Football fever was in the air again on Saturday as Wayne State held its annual spring game.

“Both sides played well,” redshirt freshman linebacker Taylor Clark said. “It was a great battle, as it always is when the offense and defense go against each other.”

The offense used a strong first half from junior quarterback Zach Osborn, who led the offense to the end zone on both of his possessions in the first half.

Osborn’s first possession concluded with him connecting on a six-yard touchdown pass to sophomore wide receiver Nick Roth. The second of Osborn’s possessions ended with a 22-yard touchdown run by junior running back Ryan Ludlow, who finished the day with 10 carries for 34 yards.

The Wildcats’ new interim offensive coordinator, Logan Masters, also showed off his new redshirt freshman quarterbacks Layne Sullivan and Taylor Reedy.

Sullivan was able to lead a successful scoring drive in the second half, capping it off with a 31-yard run on a read option play. Sullivan was the top rusher on the day, finishing with 5 carries for 52 yards.

Masters used a passing scheme that was filled with short passing routes to make it easy on Osborn and his receivers and to practice their timing routes.

Junior wide receiver Jonathan Parks led all receivers with 5 catches for 69 yards. Sophomore tight end Eric Lammers had 4 receptions for 47 yards. Redshirt freshman Jacob Hjorth had 4 catches for 26 yards.

The defense played well in the second half, forcing four three-and-out series in seven possessions. Junior linebacker Nate Kroupa led the defense with six tackles. Junior defensive back Jon Davis and sophomore linebacker had four tackles apiece. Redshirt freshman Jamaal Conway-Smith played well in the secondary with three tackles, one sack and one pass-break up.

Interim defensive coordinator Scott McLaughlin used a number of different blitz packages to keep the Wildcat offense off balance and keep the defense in the game.
The highlight of the day for the defense was when Wayne State’s NASCAR offense crashed and burned for two straight three-and-outs.

After the scrimmage, both sides got together as a team to celebrate.
“When the game was over, we broke down to one word,” Clark said. “Family–that’s what this team means to all of us.”

The Wildcats will begin their 2015 season September 5 when they host Minnesota Crookston.