Boxscore

University Center, Mich. -- A week after the Wayne State special teams keyed a victory against Hillsdale, a fumbled punt and a bad snap on a punt attempt gave the host Saginaw Valley Cardinals to two touchdown drives of a combined 27 yards as SVSU upended WSU 24-7 Thursday night in front of a nationally televised audience on CBS Sports Network.

Wayne State falls to 4-2 both overall and in the GLIAC, while Saginaw Valley improves 6-1 overall and 5-1 in the GLIAC.

In the first three drives of the contest, the offense managed two first downs each but was forced to punt with Stefan Terleckyj's (Warren, Mich./Mott) second punt being downed at the Cardinal two by Kevin Buford-Wilson (Euclid, Ohio).

SVSU then drove 73 yards in 11 plays with Scott Stanford connecting on a 42-yard field goal after Moe Davenport (Southfield, Mich.) sacked Cardinal signal caller Jonathon Jennings for an eight-yard loss on third-and-four.

The next three series all ended in punts with Terleckyj hitting the coffin corner at the Cardinal two-yard line yet again.

On the first play, Jennings completed a pass to Kurt VanEssen with WSU forcing a fumble, but a Cardinal was able to bat the ball out of bounds.  After two first downs, SVSU was forced to punt, but Warrior James Jackson (Grand Ledge, Mich.) was unable to field hit cleanly with the Cardinals recovered at the WSU 18.

On the fifth play of the ensuing drive, Jennings found Zach Cecich in the back of the end zone on a third-and-goal giving the hosts a 10-0 lead near the mid-point of the second stanza.

WSU drove inside the Cardinal 40 but was stopped on fourth down.  The next two drives ended in punts, with the last drive of the half resulting in a missed 49-yard field goal attempt by Stanford.

On the first drive after intermission, senior Nick Thomas (Akron, Ohio/St. Vincent-St. Mary) recorded his first career interception.

The Warrior offense responded with a 10-play, 68-yard drive with Toney Davis (Muskegon Hts., Mich./Muskegon) scored on a three-yard touchdown run after quarterback Mickey Mohner (Painesville, Ohio/Harvey) garnered four first downs, three on pass completions, two to junior Dominique Maybanks (Muskegon, Mich.), and the other to junior fullback Chet Privett (Sterling Hts., Mich./Warren De La Salle).

On the fifth play of the SVSU drive, Thomas notched his second interception of the contest, but the WSU offense was able to pick up just one first down.

Saginaw Valley drove deep into Warrior territory but sophomore linebacker Steve O'Shell (Sterling Heights, Mich./Warren De La Salle) made a solo tackle on a fourth down pass play three yards short of the first down.

During WSU's punt attempt, the referee ruled Terleckyj's knee touched the ground while he tried to gather the low snap giving SVSU the ball at the Wayne State nine yard line.

Ronnie Lark's second carry of the drive resulted in a one-yard touchdown run, which gave the Cardinals a 17-7 advantage.

Following a WSU punt, Saginaw Valley went 75 yards in 14 plays using 7:55 on the clock with Jennings scoring on a three-yard keeper on third-and-two.

Wayne State was able to cross midfield but Mohner's hail mary pass on the final play was intercepted in the end zone.

The Warriors will play three of the final four regular-season games at Adams Field starting with the Homecoming contest on Oct. 20th at noon vs. Northern Michigan.

Davis rushed for a game-high 154 yards, while Tim Hogue led SVSU with 101 yards on 19 attempts.

Mohner completed 16-of-32 passes for 152 yards, while Jennings was 29-of-46 for 254 yards.

Maybanks led the Warriors with seven receptions for 67 yards.  Michael Albrect had game-high totals of 10 receptions for 91 yards.

Junior linebacker Ed Viverette (Southfield, Mich./Brother Rice) had a game-best and a career-high 17 tackles.