Wayne State College football started off NSIC South Division play with a 45-10 victory over Concordia-St. Paul. The Wildcats are now 2-3 overall and 1-0 in the South Division, where Concordia-St. Paul fell to 2-3 overall and 0-1 in the NSIC South Saturday.

“We made some plays, we made some big plays,” Head Coach Dan McLaughlin said. “We can certainly play better and we’re going to have to, but when we had the opportunity to make a big play, I thought that was the key to the game.”

The Wildcats drove 75 yards on 11 plays as junior quarterback Zach Osborn threw a 22-yard pass to sophomore receiver Shymere Williams. Concordia-St. Paul tacked on a 35-yard field goal with 4:42 remaining in the first quarter making the score 7-3.

At the beginning of the second quarter, the Wildcats recovered a fumble and capitalized as Osborn found junior tight end Justin Saunders from four yards out, giving WSC a 14-3 lead with 9:49 left in the second.

The Golden Bears turned the ball over yet again as sophomore defensive back Jamaal Conway-Smith recovered a fumble with 19 seconds left in the second quarter. Freshman kicker Ethan Knudson made a 39-yard field goal to give the Wildcats a 17-3 lead going into halftime.

WSC junior defensive back Glenn Harris intercepted Concordia-St. Paul quarterback Ron Johnson and took it 30 yards for the pick-six, making the score 24-3 in favor of the Wildcats. On the next offensive possession for WSC, Osborn found Williams once again, this time for a 78-yard touchdown reception.

A Concordia-St. Paul fumble with 1:11 remaining in the third quarter was recovered by junior WSC defensive linemen Randy Bryan. WSC capitalized again from a second Golden Bears fumble as Osborn found sophomore receiver Layne Sullivan from six yards out, giving the Wildcats a 38-3 advantage early in the fourth.

The Wildcats scored one last time as backup quarterback Taylor Reedy threw a four-yard touchdown pass to redshirt freshman receiver Zach Glidden, giving them a 45-3 lead.

With 2:40 left in the game, Concordia-St. Paul quarterback Ron Johnson scrambled from seven yards out. The Wildcats came out on top 45-10.

“We played a lot harder,” Defensive Coordinator Scott McLaughlin said. “Sometimes that’s not a given, and they were a little bit more motivated after seeing a win and seeing what can be.”

Osborn completed 18 out of 28 passing attempts for 251 yards and four touchdowns. Junior running back Rashad Trimble rushed for 94 yards on 27 attempts. Shymere Williams totaled six receptions for 160 yards and two touchdowns.

Conway-Smith had two interceptions and one fumble recovery for the Wildcat defensive. Leading tacklers were redshirt freshman defensive lineman Tyler Thomsen and sophomore linebacker Christian Campos. Senior defensive linemen Jarrod Bazata also recorded a fumble recovery for the Wildcats defense.

The Wildcats are at home this upcoming Saturday for the homecoming game against the Augustana Vikings. Kickoff is at 1 p.m. at Bob Cunningham Field.