Over 1,600 fans attended Saturday’s annual Hall of Fame football game.
From Bob Cunningham Field on the campus of Wayne State College, WSC played host to Sioux Falls.
The Cougars took advantage of early scoring and held onto a 23-13 road victory. WSC fell to 6-2 (5-2 NSIC) as the Cougars improved to 7-2 (6-2 NSIC).
Sioux Falls scored back-to-back thanks to a 20-yard run from redshirt freshman running back Carlson Tann III (two-point conversion failed) with 10:46 remaining in the first quarter followed by a 24-yard passing touchdown from junior Camden Dean to graduate wide out Carter Slykhuis with 3:49 left. USF led 13-0 early.
Wayne State College answered with a 75-yard connection between senior quarterback Nick Bohn and sophomore running back Latravious Boyd with 2:58 remaining in the first quarter.
The Cougars then put points on the board in the second quarter off two Bohn interceptions. Dean and Slykhuis connected from seven-yards (8:44 left in second quarter) along with a 47-yard field goal by senior placekicker Nick Hernandez (6:22 remaining).
Score at the break favored Sioux Falls 23-7.
Neither team scored in the third quarter and the lone fourth quarter points were converted by WSC. Bohn found senior wide receiver Ashten Schmaderer from 11-yards (2:09 left in game). Two point try failed.
Final favored Sioux Falls winning 23-13.
Wayne State College turned the ball over four times (three turnover-on-downs) inside the Sioux Falls 25 in the second half which included twice at the one-yard line.
Bohn finished 14-29 for 209 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions. He also had 12 rushes for 18 net yards and was sacked once.
Boyd carried the ball 11 times for 22 yards as well as one catch for 75 yards. True freshman running back Brennan Hayes tallied four carries for 19 yards.
Senior wide receiver Jadon Johnson recorded four catches for 51 yards as well as Schmaderer with four receptions for 43 yards and one score. Redshirt sophomore Kendrick Watkins-Hogue tacked on two catches for 20 yards.
Sophomore defensive end Carter Sitzman finished with 10 tackles (three solo) with 3.5 tackles for loss and two sacks followed by senior linebacker Dexter Larsen with nine tackles (one solo) as well as a half tackle for loss and half sack along with a fumble recovery. Senior linebacker Alex Schall forced the fumble and had eight tackles (two solo).
As a team, the Wildcat defense recorded six sacks.
Other tackles for loss came from sophomore lineman Luke Lambert with six tackles (two solo), two sacks and two TFLs; redshirt freshman defensive lineman Jackson Bos with seven tackles (two solo), one sack and one TFL; sophomore linebacker Clyde Hinton with eight tackles (one solo) and a half tackle for loss; junior defensive lineman Trent Rasmussen with three tackles (one solo) and a tackle for loss; sophomore defensive back Brayden Chaney with two tackles (two solo) and a tackle for loss as well as junior defensive lineman Kaden Sutton with one tackle, half sack and half TFL.
Wayne State College finished with 271 yards on 60 plays (209 passing/62 rushing) while Sioux Falls ran 62 plays for 211 yards (113 passing/98 rushing). WSC was 1-10 on third downs, 1-5 on fourth downs and 1-4 on red-zone scores/chances while USF went 4-15 on third downs, 2-2 on fourth downs and 3-3 on red-zone scores/chances.
The Cougars held an advantage of 33:06 – 26:54 in time of possession.
The Wayne State College football team will next visit Bemidji State University on Saturday, Nov. 2 at 1 p.m.
