Wayne State Football moves to 4-1 following their 48-22 win at Minot State and now they take on undefeated, nineteenth ranked Minnesota Duluth at home on Saturday, October 7 during homecoming weekend.
“You obviously want to play one of your better games just because a bunch of alumni are coming back and things like that,” Head Coach Logan Masters said. “But to say we want it a little bit more on homecoming, I’d say no, you want to win them all each week.”
The Wildcats are 4-1 overall and 3-1 in conference, good for fifth in the conference standings. They are on a three-game win streak heading into Saturday, with the last two wins coming on the road.
“We’ve had two really long road trips the last few weeks,” Masters said. “We’re excited to be back at Bob Cunningham Field and playing in front of our own fans.”
The Wildcat offense has a tough task ahead, attacking a Duluth defense that has allowed the second-least points in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference at 15.8 points per game. The Wildcat offense has been hot on their three-game win streak, whether it’s through the air or on the ground, averaging 45 points per game. Most recently against Minot State, the success for the Wildcat offense has come on the ground from the likes of running backs Dawson Forgy and Latravious Boyd, as well as quarterback Nick Bohn. The three players combined for 287 rushing yards last Saturday.
“In a perfect world, you want to be balanced but sometimes defense doesn’t let you do one of those,” Masters said. “So, the other side of it has to pick it up and our running game really took off Saturday. Hopefully that can continue here as we get into the middle part of our season.”
On the defensive side of the ball, the Wildcat defense will have to combat a Duluth offense that is second in the NSIC in scoring, averaging 40.2 points per game. Stopping the Duluth run game will be a key to the game for the Wildcats. The Bulldogs are averaging 247 rushing yards per game which is good for second in the NSIC.
“What it’s going to come down to is we have to tackle well. We have to be physical and violent on defense,” Masters said. “Then when they take their shots on the field, we have to cover them and not let them hit.”
The Wildcats and Bulldogs take center stage at Bob Cunningham Field on Saturday, October 7 at 1 pm. Homecoming festivities will be going on during and after this contest.