Box score

INDIANAPOLIS-  Jeremy Jones intercepted a pass deep in Warrior territory to thwart a furious Greyhound comeback in a 27-23 Wayne State win in Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference action at Key Stadium Saturday night.  UIndy quarterback Rob Doyle was driving the Hounds but Jones stepped in front of an off-balanced throw to virtually end the game.

With the Hounds trailing 27-23, the Greyhound defense denied a 4th-and-1 at the UIndy 40 yardline to give Doyle and the Hounds one final drive for the win.  Facing 4th-and-10 with under two minutes remaining, Doyle hooked up with Stephen Geller on the far sidelines for a 13-yard gain to move the chains.

After a completion to Mar'Quone Edmonds for eight yards and an incompletion, Doyle stepped up in the pocket on third down and fired a pass over the middle that Jones corralled near his own 10-yardline to seal the victory.  

While the INT was big, the play that may have cost the Hounds the game was a 90-yard kickoff return by Josh Renel late in the third quarter.  The Greyhounds had just driven 57 yards on 12 plays and capped with a 26-yard field goal by Jace Morrison, his third of the night, to give UIndy the lead 20-18.  On the ensuing kick, Renel raced down the near sidelines and into the north endzone to put WSU on top for good, 24-20.

UIndy (1-2, 0-2 GLIAC) got on the board first when Joumeel McLaurine punched one in from four yards out on the opening drive for a 7-0 lead.  WSU answered later in the first quarter when Joique Bell rattled off a 23-yard run for a score, part of his 182 yards rushing and two scores.  The PAT kick was blocked, however, and UIndy clung to a one-point advantage.

Midway through the second quarter, Forney snagged a punt and squirted through the WSU special team unit for a 69-yard score and a 14-6 Greyhound advantage.  It would be short-lived as Zack George found Troy Burrell four plays later to make it 14-12.  On the two-point try, Bell made one of his best plays all night hauling-down #J.T. Owens# at the WS 1-yard line after he had intercepted the try and sprinted down the far sidelines.

Jace Morrison tacked-on a 39-yard field goal in the waning seconds of the first half for a 17-12 margin at the break.  It would be a short break with the lights still not completely restored after the campus-wide power outage.  Coming out of that short intermission, the Warriors drove 70 yards in 14 plays and chewed six-and-a-half minutes off the clock to go up 18-17 after Bell's 2-yard scoring run.

The Hounds put together a long series of their own, taking 6:34 to go 12 plays and a Morrison 26-yard field goal for a 20-18 lead.  Renel's big kickoff return took the wind out of the UIndy sails as WSU earned its third straight win at Key Stadium in the all-time series.

Doyle had a career-high 311 yards passing in the loss.  Forney finished with the punt return score and five catches for 72 yards.  Halston Love recorded 103 yards rushing and added 89 more yards on four receptions.

Owens led the Hounds defense with nine total tackles and Craig Ray added eight.

UIndy (1-2, 0-2 GLIAC) heads to Hillsdale for its first road game of the 2009 season.  Kick time is slated for 7:00 p.m.

Notes:  The power outage affected the game for more than half of the game, knocking out the scoreboard and most of the lights for a good portion of the first half and a portion of the third quarter ... Forney's punt return TD was the first by a Hound since Geller returned one 77 yards in a 42-16 win at Saint Joseph's (Sep. 22, 2007) ... Doyle set a career-high in passing for the third straight game ... the last 300-yard passer for UIndy was former QB and current coach Casey Gillin, who threw for 315 against Wayne State (Oct. 20, 2007).