UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. – Saginaw Valley State football fell to No. 11 Davenport, 37-27, on homecoming. The Cardinals (2-3, 0-1 GLIAC) scored three straight touchdowns to pull within 10 points of tying the Panthers (5-0, 1-0 GLIAC) in the fourth quarter, but the rally fell short.
JT Webber (Grand Blanc, Mich. / Grand Blanc HS) recorded his second 100-yard receiving performance of the season after hauling in five passes for 102 yards. Meijer Player of the Game
Sean Hodges (Detroit, Mich. / Cass Tech HS) flipped the momentum to the Cardinals with a 55-yard interception return for a touchdown in the final two minutes of the third quarter to put the score at 37-20. Hodges had two interceptions on back-to-back possessions, six tackles, and two stops for loss.
Davenport took a 10-0 lead early in the first quarter after a field goal, followed by a touchdown after a fumble on the ensuing kickoff that set the Panthers up inside the SVSU 20-yard line.
The lead moved to 23-0 after DU's Cephus Harris scored on a 16-yard run with 1:44 left in the second quarter.
Devin Miles (Danville, Ill. / Danville HS) put the Cardinals on the board after
Connor Wolf (Ada, Mich. / Grand Rapids Catholic Central HS) hit Miles in the flat, and Miles took it 46 yards to make it 23-7 with 38 seconds left in the first half.
The Panthers scored to start the second half, extending the lead to 30-7 before widening it to 37-7 with just under 4:30 left in the third quarter.
Wolf found
Braden Hill (Charlotte, Mich. / Charlotte HS) for a 17-yard touchdown pass to make it 37-14 with 3:22 left in the quarter. Hill is the only Cardinal to score a touchdown in each of the first five games of the season.
Hodges then recorded his pick-six on the next drive to cut the deficit to 17 (37-20) with 1:39 left in the third quarter. Hodges grabbed a second interception on the following Davenport drive, setting up a second touchdown from Miles. This time, the transfer running back scored on a two-yard touchdown run in the opening seconds of the final quarter to bring the margin to 37-27 with 14:57 on the clock.
Carrington Pryor (Saginaw, Mich. / Heritage HS) recorded an interception, the third for the Cardinals, on the next drive, returning it to the Panthers' 45-yard line. SVSU then moved the ball to the Davenport one before a trio of offside penalties on 4
th down moved the line of scrimmage just inches from the goal line. Wolf was sacked for a three-yard loss, turning the ball over on downs.
The Panthers ran off nearly six minutes before turning the ball over on downs to Saginaw Valley with 1:18 left. Wolf was strip-sacked three plays into the drive and allowed Davenport to kneel out the rest of the clock to seal the score.
Wolf recorded his fourth 300-yard passing performance, finishing 18-for-30 for 325 yards and two touchdowns.
Ramonty Houze Jr. (Harper Woods, Mich. / Harper Woods HS) had a great showing with four catches for 98 yards.
Mylek Lee (Inkster, Mich. / Romulus HS), Miles, and Hill each had three catches. Lee totaled 50 yards, while Miles had 38 and a touchdown, and Hill had 37 and a score.
Tommy Offer (Rochester, Mich. / Adam HS) registered a team-high 11 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, and a sack. It was the first time in his career he registered double-digit stops in a game.
James McDonald (Warren, Mich. / De La Salle HS) finished with 10 tackles and a half-tackle for loss.
Jalen Edwards (Davison, Mich. / Davison HS) totaled eight tackles.
Jaden Bevier (Ypsilanti, Mich. / Ypsilanti HS),
Brandon Lewis (Lansing, Mich. / Lansing Catholic HS), and Hodges finished with six tackles.
UP NEXT: The Cardinals travel to Big Rapids to face top-ranked Ferris State next Saturday, October 10. Kickoff against the Bulldogs is set for 1 p.m.
