The Wayne State College football team took on No. 13 Augustana at Bob Cunningham field for the 2025 season finale.
Coming into the game, WSC had a record of 6-4 and 6-3 in NSIC play, while Augustana had a record of 9-1 and 8-1 in NSIC play.
The scoring started off with a Brennan Hayes 43-yard rushing touchdown to make it 7-0 Wildcats. Hayes followed this by adding another rushing touchdown from four yards out to make it 14-0 Wayne State.
WSC head coach Logan Masters talked about how it feels having two great running backs.
“Our whole running back room is loaded, there is some really good guys in there that do not play that much, so it comes to down to when your number gets called you are ready and Brennan and a lot of those guys in that room have been ready to go and they are awesome,” Coach Masters said. “I think our O-line and tight ends really kind of set the tone for the holes, and those guys just run through tackles at the second and third levels and then into the endzone. It is a team effort, but Dawson and Brennan have been a pretty good 1-2 punch this year.”
Augustana then was able to answer back with two touchdowns from Isaiah Huber to make it a 14-14 ballgame off two drives that started in Wayne State territory.
WSC then was able to strike right before halftime with a 56-yard touchdown pass from Bennett Dannenbring to Alex Phelps to put the Wildcats up 21-14 at the half.
Since coming back from injury, Bennett Dannenbring has taken care of the football a lot better. Dannenbring had six interceptions on the season before going down, but since coming back he has zero.
“I think he kind of got to sit back and be a coach. He had to watch and learn, and you get a new perspective of it,” Coach Masters said. “He has made some really big throws for us the last couple of weeks to win these games and to see our defense is pretty good and the punt team is pretty good and if we have to, punting is not the end of the world.”
The second half started with an Augustana field goal from kicker Jake Pecina from 57 yards to make it 21-17. Wayne State then answered with a 39-yard field goal from Boston Hensley to put the Wildcats back up seven.
In the fourth quarter, Wayne State started to pull away as Brennan Hayes scored his third touchdown from two yards out to put WSC up 31-17 and then Brayden Chaney made a great read and intercepted a pass and took it 29-yards for a pick six to put the Wildcats up 38-17.
Augustana did not go away though as they were able to quickly strike with a 38-yard touchdown pass to Neal May from Rich Lucero Jr and Augustana recovered the onside kick and quickly struck again. A Mack Molander 1-yard touchdown run and just like that, Augustana had cut the lead to 38-31 with 3:11 left.
WSC was then able to run the rest of the clock out by running the ball and picking up first downs, and the Wildcats upset No. 13 Augustana 38-31 picking up their second ranked win of the season and a share of the NSIC South division title.
Junior running back Dawson Forgy broke the single season rushing yards record for WSC football early in the fourth quarter. On Saturday, Forgy recorded 161 yards to help him hit the record. Forgy finished the season with 1400 rushing yards, the new Wayne State record.
“Work ethic, from the day he has gotten here he has been one of the hardest workers on our team on and off the field. Student of the game, great student in the classroom, he just does everything right and when you do that, I believe that good things happen,” Masters said when talking about Dawson Forgy. “Great season this year and it comes down to that he prepared himself and when his opportunities came he made the most of it.”
When asked what winning a title meant for the team, Masters said, “I am really happy for the staff, our players, all the alumni and Wayne State football in general. When you see your school and check the score you don’t want to see them getting their butts kicked so now you see us beating ranked teams pretty consistently and win our second conference title of some sort in four years, so that to me is something all alumni can be proud of when you look back at where you went to school and doing the things that our staff and players have accomplished the last couple of years, and that is what makes it special to me.”
Sixth-year senior linebacker Alex Kowalczyk played his final game in a Wildcat uniform on Saturday, and he played a great one. Kowalczyk recorded 16 tackles and a sack in his final game for WSC.
“He is a great leader, and he is the calmest guy in the world. You look at him, and a sense of calmness comes through. He has been great for the defense for the past few years. He just makes plays whether it’s the run or pass game, always in the right spot getting our guys lined up,” Masters said. “And he is another guy who had 2 season ending injuries and pushed through adversity and now here he is playing one of the best games he played in his last one here. I love him and I’m going to miss him, he’s a special Wildcat, one of the best to ever play here.”
When asked how he wants the 2025 WSC football team to be remembered, Masters said, “Toughness, I think in the world when things get hard people quit, and when things got hard our team became the best version of themselves and found a way to beat two top 15 teams and finish with 4 straight wins and a division title.”
