Oct. 10, 1998

Northern State overcame early mishaps to defeat Wayne State 21-14 in Wayne, Neb. Saturday.

It was a feast-or-famine start to the game for the Wolves' special teams. NSU fumbled on a kickoff, a punt return, and failed to recover an onside kick ... all in the first quarter. Due to these miscues, The Wolves' offense ran all of one play in the first quarter. But thanks to a stingy defense, which was on the field all but one minute in the first quarter, the Wolves gave up only two field goals. That plus a blocked field goal by NSU junior defensive lineman Marcus Tynanes (Ewa Beach, Hawaii) returned 61 yards to paydirt by sophomore defensive back Dave Snelling (Sturgis, S.D.) incredibly had NSU up 7-6 heading into the second quarter despite the atrocious start.

Wayne State (0-6) struck in the second quarter and after a 2-point conversion led 14-7 at halftime. The second half belonged to NSU junior running back Troy Hoff. The Scotland, S.D., native rushed for 156 yards on 19 carries in the second half -- including a 34-yard touchdown run -- after having just one rushing attempt in the first. Sophomore back Tyrone Morgan (Wichita Falls, Texas) scored NSU's last touchdown late in the third quarter and ran for 94 yards on the day.

Defensively, the Wolves held Wayne State to 241 total yards, including just 80 in a shutout second half. For the third game in a row, senior middle linebacker Naki Angilau (Kearns, Utah) led NSU in tackles with three unassisted and seven assisted.