DETROIT -- The Wayne State University football team (2-1 overall, 1-0 GLIAC) turned in a team effort in Saturday's 41-31 triumph over visiting Saginaw Valley State University (2-1 overall, 0-1 GLIAC) in WSU's first game wearing the Medal of Honor recipients names on the back of their jerseys.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Warriors took the opening kickoff and drove 80 yards in eight plays with junior quarterback D.J. Zezula (Clarkston, Mich.) completing a 44-yard scoring strike to junior running back Deiontae Nicholas (Chesterfield, Mich. / L'Anse Creuse North).  The big play of the drive was a 13-yard reception by senior running back Romello Brown (Westland, Mich. / Livonia Churchill) on a third-and-11 play.

The Wayne State defense forced a three-and-out and the offense wasted very little time in taking a 13-0 lead.  On third-and-eight from the WS 46, Zezula found sophomore wide receiver Darece Roberson, Jr. (Muskegon, Mich. / Mona Shores).  Paul Graham (Commerce Twp., Mich. / Orchard Lake St. Mary's), after having his consecutive PAT streak snapped at 28 with a miss on his first try, connected this time.

The Cardinals had a 10-play drive that covered 45 yards resulting in a 44-yard field goal by Alex Kenrick.  WSU failed to convert on a fourth-and-two and SVSU pulled within three, 13-10, on the ensuing drive that concluded with three-yard touchdown run by quarterback Ryan Conklin.

The Warriors regained a 10-point advantage with a four-play, 67-yard drive in just 87 seconds.  Senior wide receiver Manny Mendoza (Rochester Hills, Mich. / Rochester) hauled in a 31-yard touchdown toss by Zezula.  Saginaw Valley answered back with a three-play, 77-yard touchdown drive in just 66 seconds with Conklin completing a 44-yard touchdown throw to Marcus Edmondson.

Nicholas began the next drive with a 39-yard kickoff return, which set up a 10-play, 54-yard scoring drive that used over five minutes on the clock.  Brown scored his first of two rushing touchdowns with a one-yard plunge.  Zezula had a nine-yard carry on a fourth-and-two near midfield along with a four-yard rush on third-and-four from the SVSU six.

Wayne State piled up 306 yards of total offense in the first 30 minutes with Zezula accounting for nearly 200 yards (29 rushing, 169 passing) and three scores.

The first three drives of the second half ended in punts, before SVSU's Aaron Berry notched an interception to spoil a WSU drive.  The Warrior defense recorded a three-and-out, and received the added bonus of a fumbled snap on the punt resulting in an 11-yard loss.

Two runs by Brown totaling 28 yards pushed the Wayne State advantage to 34-17 late in the third period.

The first drive for each squad in the fourth quarter ended in a punt, before both teams turned the ball over on downs.  The Cardinals cut the Warrior margin to 10 (34-24) on a one-yard scamper by Nate McCrary with 4:55 remaining.

The WSU offense responded with a seven-play, 68-yard scoring drive with Nicholas scoring his second touchdown of the contest on a 41-yard dash through the SVSU defense.  Saginaw Valley tallied a late touchdown with just over 30 seconds remaining.

TEAM STATS

Wayne State led in rushing yards (257-96), total offense (448-414) and time of possession (31:51-28:09), while also converting 5-of-10 third down plays.  SVSU had a 318 to 191 edge in passing yards, although 138 of the yards came in the fourth quarter which began with a 17-point lead by the Warriors.

LEADING THE WARRIORS

Brown rushed for a team-high 89 yards and two touchdowns, while Nicholas contributed four carries for 81 yards and a score.  Senior Demetrius Stinson (Detroit, Mich. / Douglass) chipped in with 58 yards on 10 attempts.

Zezula completed 9-of-14 passes for 191 yards and three touchdowns with an average completion of 21.2 yards.  Six different Warriors had receptions with Roberson notching a team-high 62 receiving yards.

Nicholas finished with a game-best 235 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns.

Junior linebacker Anthony Pittman (Birmingham, Mich. / Groves) had two sacks among his six tackles (5 solo, 1 assisted), while senior safety Ronny Brant II (Uniontown, Ohio / Green) recorded a team-best seven tackles along with junior linebacker Drew Dowding (Michigan Center, Mich.), who also contributed a tackle for loss.

LEADING THE CARDINALS

Tommy Scott, Jr. rushed for a game-high 100 yards on 18 carries.

Conklin was 23-of-31 for 318 yards and two touchdowns, but was sacked three times.

Alfonso Vultaggio had game-high totals of 10 receptions and 134 receiving yards.

UP NEXT

Wayne State will play its first road GLIAC game next Saturday (Sept. 23) at Tiffin.  Kickoff at Frost-Kalnow Stadium is slated for 7 p.m.  The contest can be heard on WDTK (1400 AM and 101.5 FM) with Sean Baligian and Josh Renel calling the action.