The Wayne State College football team concluded their 2024 football season with a 21-0 win in the 36th annual Egg Bowl over the Concordia St. Paul Golden Bears.
The win was the Wildcats’ second shutout performance of the season and the seventh win overall of the year to finish the season with a 7-4 record. This season also marks the fourth straight year where WSC has won at least seven games.
It was also senior day at Bob Cunningham Field. 18 seniors were honored before the game. These 18 players, across the past four years with the program, was part of the winningest four-year period in WSC football history.
“Playing my last game there meant the world to me,” senior linebacker Dexter Larsen said. “That’s where I’ve poured my heart into this program for the last four years. This team meant the world to me.”
The game started off with the Wildcat defense forcing the Bears to go three-and-out. 13 plays and 59 yards later, Wildcat kicker Boston Hensley opened the scoring with a 25-yard field goal as the Wildcats took a 3-0 lead. The rest of the first quarter saw both defenses limit the opposing offenses, so WSC took their lead into the second quarter.
WSC opened the second quarter with the football, and Hensley again capped off a long Wildcat drive with a 34-yarder that went right down the middle of the uprights to make it 6-0.
CSP responded with a lengthy drive of their own. The drive stalled once CSP entered the Wildcats’ side of the field, and the Golden Bears were forced to punt for the fourth time.
The ensuing drive for WSC saw the freshman running back duo of Akeem Knox and Brennan Hayes carry the load down the field, setting WSC up with first and goal at the one-yard line. After a couple of attempts, senior quarterback Nick Bohn attempted to push his way through the pile at the goal line, only to lose control of the football. Wildcat receiver Kendrick Watkins-Hogue was able to get on top of the loose ball, securing a touchdown just before the half. Hensley tacked on the extra point, and WSC led at halftime 13-0.
WSC began the second half with the football, but after their drive stalled out, the CSP offense was able to go to work. Quarterback Jackson Compton was able to move the Golden Bears down the field with his arm before a couple penalties forced CSP to attempt a 41-yard field goal to get on the scoreboard. CSP kicker Jeff Isotalo-McGuire ended up hooking his kick to keep the WSC shutout intact for the time being.
The next drive saw Knox lead the charge for the Wildcats, accounting for 56 yards of a 9-play, 77-yard drive, which Knox capped off with a 6-yard rushing touchdown to further extend WSC’s lead. Head coach Logan Masters elected to go for two, to which his quarterback Bohn, after scrambling around, decided to take it himself for a 21-0 lead.
The rest of the contest was highlighted by both defenses, but especially the one of the Wildcats’ side of the field. The last two drives CSP had where stopped by failed fourth-down conversions, thanks in large part of the pesky WSC defenders.
The game ended with a 21-0 final score, and Knox was named the Egg Bowl MVP for the Wildcats. The freshman finished the game with 162 yards and a touchdown on 30 carries, leading to an average of 5.4 yards per carry.
Bohn’s final game as a Wildcat saw him go 8-of-15 throwing for 81 yards while rushing for 36 yards and scoring on a two-point conversion attempt.
On the defensive side, Larsen finished with four tackles and 0.5 tackles for loss. He was aided by two other senior linebackers in Tyler Leclair and Alex Schall. Leclair finished with a Wildcat high eight tackles, recorded a sack and recovered a fumble. Schall racked up three tackles and recorded a sack as well.
“We [seniors] have been together for the last few years and grown closer through that,” Larsen said. “I thank the great coaches and players who did it with me.”
