THE GAME
The Wayne State University football team will try to snap a five-game losing streak at Findlay when the Warriors travel to face the Oilers on Saturday, Sept. 14. Kickoff is slated for 6 p.m. at UF’s Donnell Stadium.
UF won last year’s game in Ohio, 44-43, when Kevin Crooks ran 11 yards for the game-winning touchdown with 1:43 left in the fourth quarter. Warrior quarterback Dan Gray set a school-record with five touchdown passes and Pierre Brown had 11 receptions for 205 yards and three touchdowns.
INTERVIEW POLICIES
Media representatives should contact the Sports Information Office for all player and coach interviews. Players and coaches may be interviewed prior to or directly after practice during the season, but requests must be made through the Sports Information Office ahead of time.
THE COACHES
WSU head coach Steve Kazor is in his third season as the Warrior bench boss. He has a 7-14 record at Wayne State with an overall collegiate head coaching mark of 32-31 in his seventh season. Findlay head coach Dan Simrell has a 6-16 record in his third season with the Oilers. The former University of Toledo head coach (1982-89) has an overall head coaching record of 56-53-2.
THE SERIES
Findlay leads 7-3 in the all-time series having won four of the last five meetings. The Warriors are 0-5 in games at Findlay. In five of the seven losses to UF, WSU allowed at least 32 points. The Warriors have scored 84 points in the last two games against the Oilers.
IN THE POLLS
The Warriors were selected 11th in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) preseason coaches poll. Findlay received 11 more points than Wayne State and was picked 10th in the GLIAC coaches poll.
SHUTOUTS
Wayne State was blanked by Northern Iowa, 34-0, in the 2002 season opener. It was the first time since game one of the 1997 season (Bloomsburg 22-0) that the Warriors were held off the scoreboard, a span of 52 games.
YOUNG SQUAD
Of the 60 players that travelled to Cedar Falls for the Warriors, 22 had never played a down of college football, including 12 true freshmen.
- Brandon Dinkins saw time at free safety and the kickoff coverage team.
- Douglas Ducat played on special teams.
- Michael Hall played at linebacker and also on punt coverage.
- Tony Henry saw action at fullback.
- Michael MacDonagh started at one of the defensive end slots.
- Mike Hammoud played on the kickoff return team.
- Leo Wells started at one of the defensive end slots.
- Lynn Morton saw action at a wide receiver position.
- Greg Sims started at right tackle.
- Tony Shields started at one of the cornerback slots.
SCOUTING FINDLAY
The Oilers began the 2002 season with a 37-34 win over seventh-ranked Indiana University (Pa.) on Aug. 29. Andy Campbell made a 29-yard field goal with 85 seconds remaining. Robert Campbell, a junior running back, had a career-high 185 yards on 39 carries with two touchdowns. Junior wide receiver Jeff Rowe had nine receptions for 113 yards and three touchdowns. Senior Jeff Fraser completed 14 of 24 passes for 151 yards and three touchdowns. Findlay’s defense recorded four quarterback sacks and recovered three fumbles.
POSITIVE SIGNS
The Warriors had fewer penalties (7 to 6), fewer penalty yards (60 to 48), fewer fumbles (4 to 1), and threw fewer interceptions (1 to 0) than Northern Iowa.
NORTHERN IOWA 34, WAYNE STATE 0
The Wayne State University football team began the 2002 campaign with a 34-0 loss at Division I-AA powerhouse Northern Iowa.
The Warriors trailed 3-0 after the opening quarter at the UNI-Dome. The Panthers’ Mackenzie Hoambrecker connected on a 40-yard field goal during the game’s opening drive. WSU place-kicker Stephen Wayne missed on a 42-yard field goal attempt with 3:03 remaining in the first quarter. Cornerback Alvin Mask recorded his third collegiate interception, and his second career interception in Cedar Falls against the Panthers in the first quarter.
UNI scored two touchdowns and a field goal on its first three possessions of the second quarter (an 80-yard pass from Griff Jurgens to Marlus Mays; a 10-yard Jurgens to Mays pass; and a 33-yard field goal by Hoambrecker). Jurgens and Mays hooked-up on a 12-yard scoring toss with 1:54 left in thethird quarter, and Ben Sanderson returned a punt 51 yards on the final play
of the stanza giving UNI a 34-0 advantage.
Craig Duppong led all WSU rushers with 21 yards on 10 carries. Dan Gray completed eight of 26 passes for 100 yards, while Randy Hutchison connected on two of three passes for 16 yards. Five different receivers caught passes with Marqus Anthony recording a team-high three receptions. Eric Newton hauled in a 35-yard pass from Gray for WSU’s longest play of the contest. Adam Nemer-Kaiser punted 11 times and averaged 41.5 yards per kick.
The Warrior ground game was limited as three projected starters on the offensive line were unable to play. Andy Dombrowski and Darrell Czubaj were out with injuries, and Jaime Farias was awaiting certification. Wayne State’s defense held the Panthers to three-of-13 on third-down conversions. Qasim Basir had 12 total tackles including five unassisted. Mask, Mike Macek and Nate Collins (on a punt) all recovered fumbles.
TRANSFERS MAKE AN IMPACT
Junior College transfers Craig Duppong (Joliet J.C.) and Stephen Stokes (College of the Canyons) both saw significant playing time against Northern Iowa. Duppong led all WSU rushers with 10 carries and 21 yards. He also had the Warriors long run of 11 yards. Stokes returned two punts and two kickoffs and was second on the team with 38 all-purpose yards.
NEWS & NOTES
