BOX SCORE

WAYNE, Neb. – Wayne State snapped 21-all halftime game with 24 unanswered points in the second half to earn a 52-29 victory over Southwest Minnesota State on Saturday in Wayne, Neb. 

WSC, which entered the game receiving votes for the Top 25 and tied for first in the country in turnover margin (+9), forced seven SMSU turnovers, in earning its fourth straight victory and improve to 4-1 overall, 4-0 NSIC.  SMSU dropped its third straight game and is now 1-4 overall, 1-3 NSIC. 

The win was also WSC's seventh straight over SMSU since 2004.

WSC running back Bryce Hawthorne rushed for 131 yards and one touchdown on 10 carries, while quarterback Nate Most, completed 17 of 29 passes for 208 yards and four touchdowns.

Wayne State snapped the tie in the third quarter with 6:05 on the clock on a 30-yard touchdown pass from Most to Mitch Montgomery.  Following a fumble by SMSU, WSC added to the lead with a 39-yard field goal by Max Martin with 5:11 remaining in the third quarter to build a 31-21 lead. 

The Wildcats then took advantage of another Mustang turnover and extended the lead to 38-21 late in the third quarter on a 48-yard run by Hawthorne and never looked back. 

SMSU quarterback Tyler Peschong completed 25 of 48 pass attempts for 285 yards with two touchdowns, three interceptions and was sacked four times.  Peschong also finished with 52 yards rushing and two touchdowns.  Warren Matthews rushed for a team-high 56 yards on 17 carries, while Cody Condon caught a career-high five passes for 40 yards.

SMSU opened the scoring late in the opening quarter, taking advantage of a Lawson Starr interception, his first of the season, at the SMSU 48-yard line.  SMSU moved down the field seven plays later as Peschong scored on a 29-yard run to give SMSU a 7-0 lead with two minutes left in the quarter.

WSC answered on its next possession with a Nate Most 39-yard touchdown pass to Kevin Paulsen with 13:57 left in the second quarter.

SMSU regained the lead later in the quarter as Peschong connected on a 11-yard touchdown pass to Tyler Erickson on third-down to give the Mustangs a 14-7 lead with 5:57 on the clock.

The Wildcats then pushed across a pair of touchdowns late in the half to build a 21-14 lead.  The Wildcats scored on a 1-yard run by Pulscher with 4:00 left and then, following a fumble by Peschong at the WSC 46-yard line, took over with 1:06 on the clock and quickly moved 54 yards on seven plays to take a seven-point lead on a Tommy Warren 23-yard reception with 17 seconds remaining.

Following the kickoff and starting at their own 30-yard with 12 seconds left in the half, Peschong scrambled to his left and lofted a perfect pass to Adam Olson, who broke free behind the WSC defense and sprinted to the end zone to score with one second left in the half to tie the game at 21.

SMSU added a final score with 6:22 left in the game on a 7-yard run by Peschong and a two-point conversion sprint by Peschong to make the score 45-29, before WSC capped the scoring with an 18-yard touchdown pass with 4:20 on the clock.

The Mustang offense finished with 404 yards of offense with 21 first downs and was 10 of 18 on third-down conversions.  Wayne State ended the game with 482 yards of offense, including 274 on the ground.

John Kersbergen finished the game with a career-high 13 tackles with eight solo stops and 2.5 for loss, while Levi Reiff added nine tackles and one fumble recovery.

Southwest Minnesota State will continue on the road next Saturday, Oct. 8, facing MSU Moorhead with kickoff slated for 1 p.m.