On Saturday, the Michigan Tech football Huskies beat the Saginaw Valley State University Cardinals 28-24 in a fourth-quarter rally. Going into the fourth quarter, the Huskies were down by 10, but two touchdowns by senior running back John Williams closed the gap and sealed the victory for the Huskies.
“We told our kids it was going to be a 60-minute game and we had to hang together and play for the full four quarters which we did,” said head coach Steve Olson. “We made some key stops on defense when we needed to and our offense produced and scored. It was a great comeback win for us today.”
A 16-yard punt return by sophomore wide receiver Jacob Wenzlick put the Huskies at the Cardinals’ 29-yard line. The offensive line made a gap on the right side for Williams to beeline to the end zone bringing the Huskies to a 7-0 lead.
The Cardinals matched the score on the next drive, tying the game 7-7. A 16 play, eight-minute drive ended in just a field goal for the Cardinals. Senior defensive lineman Cayman Berg-Morales and sophomore Glacier Wallington kept SVSU’s running back Nate McCrary out of the end zone on multiple occasions.
The Huskies began the second half with a 7-10 deficit. Taking the ball back on their own 12-yard line, the Huskies began their longest scoring drive of the season thus far. An eight-play 88-yard drive was finished off with a 19-yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback Jake Brown to senior wide receiver David Falish, bringing the score to 14-10.
The Cardinals scored on their next two possessions, leaving the Huskies down 14-24 with just 53 seconds left in the third quarter. With 11 minutes left in the fourth quarter, the Huskies took over possession on their own 34-yard line. A nine-yard pass completion from Brown to Wenzlick allowed a 48 yard gain on the ground, bringing the Huskies to the Cardinals’ 9-yard line.
Stepping in at fullback, Williams brought the score closer with a 9-yard touchdown run. The Cardinals took possession again but were stopped at the 11-yard line, forcing a field goal attempt. Sophomore linebacker Marvin Wright blocked the attempt, keeping the score at 21-24 with just under four minutes left to play.
The Huskies took over on their own 20-yard line. Two completed passes from Brown to Falish and Williams would prove to be key in sealing the victory. At the Cardinals 36-yard line with 1:40 to go Tech called one of their two remaining time-outs to set up a pass play from Brown to Wenzlick that would allow for a gain of 31 yards, leaving the Huskies on the five-yard line. Williams bolted into the end zone on the next snap completing his third touchdown of the day and sealing the victory for the Huskies.
Williams rounded out the day with 116 yards and three touchdowns. Wenzlick boasted a career-high eight catches for a total of 97 yards. Falish claimed three catches for 43 yards as well as his first touchdown of the season. Brown completed 15 passes for 159 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions and also carried the ball four times for 72 yards.
Senior Spencer Moran led the defense Saturday with a career-high of 15 tackles. Senior Derek Cingel boasted a season-best of 10 tackles for the day.
“This was a great team effort today and I’m proud of our players and our coaching staff. The way they handled the adversity that we knew they were going to face today was outstanding. They battled through it like a family and that’s what we were hoping for. We know this is a tough conference and we know each game is going to be tough. I was really proud of our guys and their effort,” Olson said.
The Huskies return to Houghton next Saturday to host the Northern Michigan University Wildcats in the much anticipated annual Miner’s Cup game. Kickoff will be at 7 p.m. at Sherman Field.
