Northern State was determined not to let this one slip away.

Playing like a determined team in search of its first win, the Wolves came up big down the stretch on offense and defense to grab a 30-24 win over Winona State in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference football Saturday night at Dacotah Bank Stadium.

“I’m glad we showed how we can play and what we can do,” said NSU coach Mike Schmidt. “I think that’s the biggest part of this whole thing is this group is learning how to win.”

After a first half that saw the Wolves create two turnovers and grab a 17-7 lead thanks to touchdowns from Hank Kraft and Ty Wiley, the momentum shifted in the third quarter when the Warriors scored 14 unanswered points, including a touchdown on the final play of the period, to take their own momentum into the fourth quarter.

Northern responded to the challenge in a major way, outscoring Winona 13-3 to regain control. Schmidt said the Wolves showed some resolve and never flinched in the face of adversity.

“There’s no magic word or magic thing that kind of happened on the sideline, it just was a lot of guys, you just kept hearing the same stuff like ‘believe, energy, c’mon.’ There was just a lot of positive talk through that and that what it takes,” Schmidt said. “We definitely could have gone down the road of here we go again, and this group, they’re just not going to do that.”

The Wolves scored on their first drive of the fourth quarter when Colton Hackel threw an 18-yard touchdown pass to Tanner Branson.

After stopping the Warriors on downs, Northern put together an 11-play drive that included a key fourth-down conversion, ending in a 2-yard touchdown run by Wyatt Block.

In what Schmidt called a “signature Wyatt Block game,” the senior from Mankato, Minn., rushed for 89 yards on 14 carries, including 70 yards in the final quarter.

The Wolves finished with a season-high 325 yards of total offense in the victory.

Block said it good to get the initial win of the season.

“It feels amazing. We put in so much work in the past year, really,” Block said. “So many guys stayed through the summer and built a really good bond and it’s amazing.”

While the offense did its part in the final 15 minutes, the Northern defense also rose to challenge, allowing just two first downs and a late field goal to the Warriors. Jake Adams led the Wolves with 15 tackles.

Wolves lineman Matthew Baker said the team had its back against the wall after starting out the year with four straight losses.

“We have our back against the all and that’s just how our defense plays, back against the wall,” Baker said, “regardless of the scenario, regardless of what’s going on in the third we just kept fighting and coming back to who we are and what we do.”

As a result, the Wolves were able to get into the win column.

There was a change in perspective in practice this past week that allowed the players to have a new outlook on the season.

“This week we kind of switched up practice a little bit, making it more fun,” Block said. “Football is a fun game, and we had to take a step back and kind of realize that.”

For sure, the Wolves had a lot more fun enjoying a victory against Winona and will look to keep that positive energy going in a big weekend ahead. Northern will play host to Bemidji State at 2:30 p.m. Saturday on Gypsy Days weekend. The Beavers are 4-1 on the season following a 41-7 win over Mary this past weekend.

To see a complete box score from the game, click on the following link:

https://nsuwolves.com/sports/football/stats/2024/winona-state/boxscore/13616