamad Bazzi	T-6th, 4.5
Fumbles Recovered	Mohamad Bazzi	T-1st, 2