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SPORTS

Winston-Salem State's rally falls short

Sunday, December 11, 2011
(Updated 10:17 pm)

WINSTON-SALEM -- Wayne State's Road Warriors are one victory from completing a storybook season and winning the first national championship in school history.

Wayne State knocked off previously undefeated Winston-Salem State 21-14 on Saturday in the NCAA Division II football semifinals as quarterback Mickey Mohner passed for one touchdown and ran for another.

The victory moved the Warriors (12-3) into the Dec. 17 title game in Florence, Ala. They will play Pittsburg (Kan.) State, which beat Delta State on Saturday night.

It was Wayne State's fourth consecutive road win of the playoffs, after it squeezed into the postseason as the sixth and last seed from Super Region 3. Last week, Wayne State upended defending champion Minnesota-Duluth 31-25.

Wayne State roared to a 14-0 lead and never trailed.

Winston-Salem State (13-1) came into the game averaging 42.8 points per game, but stalled twice in the red zone in the second half and couldn't move the ball down the stretch. The Rams were held to 241 yards of offense.

"We got bogged down in the red zone," said coach Connell Maynor, a former N.C. A&T standout. "They were hitting us with some blitzes, putting a lot of guys on the line of scrimmage and confusing our guys with which guys were coming.

"The bottom line is, we didn't get it done, for whatever reason. We fought hard, we stayed in there and gave ourselves a chance to win the ball game at the end, and we didn't get it done."

Winston-Salem finished as the first HBCU football team to win 13 games in a season.

"It's been a great run," Maynor said.

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