It was a back-and-forth NSIC football showdown Saturday night in Wayne America.
From Bob Cunningham Field on the campus of Wayne State College, more than 2,200 fans were in attendance during the Family Day game with a fireworks display following the game.
A 10-play 78-yard drive took off two minutes and 30 seconds for #11 Minnesota State-Mankato to score on their final drive of the game with less than 30 seconds left and win 35-28. The Mavericks are now 3-0 (2-0 NSIC) while Wayne State College fell to 2-1 (1-1 NSIC).
The Wildcats opened scoring following a Maverick special teams fumble on a punt return. Senior quarterback Nick Bohn ran in from a yard out with 10:36 left in the first quarter to go up 7-0.
The Mavericks then answered thanks to a 10-yard run from redshirt freshman tailback Sam Backer (7:55) and a two-yard score from senior running back Tony Anger (1:25) to lead 14-7.
WSC tied the game at 14-14 going into the second quarter following a 66-yard score from sophomore running back Latravious Boyd with 11 seconds remaining.
The lone second quarter score came from junior placekicker Matthew Jaeger on a 40-yard field goal with 21 seconds left in the half to put #11 Minnesota State-Mankato up 17-14 at the break.
The Mavericks then began to pull away following a 20-yard Jaeger field goal (10:21 remaining in third) and a 26-yard passing touchdown from senior quarterback Hayden Ekern to junior wide receiver TreShawn Watson to lead 28-14 following an Ekern two-point conversion pass to Anger with a 1:28 left in the quarter.
Wayne State College never gave up scoring on a one-yard Bohn run (10:31 left in fourth) and two-yard passing touchdown from Bohn to redshirt sophomore wide out Kendrick Watkins-Hogue (8:07 remaining) to tie the game at 28-28.
Ekern capped off the final Maverick drive with 24 seconds left thanks to a one-yard rushing touchdown and hold onto the Minnesota State-Mankato 35-28 victory.
Wayne State College finished with 60 plays for 281 yards (153 passing/128 rushing) while #11 Minnesota State-Mankato totaled 586 yards on 83 plays (252 passing/334 rushing). WSC was 5-14 on third down and 1-1 on fourth down while the Mavericks went 7-15 on third down and 0-1 on fourth down.
Bohn finished 17-28 for 153 yards and one passing touchdown and one interception while adding two rushing touchdowns on 11 attempts for four net yards (sacked twice for loss of 23). Boyd rushed in for one score on 11 carries and 94 yards.
Senior wide receiver Ashten Schmaderer posted a team-high 48 yards on four catches followed by the touchdown reception from Watkins-Hogue on six grabs for 47 yards.
Senior linebacker Dexter Larsen recorded a team-high 11 tackles (six solo) and 3.5 tackles for loss followed by fellow senior linebacker Alex Kowalczyk with nine tackles (six solo). Sophomore defensive back Brayden Chaney had a fumble recovery while sophomore defensive back Joe Morrison added an interception.
Sophomore placekicker Boston Hensley was 4-4 on extra points.
The Wayne State College football team will next visit Winona State University on Saturday, Sept. 21 at 1 p.m.
