Warriors Rally To Post Victory, 36-21

Randy Hutchinson

BIG RAPIDS, MIch. – The Wayne State Warriors picked up their first victory of the season by scoring 33 unanswered points in the second half to post a 36-21 conference win over Ferris State on Saturday, Sept. 28 before a FSU Hall of Fame crowd of 2,682 at Top Taggart Field.

Wayne State, which snapped a four-game series losing streak to the Bulldogs, improves to 1-3 overall and 1-2 in the GLIAC while Ferris drops to 1-2 overall and 0-2 in conference play.

The host Bulldogs claimed a 14-3 lead after the opening quarter thanks to a five-yard TD bootleg by junior quarterback Tom Marsan at the 10:14 mark and a 26-yard TD pass play from Marsan to freshman split end Carlton Brewster with 18 seconds remaining in the quarter. A 37-yard field goal by sophomore kicker Stephen Wayne gave the Warriors a 3-0 lead just three minutes into the contest.

Ferris went on to add another score in the second quarter as Marsan, who passed for 273 yards, notched his second passing TD of the game by hooking up with sophomore tight end Austin Malloy on a 30-yard TD scoring strike to give the hosts a 21-13 halftime advantage.

However, the tables abruptly turned in the second half as Wayne State dominated by reeling off 19 straight third-quarter points to claim a 22-21 lead going into the fourth quarter. Senior wide receiver Nate Collins scored on a five-yard TD run with just under 10 minutes left in the quarter and then five minutes later, the Warriors scored again as senior running back Thabiti Williamson dashed 22 yards to paydirt, narrowing the margin to 21-16. WSU proceeded to take the lead for good with just over two minutes remaining when sophomore quarterback Randy Hutchinson found junior wideout Lynn Morton all alone in the end zone to complete a 32-yard TD aerial.

A 15-yard TD Hutchinson pass to Collins with 2:18 left to be played and then 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. Randy Hutchinson, who came in for the starter Dan Gray, finished with 140 passing yards and two touchdowns on 10-of-12 completions to pace the WSU offensive attack. Nate Collins' five receptions for 51 yards and Lynn Morton's 108 receiving yards on four catches supported the effort.

On the ground, Thabiti Williamson rushed for 77 yards on 15 carries while junior running back Craig Duppong ran 19 times for 75 yards.

WSU's enior free safety Derrick Thomas compiled a team-high eight tackles and sophomore linebacker Mohamad Bazzi had seven stops in the victory. Junior middle linebacker Luke Piepkow of Ferris led all tacklers with a game-high 11 stops, including eight solos.