Wayne State came alive in the second half and scored 23 points, highlighted by an interception return for a touchdown, as the Wildcats pulled away for a 30-7 homecoming win over Minnesota Crookston Saturday afternoon at Cunningham Field in Wayne.
The Wildcats scored on their opening drive of the game, a 74-yard drive that needed just five plays as Lorenzo Logwood scored on a three-yard run to make it 7-0 just 4:50 into the game.
That would be the lone score of the first half, despite Wayne State holding a 212-134 advantage in total offense as the Wildcats fumbled on their next two possessions after opening the game with a score followed by a pair of 3-and-outs to close the half.
Wayne State impressed again on the opening drive of the second half as the Wildcats marched 69 yards on nine plays, with redshirt freshman Devin Merkuris finding the end zone on a two-yard run to give the Wildcats a 14-0 lead.
Wayne State pinned Minnesota Crookston deep in their own territory and the Wildcat special teams came up with a big play as linebacker Nicholas Joynt tackled Golden Eagle punter Alex Folz in the end zone for a safety to make it 16-0 with 7:20 to go in the third.
Wayne State closed out third quarter scoring with a 19-yard run from Deshawn Massey, culminating a 64-yard drive on nine plays, as the Wildcats led 23-0 with 2:56 to play in the third quarter.
Minnesota Crookston got on the scoreboard early in the fourth as Kyler Banks was on the receiving end of a 12-yard scoring pass from quarterback Tristan Robbins, making the score 23-7 with 14:25 to play.
The final score of the contest came on a pick six for the Wildcats as J’Von France stepped in front of a Robbins pass and raced 41 yards to the end zone to close out the scoring with 11:14 remaining making the final score 30-7.
Tavian Willis ran for 148 yards on just eight rushes to lead the Wildcat ground attack followed by 106 yards on 18 carries by redshirt freshman Devin Merkuris.
Willis was 2-of-4 passing for 20 yards while sophomore Alex Thramer completed 1-of-2 passes for 13 yards. Wayne native Mason Lee had two grabs for 18 yards with Merkuris making one catch for 15 yards.
Defensively, linebacker Nicholas Joynt had 14 tackles with one fumble recovery and a safety. Ian Ailts added nine stops while senior defensive end Jacob Protzman had seven tackles with 2.5 sacks for minus 17 yards.
The Wildcats (2-3, 1-3 NSIC South) hit the road next weekend, visiting 12th-ranked Minnesota Duluth in a Northern Sun Conference contest Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m.
