The Michigan Tech Huskies overcame a 21-point deficit to defeat the South Dakota Mines Hardrockers (SDM) 52-50 in a thrilling quadruple overtime game Thursday night at Kearly Stadium.
Michigan Tech fell behind 21-0 with just under eight minutes left in the first half. A crucial touchdown grab by Darius Willis over a SDM defender finally put the Huskies on the board, providing a spark just before halftime. The second half saw a shootout between South Dakota Mines’ Jake Martinelli and Michigan Tech’s Alex Fries. Fries finished the game with five touchdowns and 457 passing yards, setting a new Huskies single-game record.
“We knew that the game wasn’t over, we weren’t gonna back down,” said Tech receiver Ethan Champney when reflecting on the Huskies’ mentality at halftime. Champney backed it up, finishing the game with 227 yards receiving and two touchdowns, including the would-be game winning 2-point conversion grab.
Tech went back to the well with short yardage play calls that had seen success earlier in the game, and saw similar success to win the game. The game winning play came from Hunter Buechel, coming off the edge to break up Martinelli’s last attempt at the line of scrimmage, celebrating with a sprint to midfield and a dive on the logo where the rest of the team surrounded him in celebration.
Coach Dan Mettlach credited the team’s resilience and strategy in the overtime periods. “We tapped out of ‘em,” he said when discussing play calls for the final overtime periods.
The Huskies now sit at 1-1 W/L on the season and will take on the 0-1 Hillsdale Chargers this Saturday, Sep. 14, at home. The Huskies look to build on their momentum and notch their second win of the season.
