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Wayne State University Athletics

Football vs. Shaw (Sept. 10, 2022)
Kendall Williams had two rushing touchdowns in the win over Shaw.
22
Shaw BEARS 0-2
30
Winner Wayne State WS 1-1
Shaw BEARS
0-2
22
Final
30
Wayne State WS
1-1
Winner
Score By Quarters
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th F
BEARS Shaw 0 0 7 15 22
WS Wayne State 10 3 7 10 30

Game Recap: Football | | Jeff Weiss, Senior Associate Director of Athletics/Media Relations

Football Downs Shaw 30-22 In Home Opener

Kendall Williams rushes for 143 yards and two touchdowns.

DETROIT -- The Wayne State University football team (1-1 overall) won its home opener, 30-22, versus visiting Shaw University (0-2 overall) Saturday evening at Tom Adams Field.

HOW IT HAPPENED
First Quarter
The Warriors began their possession at the Shaw 44 following a 12-yard punt by the Bears.  Sophomore quarterback Josh Kulka (Clinton Twp., Mich. / Chippewa Valley) completed an 11-yard pass to his high school teammate running back Myren Harris (Clinton Twp., Mich. / Chippewa Valley) on a third-and-10.  The very next play graduate student tight end Nick Poterack (Byron Center, Mich.) hauled in a 33-yard strike from Kulka for a 7-0 advantage following the PAT by sophomore Griffin Milovanski (Saugatuck, Mich.).  It was the second consecutive game with a touchdown reception by Poterack, and his seventh career TD catch.

Following a Shaw punt, WSU drove 36 yards in 12 plays culminating in a 48-yard field goal by Milovanski, which tied for the ninth longest in school history.  Big plays on the drive were a one-yard gain on fourth-and-one by Kulka from the WSU 41, and Harris garnering four yards on third-and-three.

Second Quarter
Shaw had its third consecutive drive end in a punt on the first play of the second quarter.  After a Wayne State punt, graduate student linebacker Matt Buschman (Brighton, Mich.) forced a fumble near midfield, and even returned it eight yards.

The Warriors drove inside the 10-yard line but had to settle for a 28-yard Milovanski field goal.

Neither team was able to score on its final possession before intermission.

Third Quarter
WSU earned one first down but had to punt after taking the second half kickoff.

Shaw went 80 yards in 10 plays with Sidney Gibbs scoring on a 29-yard scamper down the right sideline.  Armaan Nagra's PAT pulled the Bears within 13-7.

Wayne State responded with a 67-yard touchdown drive to regain a 13-point margin at 20-7.  Junior running back Kendall Williams (Farmington Hills, Mich. / Farmington) had a 14-yard reception on second-and-seven, then scored from seven yards out on first-and-goal.  It was Williams' fourth career rushing touchdown.

On the ensuing drive by Shaw, sophomore safety Brayden Vredeveld (Hudsonville, Mich.) forced a fumble in the red zone, with senior linebacker Julius Wilkerson (Mequon, Wis. / Homestead) recovering at the WSU 16.

Following a holding penalty on WSU, Williams went around right end for 64 yards.

Fourth Quarter
Sophomore Te'Avion Warren (Flint, Mich. / Davison) had two carries for 10 yards, before Williams raced 18 yards into the end zone.  It marked the second career two-rushing touchdown effort by Williams (first was in the 2021 season finale at Ferris State).  It also gave him five rushing touchdowns in his last four games played.

The Bears answered with an 85-yard touchdown drive in seven plays.  Signal caller Christian Peters connected with Jon Barnes on a 48-yard pass play with 10:55 remaining in the fourth quarter cutting the Wayne State lead to 27-14.

The Warriors took nearly four minutes off the clock with Milovanksi connecting on a 27-yard field goal attempt.  He is now 4-4 on the season, and 11-of-12 in his career.  Milovanski's third field goal marked the first time since November 4, 2017 (Paul Graham vs. Northern Michigan) that a WSU kicker made at least three field goals in a game (Graham made four in a 26-24 triumph over the Wildcats).

Shaw turned the ball over on downs at midfield with just under five minutes left.  However, the WSU offense went three-and-out and freshman kicker Hadi Jawad (Dearborn, Mich.) pinned the Bears at their own 14.

It took Shaw just 1:45 to go 86 yards in six plays.  Andre Brandon, Jr. scored on a one-yard jaunt   Two big plays were a third down pass interference against WSU, followed by a 51-yard pass play from Peters to Ah'Shaan Belcher.  The TD and subsequent two-point conversion rush by Peters cut the Wayne State margin to eight at 30-22 with 1:38 remaining.

Warren recovered the onside kick and WSU was able to run out the clock.

TEAM STATS
Shaw had a 410-356 edge in total offense, with WSU having a 254-160 advantage on the ground.

LEADING THE WARRIORS
Williams had his first career 100-yard rushing effort gaining 154 yards on 14 carries with two touchdowns.  Harris contributed 70 yards on the ground.  Kulka passed for 102 yards on 12-of-16 with one touchdown.  Williams had a team-high four catches.

LEADING THE BEARS
Gibbs rushed for 88 yards and one touchdown on 13 attempts.  Peters passed for 248 yards on 13-of-23 with one touchdown.  Barnes led SU in both catches (4) and receiving yards (77).

UP NEXT
Wayne State will host NCAA Division 3 powerhouse Wisconsin-La Crosse next Saturday at Tom Adams Field.  Kickoff is slated for 6:07 p.m.

 
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