Wayne, NE (NSUWolves.com) – A pair of 14-point quarters led the Northern State University football team to cap off their season with a victory at Wayne State. With the win, the Wolves closed out the year with a 6-5 record overall and 6-4 mark in the NSIC. Northern opened their season with a week zero contest and currently sits fifth in the league standings with the other 12 NSIC schools closing out league play next weekend.
THE QUICK DETAILS
Final Score: NSU 28, WSC 21
Records: NSU 6-5 (6-4 NSIC), WSC 6-4 (5-4 NSIC)
Attendance: 1183
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Wolves tallied 14 points in both the second and third quarters with the Wildcats scoring one touchdown each in the first, second, and fourth
- Wayne State scored first in the contest mid-way through the opening period on an 11-yard run
- Just minutes into the second, Hank Kraft rushed 1-yard to the goal line and tied the contest for NSU
- Wayne responded and grabbed their second lead of the game on the following drive; however, the Wolves were not satisfied to end the half down by seven
- Daniel Britt connected with Cade Kaiser on a 75-yard, 13-play drive to tie the game at 2:53 in the second for the true freshman’s first career touchdown
- Northern grabbed the lead to open the third on Kraft’s second touchdown of the day, a 6-yard rush at 10:52
- An interception by Luke Gunderson on the Wildcats following drive, put the Wolves in position for the final touchdown of the contest
- Colton Hackel entered the game on first and short, scoring his third touchdown of the season, giving the Wolves a 28-14 lead
- Wayne State opened the fourth with an 18-yard rushing scoring, making it a 7-point game; however, the Wolves defense fended out four Wildcat Drives in the final 14-minutes of action to secure the victory
- The Northern offense tallied 15 first downs, 186 yards rushing, 154 yards passing, and 340 yards of total offense, while the Wildcats recorded 22 first downs, 247 yards rushing, 159 yards passing, and 406 yards of total offense
- The Wolves scored each of the four times they entered the red-zone and converted on 6-of-12 third down attempts
- The defense forced two interceptions by Kegan Mountain and Gunderson and held Wayne State to 6-of-16 (37.5%) on third down
- Britt threw for 144 total yards with a 33-yard long and one touchdown; he completed 11-of-16 attempts
- Kraft tallied his second 100-yard game of the season with 110 total yards, a 51-yard long, and two interceptions
- Jack Oedekoven had a season best day with 65 yards receiving, leading eight Wolves that recorded a reception in the win
- Three members of the Northern State defense tallied double figure tackles in the win, led by NCAA national leader Jake Adams with 12
- Kegan Mountain and Logan Grossinger followed with ten apiece, a career high for Mountain; Mountain also moved into the NSIC lead with his fifth interception of the season
- Tom Ellard recorded 244 yards punting with a 49-yard long, while Jeremy Caruso went 4-for-4 in PATs and tallied 282 kick-off yards
NORTHERN STATE STATISTICAL STANDOUTS
Daniel Britt: 144 yards passing, 11-of-16 passing, 1 touchdown, 44 yards rushing
Hank Kraft: 110 yards rushing, 2 touchdowns, 6.5 yards per rush
Jake Adams: 12 tackles, 3 solo stops
Kegan Mountain: 10 tackles, 7 solo stops, 1 interception, 1 break-up
Logan Grossinger: 19 tackles, 0.5 tackles for a loss
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- The Wolves started off the season 0-4 and went 6-1 in their final seven games
- Jake Adams broke the single season tackle record, ending the year with 147 a current national leading mark
- Adams and Mountain lead the Northern Sun in total tackles and interceptions respectively
- The 6-5 mark in the third winning season for Schmidt and the Wolves in his tenure
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