SIOUX FALLS – The #4/6 University of Sioux Falls Football Team (5-1, 1-1 NSIC South) had its 17-game NSIC winning streak come to an end in a 31-13 home setback to Winona State (6-0, 2-0 NSIC South) in NSIC action on Saturday night at Bob Young Field before a Cougars Day crowd of 2,130.

With the loss, the Cougars, which played without the services of All-American running back Max Mickey, lost for just the 7th time in 70 games at Bob Young Field. However, USF was able to extend its streak of scoring in a game to 145 straight games. The Cougars fell to 5-2 in homecoming games in the NCAA DII era and had its season series with WSU tied at 3-3.

"Give credit to Coach (Tom) Sawyer and Winona State for playing a really solid all-around game," said USF Head Football Coach Jon Anderson, who is now 5-1 in his first season at the helm. "We made too many mistakes but played hard to the end. As long as we give our best every time out, I will never be disappointed. We will shake this off and look to rebound next week," he said.

Highlighting the Cougars performance was junior wide receiver Anthony Holmes, who set a career-best with five catches for 123 yards, cracking 100 yards receiving for the first time in his career.

The Warriors, which improved to 6-0 for the first time since 1998, opened up the 10-0 halftime lead and outscored USF, 21-13 in the second half to retain a tie for first place in the NSIC South with Minnesota State and Wayne State, all at 2-0. USF, which is 5-1 or better after six games for the fourth straight year, will operate on a short week with an NSIC road matchup scheduled with Wayne State (4-2, 2-0 NSIC South) at 7 p.m. on Thursday in Wayne, Neb.

Key to the Warriors' success was a balanced attack which totaled 430 yards in total offense on 71 plays against USF, the league's top-ranked defense entering play. WSU, led by Javian Roebuck's career-high 142 yards rushing and two TDs (42, 63), produced 204 rushing yards and 226 yards through the air. In addition, WSU's defense was solid, led by Andrew Spencer, who had 10 tackles, a sack, two TFLs and a forced fumble.

USF, which had just 85 yards at halftime, ended up with 321 yards in total offense on 66 plays. Four turnovers hurt USF, including three interceptions and a lost fumble. With the loss of Mickey, the Cougars' rushing attack was able to produce just 65 yards on 28 carries. Meanwhile, quarterback Ian Fieber had a career-high by completing 17-of-38 passes for 256 yards with a TD and three interceptions. USF's rushing attack was paced by Winston Maxwell, who had 31 yards on eight carries. Sophomore Colton Myles added four carries for 21 yards and a five-yard TD run, which was his second career TD. Freshman receiver Ty Smith added five catches for 69 yards while senior tight end Nicholas Stanke providing two catches for 22 yards, including an 18-yard TD reception.

On defense, senior Michael Atonio led the Cougars with eight tackles and two TFLs. Josh Butler added seven tackles and three pass breakups while Jeffrey Harman also had a season-high seven tackles along with a pass break-up. Senior defensive tackle Brian Mayberry provided six tackles and recovered a fumble.

Early on the two defenses controlled the action in the homecoming tilt. WSU broke through first on a 20-yard field goal from Carter McCauley for a 3-0 lead with 5:15 to play in the opening quarter. With 10:36 to play in the second quarter, Isaiah Frandsen, who had six catches for 81 yards, hauled in a 10-yard TD pass from quarterback Darrell Beenken (18-of-30 for 226 yards and two TDs) to complete a nine-play, 68-yard scoring drive and a 10-0 lead with 10:36 to play in the second quarter.

The Warriors took control of the game in the third quarter. After forcing USF into a three-and-out to open the quarter, WSU built a 17-0 lead when Roebuck scored the first of his two long TD runs. Roebuck's 42-yard TD run with 11:09 to play, capped a seven-play, 65-yard scoring drive for WSU. After the Warriors picked off a pass, Frandsen made an acrobatic catch in the left corner of the end zone for a seven-yard TD reception from Beenken for a 24-0 lead at the 8:17 mark of the third quarter. 

Later in the quarter, USF put together a 92-yard scoring drive to cut into the WSU lead. Fieber completed passes of 21 yards to Holmes, 15 yards to Smith, and 10 yards to A.J. Garrow before Stanke hauled in an 18-yard TD reception with 22 seconds to play.

WSU answered the Cougars' scoring drive by striking fast on the running of Roebuck, who had a 63-yard run with 12:47 to play in the game for a 31-6 lead. USF closed out the scoring on Myles five-yard scoring run with 2:06 to play in the game.

Notes –
~ USF, which is 57-17 at the NCAA DII level, stands 50-11 all-time in NSIC play, including 26-5 in NSIC home games.
~ The loss to WSU dropped the Cougars to 28-9 all-time against NSIC South Division opponents, including 14-5 in home games.
~ With seven tackles, senior Joshua Butler moved past 220 career tackles and now has 225 in his career to go with 24 passes defended.
~ Quarterback Ian Fieber has now recorded back-to-back 200-yard passing games (210, 256), surpassing 1,000 yards for the season (1,009).