UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. – The Saginaw Valley State football team defeated No. 16 Grand Valley State 27-20 in the Battle of the Valleys on Saturday afternoon. The Cardinals (4-4, 2-2 GLIAC) got out in front 21-0 in the first half, and fought off a late push by the Lakers (5-3, 1-3 GLIAC) to hold on for the win.
It is the first time SVSU has won consecutive games against GVSU since 1985, when the Cardinals won three straight from 1983-85 (members of the 1983 and 1984 Cardinal football teams were in attendance for Hall of Fame weekend).
"What an unbelievable game. To be able to get this win in front of two Hall of Fame football teams who were inducted last night was really cool for myself, for our guys, and our team," said head coach
Michael Engle.
Saginaw Valley wasted no time getting on Grand Valley as
Jaquan Howard (Chicago, Ill., Bolingbrook HS) took the opening kickoff 57 yards down the field to give the Cardinal offense the ball on the GVSU 43 to start the game.
Connor Wolf (Ada, Mich., Grand Rapids Catholic Central HS) paid it off six plays later when he found
Braden Hill (Charlotte, Mich., Charlotte HS) for a 13-yard touchdown pass to put SVSU up 7-0.
The Cardinal defense responded by forcing a punt on the first Lakers drive and a fumble on the next, giving the SVSU offense the ball in the red zone.
Wolf found Hill again, hitting the team leader in touchdowns with a 19-yard strike on the first play of the drive to extend the lead to 14-0 with 4:25 left in the opening quarter.
After another Lakers punt, Wolf's pass was picked off at the SVSU 18-yard line to set GVSU up with an opportunity to trim the lead, but
Sean Hodges (Detroit, Mich., Cass Tech HS) and
Curtis Andrews III (Grand Rapids, Mich., Forest Hills Northern HS) dropped Bryce Hurley for a six-yard loss on the final play of the quarter to back the Lakers up to the 24, before Andrews intercepted Andrew Schuster's pass on the very first play of the second quarter.
Wolf hit
JT Webber (Grand Blanc, Mich., Grand Blanc HS) four plays later for a 48-yard touchdown, widening the margin to 21-0 with 13:44 left in the first half.
The Cardinal defense was backed up to its own one-yard line, but three stops forced the Lakers to kick a 19-yard field goal that only trimmed three points from the deficit.
SVSU's offense responded by moving the ball down to the Lakers' eight-yard line, but the drive stalled and forced a 25-yard field goal attempt, which was missed to keep the score at 21-3 with 3:02 on the clock.
James McDonald (Warren, Mich., De La Salle HS) stopped the next GVSU drive with a forced fumble on a 14-yard catch by Amonte Cook, and Curtis fell on the loose ball for the Cardinal defense's third takeaway.
The Lakers responded with another interception to get the ball back on their own 34-yard line in the closing minutes of the half.
Schuster completed 6-for-7 passes, including one from two yards out to give the Lakers their first touchdown with just 28 ticks left in the first half. The Cardinals led 21-10 at the break.
GVSU came out in the third and drove inside the Cardinal 10-yard line.
Josh Williams (Detroit, Mich., Dearborn Fordson HS) picked Schuster's pass on 3
rd-and-5 at the seven to keep the Lakers off the scoreboard and complete another defensive stop deep in SVSU territory.
Kellen Reed scored for GVSU on a three-yard run with 5:02 left in the third quarter, bringing the score to 21-17 in favor of the home team.
The Cardinals extended their lead to two scores after a 13-play, 64-yard drive that chewed up 7:04 of the clock in the fourth. The final play was a one-yard touchdown run by
Obie Sanni (Aurora, Colo., Smoky Hills HS), who made his return to the field after battling an injury. SVSU went for two, but it failed, and the score sat at 27-17 with 1:44 left in regulation.
The Lakers, led by Schuster, completed three passes to most near midfield, but the drive stalled at the SVSU 11, forcing the Lakers to kick a 29-yard field goal with 21 seconds left to play and attempt an onside kick still trailing 27-20.
The kick was recovered by the Cardinals, and Wolf knelt on the last play to seal the win for Saginaw Valley State.
Wolf finished 11-for-20 for 142 yards and three touchdowns.
Devin Miles (Danville, Ill. , Danville HS) averaged 5.3 yards per carry and totaled 95 yards. Sanni rushed for 52 yards, and Wolf added 53 more to have the Cardinal offense total 192 rushing yards for the game. Webber, Hill, and
Mylek Lee (Inkster, Mich., Romulus HS) led with three catches. Webber totaled 74 yards and a touchdown, while Hill had 40 and two scores.
Junyoung Chung (Berrien Springs, Mich., Berrien Springs HS) and McDonald
led defensively with eight tackles. McDonald and
Ty Robertson (Saginaw, Mich., Heritage HS) finished with a tackle for loss. Robertson recorded both of the team's quarterback hurries, one of which led to the Williams interception in the third.
Calvin Watson (Macomb, Mich., Dakota HS), Curtis III, and Williams had an interception.
"They had their backs against the wall multiple times today, and they responded at every opportunity," said Engle.
UP NEXT: The Cardinals host Michigan Tech next Saturday, October 31, at 2 p.m. for the final home game of the 2026 regular season. SVSU will honor the senior class and also hold a costume contest to celebrate Halloween.
