Amazing comeback: Warriors 35, Storm 31

Amazing comeback: Warriors 35, Storm 31: The Lions aren’t the only football team in Detroit that has a knack for the theatrics.

The other team is the Wayne State Warriors.

Evident by its improbable run to the Division II national championship game last season, WSU football is nothing short of exciting.

And Saturday was no different.

Trailing the Lake Erie College Storm 31-13 with 13:08 remaining in the contest, the 19th-ranked Warriors staged a spectacular comeback to win the game, 35-31, at Adams Field.

“One of the quotes that we have is ‘Don’t flinch, never let losing enter your mind,” Warriors head coach Paul Winters said. “And I think that that was a great example of not flinching.”

While Winters and the Warriors came away with the victory, they were undoubtedly outplayed by the Storm for the first 55 minutes. But it was the final five that put the Warriors over the top. Forcing WSU to punt the ball on its first drive, LEC blocked the Stefan Terleckyj punt attempt and corralled the ball at the WSU 15-yard line. The Storm would convert the takeaway into a touchdown.

But the Warriors tied the game quickly with a four play, 75-yard drive, which ended with a Toney Davis one-yard touchdown run with 7:37 to go in the first quarter. The drive was highlighted by a 62-yard pass from Mohner to Dominique Maybanks.

But the Storm took over from there. A 40-yard field goal gave them a 10-7 lead, and LEC extended it to 17-7 after a 67-yard scoring drive.

The Warriors weren’t able to get anything going offensively and went without scoring for five consecutive possessions. Meanwhile, the LEC offense continued to move the ball – led by running back Anthony Bilal, who ran for 115 yards in the first half alone. He scored with 1:57 remaining in the half, as the Storm marched 86 yards downfield to take a 24-7 halftime lead.

On LEC’s first possession of the second half, WSU linebacker Nick Thomas sacked LEC quarterback Patrick Nicely, jarring the ball loose in the process. Houghton recovered the ball at the LEC nine-yard line.

“I think that was big time for us because we got some momentum to get us through the rest of the game,” Houghton said.

But the Warriors would have to settle for a field goal, a 22-yarder from Terleckyj, to make the score 24-10.

WSU recorded two sacks on the Storm’s next possession, which ended with a punt. Once again, the Warriors would have to settle for a field goal, this one being 25 yards.

After Houghton blocked a Storm field goal attempt to give the ball back to Mohner, he gave it right back to the Storm with an interception. LEC made the Warriors pay as Balil ran the ball in for another touchdown, extending the Storm’s lead to 31-13.

“We need to go to the no-huddle and score,” is what was going through Winters’ mind as LEC took an 18-point lead.

“We just had to get it going,” Mohner said. “We knew we had it in us, it was just kind of getting this game down to executing and just putting the ball in the end zone.”

Mohner and the Warriors responded with a seven-play, 76-yard drive, concluding with a 20-yard swing pass to Davis for the touchdown. LEC seemed to have Davis stopped around the 20-yard line, but he broke free and scurried into the end zone. Mohner’s pass to James Jackson on the two-point conversion made the score 31-21 with 10:32 remaining in the game.

“They probably had it defended pretty well and he broke about three tackles,” Winters said. “Finally someone had made an individual effort within the scheme that was exceptional. I think everybody felt better about themselves when he made that play.”

The Warriors defense recorded another sack fumble on the Storm’s next possession. Linebacker Ed Viverette and defensive tackle Ryan Hankins forced the fumble, with Houghton recording his second fumble of the game.

Taking over at the LEC 10-yard line, Davis took the handoff from Mohner and scampered in for his third touchdown of the day, cutting the deficit to 31-28 with 8:43 left in the game.

Trying to run the clock out, the LEC offense recorded two first downs, burning over four minutes off the clock. But the Warriors defense forced a punt and got the ball at their seven-yard line with 4:02 remaining.

Mohner meticulously led the Warriors 75-yards downfield to the LEC 18-yard line. With the clock running under one minute, Mohner stepped back and launched a pass to the corner of the end zone where he found Maybanks’ outstretched arms for the touchdown.

The Storm turned the ball over on downs on the ensuing possession, which was punctuated by an Aaron Cornett sack on fourth down.

“The bad are happening all around you and you just want the next play so that you can change things,” Winters said. “That’s the attitude that everybody had. That’s what I’m proud about these guys. They never flinched. I never looked in anyone’s eye’s and said ‘oh, no.’ They were determined and they played that way that second half, it was just beautiful to watch.”

After a Warriors’ kneel down, the final buzzer sounded and the Warriors celebrated the victory with the student section, which according to Winters, made a huge difference in the game.

“I noticed it,” he said, speaking of the crowd noise. “It was just a combination of the excitement on the field and excitement in the stands that I think carried us to the win. I have not experienced anything like that.”

Now that WSU has recorded its first win of the season, it can work on keeping the momentum going for the rest of the season.

“For us to come out and win the way we did,” Mohner said, “hopefully it will get us rolling into the rest of the season.”

The Warriors hit the road Sept. 22 for a matchup with Malone University in Canton. Kick off is 7:00 p.m.