Warrior Football Practice
(KWNO)- The Winona State Warrior football team concluded their two-week road trip last weekend as they bounced back from the loss to Northern State and dominated Southwest Minnesota State 43-7.
The SMSU Mustangs scored first in last Saturday’s tilt, and that was all they could do. The Warriors answered the Mustang’s touchdown with one of their own and the fireworks followed.
The Warriors earned a punt return touchdown, a blocked punt for a touchdown, a safety, and three offensive touchdowns.
Freshman Kyle Haas and Senior Trevor Paulsen once again split snaps, and they both showed out. Haas finished with 142 yards and a touchdown while Paulsen threw for 77 yards on 7/12 through the air. Not to mention, Paulsen got his legs moving, garnering 27 yards on the ground.
Senior halfback Sam Santiago-Lloyd paced the way in rushing as he bullied his way to 79 yards and a touchdown.
It was a great way to make up for the week before when the Warriors were outplayed in Aberdeen, SD in the Loss to Northern State. Head Coach for Winona State, Brian Bergstrom talked all last week leading up to the game about responding, The Warriors did just that.
“Means a ton, one, ’cause we won a football game in the NSIC…Two, we played way better…A byproduct of playing that way is that it builds momentum going into the next game…Now our challenge is to be as focused, determined, and nitpicky down to every detail like we were last week…We got to do the same (As last week) after success…The enemy of great is good and we played a good game and we can’t allow that to stop us from getting better,” Bergstrom said about the win over the Mustangs.
The Warriors will face the best team to date on the season as the 11th-ranked University of Sioux Falls heads to Winona. Lucky for the Warriors, they have some extra motivation on their side. Not only the prospect of de-throning an undefeated team but the Warrior faithful will be celebrating homecoming, and it would be a shock to not see the students pack the Max (Maxwell Field).
“Sioux falls is a good team, they haven’t lost for a reason…Offensively they’re very good at running the ball and they mix in some play-action and some deep shots…Their defense runs a very straightforward scheme but they’re sound and they play incredibly hard...Special teams make you work for what you get…and they’re talented. This will be a really good game,” said Bergstrom.
One might see similarities between this upcoming matchup and the Warrior matchup with Bemidji State. The Warriors came to Bemidji undefeated and on the Beavers’ homecoming week. Something that clearly helped motivate the Beavers. Now, the script is flipped for the Warriors, and they have the pleasure of playing the role of the underdog during the homecoming game, and in the Warrior’s case, with a nationally-ranked opponent.
In some cases, homecoming could be a distraction and add pressure to a team. Bergstrom doesn’t see it that way at all,
“Our job as coaches and players is to say, ‘that stuff is awesome, that stuff makes Winona State special, I’m gonna focus on that Saturday night at 6 o’clock…and I’m gonna be laser-focused [On the game] during the week’ …The whole week revolves around the football game…Our job is to do our best in that game…And yeah we don’t get to do some of that other stuff but we get to do things that other people can’t do as well,” Bergstrom said.
He continued to touch on the topic of added pressure, “ I think that the pressure we put on ourselves as coaches and the team, I don’t think other sources could put more pressure on us than we do ourselves…I don’t get the sense that our guys feel extra pressure.”
With a win on Saturday, the Warriors will find themselves in first place in the NSIC south and in position to control their own destiny ahead of the post-season. Of course, Bergstrom isn’t thinking about that, he’s just thinking about going 1-0.
The Warriors welcome 11th-ranked Sioux Falls to Altra Federal Credit Union Stadium tomorrow, as they look to cap off their homecoming weekend with a win. Kickoff is set for 2:30 p.m.
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