Junior quarterback Nick Bohn accounted for 276 yards of total offense and three touchdowns to lead Wayne State past MSU Moorhead 31-23 Thursday evening in the 2023 Northern Sun Conference football opener for both teams at Cunningham Field.
The game looked like it would be a high-scoring affair early on as both teams quickly moved down the field to score on their first drives.
Morehead quickly marched 75 yards on six plays for their first score as Jack Strand hit Brady Perryman on a 19-yard pass, but the Wildcats answered with a 10-play, 68-yard drive that finished with a four-yard run by Bohn to tie the game at 7-7.
Wayne State made it 14-7 later in the first when Dawson Forgy scored on a nine-yard run, and the two teams traded field goals in the second quarter to make it a 17-10 game at the half.
Wayne State gave themselves a little breathing room to start the second half as the Wildcats scored on a one-yard sneak by Bohn to make it 24-10.
Morehead came back with a 41-yard scoring strike from Strand to Perryman to get the deficit back to seven, but Wayne State responded early in the fourth on a 36-yard pass from Bohn to Ashten Schamderer to make it 31-17.
Morehead got the deficit back to seven with 1:06 to go, then blocked a punt to get the ball near midfield. Wayne State’s defense came up big, keeping the Dragons from going any further to seal the victory and move to 1-0 overall.
Wayne State outgained Morehead 389-348 in total offense, holding the Dragons to minus-3 yards rushing on the night.
Bohn was 21-of-29 for 264 yards and a score while rushing for two more touchdowns. Latravious Boyd led the ground attack with 52 yards on 11 carries while Forgy added 43 yards on 10 tries. Kendrick Watkins-Hogue was the top receiver with 40 yards on six caches, while Schmaderer had 76 yards on four catches.
Defensively, linebackers Alex Schall and Tyler Leclair each posted seven tackles while Marzion Cosby recorded six tackles.
Wayne State is on the road next Saturday, playing at No. 9 Minnesota State in a 6 p.m. contest in Mankato, Minn.
