Wayne State College forced eight turnovers on the way to a 28-10 Senior Day victory in the Egg Bowl over Upper Iowa.

After a scoreless first quarter, senior Reggie Holt recovered a Peacock-fumbled punt return on the UIU 16 yard line. This set up fellow senior Houston Huss for an 11-yard touchdown run. Wayne held the lead until late in the first half when Upper Iowa was able to get two scores in less than a minute to take a 10-7 lead into half time.

The second half saw both defenses come out ready to play. It wasn’t until late in the third quarter, when Wildcat sophomore quarterback Aaron Bleil connected on a two-yard touchdown pass to Layne Sullivan, that Wayne took the lead for good.

The opening drive in the fourth saw the Peacocks drive all the way down to the WSC 25-yard line just to have WSC sophomore defensive back Aaron Wright intercept the ball and run 71 yards to the UIU eight-yard line.

“The defense played really well all year long.” Head Coach Dan McLaughlin
said. “They led the nation in interceptions, and were No. 3 in takeaways. Forcing eight turnovers is almost unheard of, but I wasn’t really surprised.”

The interception set up a three-yard touchdown pass from Bleil to junior wide-out Nate Rogers making the score 21-10. This was the 27th career touchdown for Rogers, tying the school record held by Jim Strahan from 1947-49.

The ’Cats added one more score midway through the fourth as Bleil connected with sophomore Willie Walton for the 41-yard bomb. The Wildcat
defense forced a Peacock interception in the end-zone to lock up the 28-10 victory.

“It’s always great to win, but to win at home on Senior Day, in the Egg Bowl, and to lock up a winning season just made it a special day,” McLaughlin said.

For a senior class that had to overcome a lot in its time at Wayne, this winning season is special.

This particular senior class has endured and persevered unlike any other class in my memory. Losing a teammate and classmate, Eddie Key, in their freshman year was devastating. So, to have them play the season they just completed, just reflects the overall character of these kids, and I am extremely proud of them,” McLaughlin said.