Northern State won its third straight game in dramatic fashion Saturday evening, rallying for a walk-off 28-26 victory over Wayne State at Dacotah Bank Stadium.
The Wolves spotted Wayne State 19 first-half points before beginning their dramatic rally in the third quarter. Northern scored a pair of defensive touchdowns on pick-six interceptions, one by Jake Adams and another by Luke Gunderson, that capped either end of a 25-point spree for the Wolves.
Stanley Haskins Jr. and quarterback Colton Hackel ran for touchdowns in the middle of that spree.
Despite that run, however, the Wolves left six points on the table on a missed field goal and three missed extra points. That left the door open for the Wildcats, who took full advantage. Wayne State marched 80 yards down the field on a 3-and-a-half-minute drive and took a 26-25 lead on Nick Bohn’s second touchdown pass of the game.
That left just over six minutes for Northern State to orchestrate a game-winning drive, and with 3 seconds left on the clock, the Wolves turned to Drew Smook, the left-footed sophomore kicker who had missed a first-half field goal and two straight PAT attempts in the third.
Smook, who was 6-of-9 on field goals heading into the game, nailed the 21-yard attempt, allowing the Wolves to essentially walk-off the victory.
Hackel was 15-of-24 passing for 235 yards for the Wolves. Dewaylon Ingram had nine catches for 164 of those yards. Dakota Larson had another four catches for 52 yards. On the ground, Brett Brenton had 17 carries for 65 yards, and Haskins had 12 carries for 43 yards and a touchdown.
For Wayne State, Bohn finished 20-of-30 passing for 206 yards and two touchdowns. But it was the turnovers that proved detrimental to the Wildcats. Bohn, who had thrown just four interceptions coming into the contest, threw four more on Saturday, including the two pick-sixes.
Northern, now 4-4 on the year, will head to Concordia-St. Paul next Saturday for a noon kickoff. The Wolves will host Augustana on Nov. 4 to round out its NSIC slate.
For complete stats, visit https://nsuwolves.com/sports/football/stats/2023/wayne-state/boxscore/13165
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