Wayne State was held to 292 yards of total offense by the NSIC’s top-ranked defense as Winona State downed the Wildcats 41-20 in the 28th annual Egg Bowl Game on Saturday at Cunningham Field.
After a scoreless first quarter, Winona State got on the board first with an 11-yard pass from Jack Nelson to Cameron Johnson for a 7-0 lead.
Wayne State answered with a score on the ensuing drive, as fullback Houston Huss plunged in from one yard out to cap a 10-play, 60-yard drive that made the score 7-7 with 10:40 left in the second quarter.
Winona State scored twice to end the first half on a 47-yard pass from Nelson to Connor Schulz and a 26-yard Carter McCauley field goal to give the Warriors a 17-7 lead with 5:48 to play second quarter.
Later in the second quarter, Wayne State appeared to be close to scoring a touchdown when senior Cam Montgomery intercepted a Nelson pass and raced 45 yards and was near the goal line when he lunged for the end zone the ball came out and went through the end zone for a touchback, keeping the score 17-7 at intermission.
The Warriors extended their lead to 27-7 in the third with a 40-yard McCauley field goal and a 34-yard interception return for a touchdown, but the Wildcats cut the deficit to two scores when quarterback Zach Osborn connected with Nate Rogers for an 11-yard score to make it 27-13 with 12:31 to go.
Winona State never gave the Wildcats a chance to get back into the game as Nelson fired a 34-yard pass to Will Claussen with 9:25 to go. Wayne State got it back to two scores with a one-yard dive by Osborn with 4:41 left, but Winona responded with a final touchdown as Jack Nelson scored on a one-yard dive with 1:27 left to put the game out of reach.
Osborn was Wayne State’s top rusher with 116 yards on 22 carries and one score. Throwing the ball, he completed just 16-of-39 passes for 167 yards with one score and two interceptions. It was the first game this season that Osborn did not throw for two or more TD’s.
Shymere Williams was the top Wildcat receiver with six catches for 58 yards followed by freshman Willie Walton with five grabs for 80 yards.
Defensively, senior Cam Montgomery was named the Egg Bowl Most Valuable Player for Wayne State with nine tackles and two interceptions. Junior linebacker DeWayne Scott added nine stops.
Winona State’s Egg Bowl MVP was senior quarterback Jack Nelson, who accounted for 417 yards of total offense and four TD’s after completing 25-of-40 passes for 362 yards and three scores with four interceptions while adding another 55 yards rushing on six carries and one score.
The Wildcats (3-5) will be on the road next Saturday, traveling to Fayette, Iowa for a 1 p.m. battle at Upper Iowa University.
