Columbus, Ohio -- The ninth-ranked Wayne State University (4-0 overall, 3-0 GLIAC) recorded a 31-24 road win at Ohio Dominican (2-2 overall, 1-2 GLIAC) Saturday evening.

Both teams started sluggish at Panther Field as WSU fumbled on its first possession of the game, but the defense held and forced a punt.

On the Warriors' second possession, a third-down pass which was originally ruled complete by the official closest to the play was then overturned by the linesman forcing a Wayne State punt.

Even though the Panthers started their ensuing drive in Warrior territory, the WSU defense forced a punt.

Wayne State drove 95 yards (the longest scoring drive of the season) in seven plays with senior running back Josh Renel (Rochester Hills, Mich. / Rochester Adams) scoring from three yards out following back-to-back long pass plays.  On a third-and-five, junior quarterback Mickey Mohner (Painesville, Ohio / Harvey) connected with senior wide receiver Troy Burrell (Port Huron, Mich.) for 38 yards and then senior tight end Greg Oberstaedt (Whitmore Lake, Mich.) hauled in a 24-yard pass from Mohner.

WSU out-gained the hosts 155-16 in the first quarter and held the ball for 9:25.

After a Wayne State drive ended on downs, the Panthers went 68 yards in 11 plays to knot the game at seven.

The Warriors converted three third-down plays on the next drive and sophomore running back Toney Davis (Muskegon Heights, Mich. / Muskegon) scored on a two-yard run on the 12th play of the drive.

WSU successfully executed an onside kick but the back judge flagged the Warriors for offsides.

ODU tied the game at 14 with an eight-play drive.

Mohner completed a 46-yard pass to Burrell on the first play after the kickoff, but a fumble in the red zone was recovered by the Panthers.

The WSU defense forced a three-and-out, with the Warriors getting the ball back with 54 seconds left before intermission.  Two Mohner completions (16 yards to Cory Zauner and 11 yards to Jordan Kidd) moved the ball to the ODU 39.  Following back-to-bakc incompletions, Burrell had 25-yard reception setting up a 31-yard field goal by sophomore Stefan Terleckyj (Warren, Mich. / Warren Mott) which gave WSU a 17-14 halftime lead.

Wayne State had a 321-155 advantage in total offense during the first 30 minutes.

After a Jeremy Jones (Grand Rapids, Mich. / Rockford) interception on ODU's initial drive of the second half, WSU had to punt.  The Panthers drove 54 yards with Chris Vortkamp making a 31-yard field goal to tie the game at 17.

The Warriors converted three more third down plays on the ensuing drive including a 23-yard touchdown play from Mohner to Burrell to put Wayne State ahead for good.

After an ODU punt, WSU went 88 yards in nine play with Davis scoring on a 10-yard run with 8:00 remaining in the game.

Ohio Dominican had a 14-play drive which stalled in the red zone with an illegal shift penalty on the Panthers, two plays for four yards and sack of ODU signal caller Jeremy Fudge by sophomore linebacker Ed Viverette (Southfield, Mich. / Brother Rice) on third down and a fourth down sack by freshman linebacker Nores Fradi (Dearborn Hts., Mich. / Dearborn).

WSU was unable to run out the clock, and the Panthers scored with seven seconds left to complete the scoring.  Renel recovered the onside kick and the Warriors only had to run one play.

Davis rushed for a game-high 127 yards on 19 attempts with two touchdowns, while Renel garnered 107 yards and one touchdown on 20 carries.

Mohner completed 14-of-25 for 231 yards including a 23-yard touchdown pass to Burrell in the third quarter.  Burrell finished with 163 yards on eight receptions.

Jones led the defense with 11 tackles and an interception.

Mike Noffsinger led ODU with 100 yards on 22 carries with one touchdown.  Fudge passed for 107 yards on 9-of-20 and was sacked four times.

WSU travels to Northern Michigan next Saturday for a 4 p.m. kickoff.

Notes:

Wayne State has won eight consecutive games for the first time in school history.

The Warriors are 11-1 in their last 12 games.

The 4-0 start is the first since the 1967 squad began 7-0 (and only fifth in school history).  The 1956 team started 4-0.  In 1934, Wayne University won its first four games, then lost to Central Michigan but won its final three contests to finish 7-1.  The first football team (1918) of Detroit Junior College won all four of its games.