WAYNE, Neb. -- Wayne State surpassed 600 yards of total offense as the Wildcats erupted for 49 points in the second and third quarters to cruise past Upper Iowa 56-14 in Northern Sun Conference South Division football Saturday afternoon in the Hall of Fame Game at Cunningham Field in Wayne.  WSC is now 7-2 on the season and 3-2 in the NSIC South while UIU drops to 1-8 and 0-4 in the division.

The lone score of the first quarter came on a 33-yard TD pass from sophomore quarterback Nick Bohn to Trevor Marshall putting the ‘Cats in front 7-0 with 4:30 to play first quarter.

Upper Iowa evened the score at 7-7 early in the second quarter on a 26-yard pass play from Darryl Overstreet Jr. to Cole Ewald at the 14:18 mark of the first half.        

Wayne State then scored touchdowns on their next seven possessions in the second and third quarters to break open the contest.

The ‘Cats erupted for 28 points in the second quarter to take a 35-7 lead at intermission.  The first score came on a 5-yard scoring strike from Bohn to tight end Trey Miller for his first career touchdown putting the ‘Cats ahead 14-7.

Senior running back Anthony Watkins scored on consecutive drives with touchdown runs of 14 and four yards and WSC closed the first half scoring on a 25-yard pass from Bohn to Mason Lee with 19 seconds left in the half.

Wayne State produced three more touchdowns in the third quarter to increase their lead to 56-7. 

The ‘Cats drove 60 yards on the opening drive of the third quarter, capped by a Watkins two-yard rush, giving WSC a 42-7 lead. 

WSC pushed their lead to 49-7 later in the quarter when Bohn found Watkins on a 31-yard scoring pass and the Wildcats closed the third quarter scoring on a Jacob Keiser one yard plunge with 1:13 to go third quarter to make the score 56-7.

The final score of the game came from Upper Iowa on a three-yard run by Aboubacar Barry with 5:08 left in the game making the final score 56-14.

Wayne State finished the contest with 604 yards of total offense, the first time the ‘Cats surpassed the 600-yard mark since September 5, 2015 vs. Minnesota Crookston (662).  WSC had 331 yards rushing and 273 yards passing while holding Upper Iowa to just 179 yards of total offense including 16 yards on the ground.

Watkins led the potent Wildcat rushing attack with 123 yards on just 10 carries and three scores while adding another 33 yards receiving on two catches and one TD for four combined touchdowns.  Keiser added 69 yards rushing on 15 attempts and one TD while Bohn gained 67 yards on the ground on nine rushes.

Throwing the ball, Bohn completed 13 of 23 passes for 227 yards and four TD’s with eight different receivers making catches.  Wayne senior Mason Lee had four receptions for 86 yards and one TD followed by David Elder with three catches for 24 yards.

Defensively, J’Von France and Dexter Larsen each had five tackles followed by Jaylan Scott and Tyler Leclair with four. 

WSC will be on the road next Saturday for an NSIC South Division contest at Sioux Falls starting at 1 p.m.