ABERDEEN, S.D. – Winona State football suffered a 31-16 defeat at Northern State in the NSIC opener.
Winona State (0-2, 0-1 NSIC) trailed 14-0 after the first quarter, and the comeback effort came up short as Northern State (2-0, 1-0 NSIC) scored the game's final 10 points to hang on for the win.
How it happened
The Warriors received the opening kickoff and went three-and-out on the opening drive but forced an immediate punt by the Wolves. Freshman punter Duncan Schuette then booted a 65-yard punt to flip the field and pin Northern State at their own two-yard line. On the second play of the drive, NSU's Hank Kraft broke loose for a 92-yard touchdown run to give the Wolves a 7-0 lead.
Following another Winona State punt, Northern State tallied a second touchdown to take a 14-0 advantage as the first quarter came to a close. After trading possessions, WSU's Charlie Renner got a hand on an NSU punt and Logan Rogers recovered it at the 16-yard line, setting up Evan Swanstrom to connect on a 38-yard field goal, which put WSU on the board with just over four minutes left in the half.
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Winona State forced a punt on Northern State's opening drive of the second half and took over at its own 15-yard line for its first possession of the half. On second down, Noah Smith bounced a run outside and dashed for a 72-yard gain to bring the Warriors inside the 10-yard line. Swanstrom completed the drive with a 22-yarder to cut the deficit to 14-6. Northern State then followed it up with a field goal of its own to bring the lead back to 15.
On the ensuing drive, the Warriors marched down the field, aided by a Jahmani Muhammad 27-yard scamper, but stalled once again as Swanstrom added his third field goal of the night, this time from 26 yards. After getting the ball back, the Warriors were finally able to find the end zone as Jackson Flottmeyer connected with Rollin George III on fourth-and-goal to bring it to a one-possession game at 21-16 with 9:55 left.
With momentum on their side, WSU picked up a sack on third-and-5, but a costly penalty gave NSU a new set of downs, and the Wolves scored four plays later on a 47-yard touchdown run. Northern State added a late field goal to bring the final score to 31-16 in favor of the home team.
Statistical comparison
- WSU tallied 351 yards of total offense while NSU totaled 404 yards.
- The Warriors used a balanced attack with 178 yards rushing and 173 yards passing while Northern State rushed for 258 yards.
- Winona State scored on all four red-zone chances but converted only one touchdown.
- Flottmeyer went 18-34 with 173 yards through the air, passing for one TD and one interception.
- Smith led the WSU backfield with 111 yards on 13 carries.
- Jake Schultz hauled in a game-high 77 yards on five receptions.
- NSU's Kraft totaled 232 yards on the ground with a pair of scores.
- Blake Schraufnagel led WSU with seven tackles while Wesley Wollan added a sack.
- Swanstrom went 3-3 on field goals and 1-1 on extra points, and Schuette averaged 44.2 yards per punt on six total punts.
The Warriors will be back in action on Saturday, September 12, as they host the University of Jamestown at 1 p.m. in the home opener.
