Box Score

The Malone University football team suffered a hard-fought loss on the road to Wayne State (MI) University on Saturday afternoon by a final score of 38-27. 

The Pioneers (0-4 overall, 0-3 GLIAC) grabbed a 20-10 advantage midway through the second quarter of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference contest when running back Bryce Pratt plunged across goal line on a one-yard touchdown run.  The Warriors (2-2 overall, 2-1 GLIAC) answered back with a 15-play scoring drive, slicing the deficit to 20-17 on tailback Toney Davis' one-yard TD run just before halftime.

Wayne State then marched 13 plays on its opening possession of the third quarter, pulling ahead 24-20 on a 14-yard rushing touchdown by running back Desmond Martin.  The WSU momentum then grew larger moments later as the hosts forced and recovered a fumble on the second play of Malone's ensuing drive, giving the ball back to the Warrior offense at the Pioneers' 37-yard line.  Five plays later, quarterback Sean Guinane stretched the Wayne State lead to 31-20, crossing the goal line on a nine-yard carry.

After the Pioneers' next drive stalled near midfield, Malone's defense came up with a big turnover of its own as safety Demarco Donaldson, who ended the day with 19 total tackles, forced and then recovered a Warrior fumble at the WSU 17-yard line.

Pioneer quarterback Will Szpor hit tight end Ricarlo Bell with a five-yard touchdown pass four plays later, cutting the Wayne State lead to 31-27 with 1:03 showing on the third-quarter clock.

Unfortunately for Malone, the Pioneers were unable to regain the lead as kicker Jacob Bishop's PAT (following the TD pass to Bell) would mark the visitors' final point of the afternoon.

Wayne State stretched its advantage to double digits at the start of the fourth quarter with Martin's second TD run of the game, this time from three yards out.  The Warriors would then come up with fourth-down stops on both of Malone's fourth-quarter possessions before running the final 4:35 off the clock to seal the victory.

In all, Wayne State netted 324 rushing yards on the afternoon to go with 69 passing yards for a total offensive output of 393 yards.  Malone countered with 332 total yards, 182 on the ground and 150 through the air.  After being limited to 158 total yards through the first two quarters, the Warriors got the ground game going in the second half, out-rushing the Pioneers 207 to 45 over the final 30 minutes.

Both teams were effective on third down with the Pioneers converting on 7-of-11 attempts compared to 7-of-13 efficiency for the Warriors. However, Wayne State did enjoy a 34:50 to 25:10 edge in time of possession, including an almost 10-minute advantage over the final two quarters.

WSU jumped out to an early 7-0 lead after forcing Malone's opening possession backwards and then engineering a quick, six-play, 25-yard touchdown drive that culminated with a one-yard TD run by Davis.

After losing 10 yards on its first possession, the Pioneer offense responded, marching 79 yards on nine plays and knotting the score at 7-7 on a two-yard rushing touchdown by running back Justin Davis.

Following a 30-yard field goal by Wayne State, Davis found the end zone once again, this time with a 10-yard carry on the first play of the second quarter to put the Pioneers in front 13-10 (extra point missed).

The MU defense forced a punt on the Warriors' next possession and Pratt added to the Malone lead with his one-yard rushing touchdown with 6:41 to play in the second quarter.

Davis ended the afternoon with 13 carries for 76 yards and two touchdowns.  Pratt added 43 yards and a score on 12 rushing attempts while also snagging three catches for 32 yards.  Quarterback Will Szpor completed 14 of his 21 passes for 150 yards and one touchdown.  Slot back AT Turner grabbed three receptions for 26 yards while also picking up 40 rushing yards on three attempts.

Two of Donaldson's career-high 19 tackles were for a loss.  In addition to his impressive tackle numbers, the junior has now registered four forced fumbles through the Pioneers' first four games.  Fellow defensive back Brandon Commodore added nine tackles while defensive back Jermaine Hunter Jr. made eight stops.

For Wayne State, Davis notched 125 rushing yards and two TDs on 24 carries.  Martin followed with 89 rushing yards and two scores on 15 attempts.  Guinane completed four of six passes for 37 yards.  Michael Johnson grabbed three catches for 32 yards while Steve O'Shell paced the Warrior defense with 10 tackles and a sack.

The Pioneers will look to bounce back next Saturday when they travel to Tiffin University for a 1:30 p.m. contest.  Fans can follow all of the action on the Malone Sports Network (on the radio at ESPN 990 AM and streaming on the internet at www.espn990.com).