Wayne State Drops Opener
At Northern Iowa

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 the third 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 nine 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.

Adam Nemer-Kaiser punted 11 times and averaged 41.5 yards per kick.

Wayne State commences the conference portion of its schedule on Sept. 14 at Findlay with a 6 p.m. kickoff. WSU’s home opener is slated for noon on Sept. 21 against Grand Valley State, the preseason No. 1 team in Division II.