UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. – The Saginaw Valley State football team fell in a tight battle to No. 15/14 Michigan Tech, 27-20, on senior day Saturday. The Cardinals (4-5, 2-3 GLIAC) had the ball inside the MTU 30-yard line in the closing minute, but the Huskies' (7-2, 4-1 GLIAC) defense stopped them on 4
th-and-13 to regain possession and kneel out the victory.
The first 12 minutes of the first quarter featured a defensive battle. Michigan Tech drove into the red zone on its first drive, but the SVSU defense stiffened and stalled the Huskies at the 17, forcing a 34-yard field goal for MTU.
The Cardinals' next drive stalled, and the Huskies blocked the punt to get the ball at the SVSU 20 before the first quarter ended.
Saginaw Valley State's defense held firm again, halting MTU at the 15 to set up a 32-yard field goal attempt.
Jevon Jones (Detroit, Mich., Harper Woods HS) leaped and blocked the kick, keeping the score at 3-0 and giving SVSU the ball back on its own 20-yard line.
The Cardinals defense tightened again on the next Husky drive, holding off the MTU offense inside the 10 and forcing a third field goal attempt, this one good from 26 yards out, and the score moved to 6-0 in favor of Michigan Tech.
SVSU's offense responded with a drive that chewed 6:43 off the clock and ended in a 21-yard field goal by
Teagen Lenderink (Rockford, Mich., Brentwood Academy TN) to cut the deficit in half, 6-3, as the teams entered the locker room at the break.
Michigan Tech received the ball coming out of the half, but the Cardinal defense forced a three-and-out to get it back with 13:26 on the clock in the third.
Connor Wolf (Ada, Mich., Grand Rapids Catholic Central HS) found
JT Webber (Grand Blanc, Mich., Grand Blanc HS) for a 41-yard pass that moved the ball inside the MTU 20-yard line.
The drive sputtered to the 13, and Lenderink cashed in a second field goal from 31 yards away to knot things up 6-6 with just under 10 minutes left in the third frame.
The tie didn't last long, as the Huskies used 35- and 30-yard passes to move down to the Cardinal's 1-yard line, punching it in four plays later to take the lead 13-6.
Wolf connected with Webber again for 31 yards on two passes that set SVSU up at the Michigan Tech 34, where
Obie Sanni (Aurora, Colo., Smoky Hills HS) did the rest, scoring a rushing touchdown with 4:16 left in the third to tie it at 13.
A three-and-out got the ball back for the Cardinals, but the drive stalled, and a second blocked punt by MTU was returned for a touchdown, and the Huskies moved ahead 20-13 heading into the final quarter.
Wolf and the SVSU offense tied things up a third time with a 10-play, 69-yard drive that ended with a 13-yard touchdown pass from Wolf to
Jamison Pelt (Saginaw, Mich., Swan Valley HS) at the 4:01 mark of the fourth quarter.
Michigan Tech moved the ball down inside the Cardinal five in the final two minutes and took the lead with a two-yard touchdown run, putting the score at 27-20 with 1:51 remaining.
Devin Miles (Danville, Ill. , Danville HS) took the kickoff 24 yards to the 45, to set the offense up with good field position again. A pass interference penalty moved the ball to the Michigan Tech 40, but the Husky defense knocked Wolf's pass down on a 4
th-and-13 to end the drive and the game.
Wolf finished 24-of-37 for 278 yards and a touchdown pass. He completed passes to eight SVSU receivers. Sanni had his best game since returning from injury with 76 yards on nine carries (8.4 avg.) and a score.
Mylek Lee (Inkster, Mich., Romulus HS) caught a team-high six passes for 43 yards. Webber led in yards with 87 on five catches, including his 41-yard reception.
Matt Vaughn (Stevensville, Mich., Lakeshore HS) caught three passes for 46 yards and had a six-yard run on a fake punt that extended a drive for the Cardinals in the first half that led to the team's first field goal of the afternoon.
Adom LeDuc (Sterling Heights, Mich., Adlai E. Stevenson HS) led the team with nine tackles and two for loss. He also forced a fumble that MTU recovered.
Brandon Lewis (Lansing, Mich., Lansing Catholic HS) had eight stops, while
Jalen Edwards (Davison, Mich., Davison HS) and
Tray Haido (Davison, Mich., Davison HS) finished with six
.
UP NEXT: The Cardinals travel for the last two games of the regular season, with a trip to Chicago to face Roosevelt next week (Nov. 7). The game against the Lakers is set to kick off at 2 p.m. EST.
