COLLEGE FOOTBALL: Renel, Davis help Wayne State advance to second round of NCAA-II tournament

ST. CLOUD, Minn. — Wayne State University’s Toney Davis and Josh Renel and a little snow proved too much for St. Cloud State University to overcome Saturday.

Davis, a sophomore running back from Muskegon, and Renel, a senior all-purpose back from Rochester Adams, formed a dynamite duo on the ground for Wayne State to lead the Warriors to a 48-38 NCAA Division II football playoff first-round victory over St. Cloud State University in snowy conditions at Husky Stadium.

Davis rushed for a school record 326 yards and scored five touchdowns on runs of 2, 36, 15, 47 and 20 yards. Renel contributed 140 yards in kick-off returns, scored a rushing touchdown and had 216 all-purpose yards for the Warriors.

Wayne State, which won its first-ever postseason game in its first appearance in the NCAA-II tournament, improved to 9-3 overall and will play at the University of Nebraska-Kearney next Saturday. The Huskies finish the season with a 9-3 record.

ROLLING: Wayne State University's Josh Renel had 216 all-purpose yeards Saturday in aiding the Warriors' 48-38 triumpoh over St.Cloud State University in an NCAA Division first-round playoffs game. Courtesy File Photo | Wayne State University Athletics.

Both the Warriors and the Huskies finished the game with over 400 yards each of total offense despite snowy conditions and a 50-minute half time to allow for snow removal from the field. Wayne State finished outgained the Huskies, 413-407.

St. Cloud State led 21-6 with 12 minutes to go in the second quarter before getting untracked.

“We knew they would be a big physical team on both sides, up and down the o- and d-line,” said fourth-year St. Cloud State head coach Scott Underwood. “Today they did a great job of rushing the football. Their running back did a great job today broke quite a few tackles in tough conditions.”

Linebacker Jordan Miller collected a game-high ten tackles. Raleigh Ross added nine tackles and a 78-yard interception return for a touchdown for Wayne State.

For the Huskies, sophomore quarterback Phillip Klaphake (Princeton) completed 22-of-37 passes for 284 yards and three touchdowns to go along with two interceptions. He was the Huskies’ leading rusher with 13 carries for 65 yards. Senior tight end Nick Angellotti had a game and career-high six receptions.

St. Cloud State senior defensive back Tony Kubes and senior linebacker Cody Kave nine tackles each. Kubes recovered a fumble and Kave had the only quarterback sack for the Huskies.

SCSU seemed to have the upper hand early scoring first in the game on a 3-yard run by senior running back Dante Steward. Wayne State answered on a 2-yard Davis run but missed the extra point. Sophomore Renard Robinson (Bloomington) caught his first of two touchdown passes on a 30-yard play to give the Huskies a 14-6 lead.

St. Cloud State scored early in the second quarter on a two-yard Michael Walker (Walworth, Wis.) run and the Husky lead was 21-6.

Over a span of six and a half minutes, Wayne State scored on a 55-yard Josh Renel run and runs of 36 and 15 yards by Toney and the Huskies found themselves trailing 27-21. Junior Tyler Aldridge (Woodbury) kicked a 23-yard field goal at the end of the half to close the gap to 27-24.

Following the extended intermission, the teams traded possessions to start the third quarter. On the Huskies second possession the Warriors blocked a 38-yard SCSU field goal attempt. On St. Cloud State’s next possession Raleigh Ross collected his first interception of his career and ran it back 78-yards for a score and a 34-24 lead.

The Huskies didn’t give up and with 1:10 left in the third quarter sophomore Phillip Klaphake (Princeton) found Robinson in the end zone to cut the lead to 34-31. With 0:57 seconds left in the third, Davis scored on a 47-yard run. He would score his final touchdown at the 3:42 mark of the fourth quarter to put the Warriors up by the final margin of 10 points (48-38).

St. Cloud State scored on a 74-yard pass play from Klaphake to Damon Treat with 2:31 left in the game, which cut the deficit to 41-38.

St. Cloud State was ranked 12th in the national polls this week and were the No. 3 seed in Super Region No. 3. The Huskies were making their second straight NCAA playoff appearance and fourth overall. Wayne State was the No. 6 seed in the region and were making their first ever NCAA appearance.

Tags: College Football, football, Josh Renel, NCAA Division II Football Playoffs

Category: Campus Clips, Colleges / Other