It was a picture perfect day for football, and the Wayne State Wildcats took full advantage.

The Wildcats played their Homecoming game last Saturday against No. 25 in the nation, 3-1 Winona State University.

With plenty of ex-players and ex-students present, Wayne State put on a show by dominating Winona in every facet of the game.

The Wildcat defense played flawlessly, shutting down Winona and leaving them scoreless until the fourth quarter.

Sophomore quarterback Zach Osborn completed 26 of 42 passes for 372 yards and two touchdowns to lead Wayne State College in a dominant 27-7 win over Winona State in the annual Homecoming/Hall of Fame Game Saturday afternoon at Bob Cunningham Field in Wayne.

WSC improves to 3-2 on the season and 1-0 in the NSIC South Division while the visiting Warriors fall to 3-2 and 0-1 in the NSIC South.

Right from kickoff, Wayne State set the tone for the game with a combination of stellar defense, including a pair of early big-hit sacks, and the offense scored on their first two possessions.

The Wildcats drove 68 yards on nine plays with junior Ryan Ludlow finding the end zone on a two-yard run to give WSC an early 7-0 lead with 10:26 to go in the first quarter.

On Wayne State’s next possession, the ‘Cats covered the field in just three plays to go 75 yards with Osborn firing a 16-yard strike to redshirt freshman Marcel Dunson to increase the Wildcat advantage to 14-0 with 8:27 remaining in the first quarter. This was Dunson’s first touchdown of his career.

Midway through the second quarter, the Wildcat defense forced a Winona State fumble at the Wildcat 46 yard line and converted the turnover into seven points as Ludlow found the end zone for the second time on a five-yard run, to culminate a six-play, 54 yard drive that put WSC in front 20-0 with 5:09 to play before halftime.

Wayne State took a 27-0 lead toward the end of the third quarter as Osborn and Dunson teamed up for a second scoring strike, this one from 18 yards out, capping an 11-play, 81 yard drive, with 4:29 to go in the third quarter.

Wayne State racked up a massive 510 total yards offense while holding Winona State to just 196. The ‘Cats gained 138 yards on the ground and 372 passing while WSC held Winona State to just 22 yards rushing and 174 passing.

Junior running back Ryan Ludlow led the Wildcat ground attack with 30 carries for 99 yards and two scores while Osborn added 33 yards on seven rushes.

As a testament to the passing game, 10 different Wildcat receivers had catches, led by senior Adam Stark with seven receptions for 106 yards.
Redshirt freshman Marcel Dunson had a career day with six catches for 73 yards and two scores.

The main story was the dominant Wildcat defense, recording eight sacks for -63 yards. Senior defensive end Abram Walker had a team-high seven tackles with 3.5 sacks for 27 yards and 4.5 tackles for loss for 28 yards. Nick Monzu added six tackles with one interception, a forced fumble and a pass breakup. Senior defensive end Jeff Van Den Top contributed five tackles with two sacks for 17 yards while senior J’Ron Erby had an interception with four pass breakups.

Wayne State will be on the road next weekend visiting Concordia-St. Paul in a 1 p.m. NSIC South Division contest in St. Paul, Minn.