MIDLAND, Mich. – The Saginaw Valley State football team fell 35-28 in a tough battle at Northwood in the Axe Bowl on Saturday afternoon. The Cardinals (2-1) had a shot to win the game in the closing minutes, but couldn't convert a 4
th-and-12 and turned the ball over on downs to the Timberwolves (2-0) to end the game.
"I am incredibly proud of the guys. Obviously the game didn't end the way that we wanted. We had a chance there at the end and didn't get it done, but our guys battled for four quarters," SVSU head coach
Michael Engle said after the game.
Braden Hill (Charlotte, Mich., Charlotte HS) had an incredible day for SVSU despite the loss. The junior wideout hauled in six catches for 135 yards and three touchdowns in the losing effort. Hill is the third Cardinal receiver to record a 100-yard performance this season.
Connor Wolf (Ada, Mich., Grand Rapids Catholic Central HS) completed 21-of-35 passes for 351 yards and four touchdowns to register his third-straight 300-yard passing game.
Northwood scored first with a three-yard touchdown run from Marquan Braswell with 2:54 on the clock in the first quarter to take a 7-0 lead.
SVSU responded with a six-yard touchdown pass from Wolf to Hill that knotted things up. The touchdown was set up by a muffed snap on a punt from Northwood that gave the Cardinals the football on the home side's 1-yard line. A false start pushed the ball back five yards on 3
rd down, and Wolf found Hill for the first touchdown exchange of the game.
Christian Ellison (Flint, Mich., Carmen Ainsworth HS) cut the next Northwood drive short with an interception at the Cardinal 15-yard line, his second straight game recording a pick.
The Timberwolves broke the tie in the final two minutes of the half, scoring with 1:46 left on the clock to move ahead 14-7.
Wolf and the Cardinals responded quickly with an 82-yard touchdown pass to
JT Webber (Grand Blanc, Mich., Grand Blanc HS) on the first play of the next drive to tie the game with just 19 seconds coming off the clock.
Northwood put another score on the board after moving the ball 41 yards in three plays to set the Timberwolves up at the SVSU 32-yard line. An untimely penalty by the Cardinals moved the ball inside the 20, and Northwood capitalized three plays later with a nine-yard touchdown run by quarterback Ethan Hamby to put the score at 21-14 heading into the break.
Wolf hit Hill for a second long touchdown pass of the game, this one for 65 yards to Hill to tie the game at 21 with 9:20 on the clock in the third stanza.
Hamby found Case Boos for a 16-yard touchdown pass in the final eight seconds of the quarter to move the Timberwolves ahead for the fourth time, 28-21.
The Cardinals battled back late in the fourth quarter with a touchdown pass from Wolf to Hill for the third time in the game. Hills's third touchdown was for 34 yards and tied the score at 28 with 4:29 left to play in regulation.
Northwood tossed a 56-yard touchdown pass that was reviewed and upheld on the next drive to take the lead again, 35-28.
SVSU got the ball back on it's own 25-yard line down seven with 2:32 left to play. Wolf hit
Devin Miles (Danville, Ill. , Danville HS) for 22 yards on the first play of the drive before reaching the two-minute timeout. Wolf completed another throw to
Mylek Lee (Inkster, Mich., Romulus HS, ) for 16 yards and the ball moved to the Northwood 37-yard line. Wolf rushed for seven more yards before throwing an incomplete pass on second down. A sack pushed the ball back nine yards and set up a 4
th-and-12. The final pass fell incomplete, and the Timberwolves killed the final 39 seconds to hold on to the win.
Webber finished with one catch for 82 yards and a touchdown. Miles caught three passes for 42 yards and
Matt Vaughn had four grabs for 27.
Two Cardinal defenders had 12 tackles to lead the team.
Carrington Pryor (Saginaw, Mich., Heritage HS) had eight solo stops and four assists for his career-high mark of 12.
Jalen Edwards (Davison, Mich., Davison HS) joined Pryor with 12 tackles, after having seven solo stops and five assists.
Junyoung Chung (Berrien Springs, Mich., Berrien Springs HS),
Sean Hodges (Detroit, Mich., Cass Tech HS), and
Adom LeDuc (Sterling Heights, Mich., Adlai E. Stevenson HS) tallied six tackles. Ellison added five tackles to his stat line with his interception.
UP NEXT: The Cardinals remain on the road next week, as they travel to Kentucky to face Kentucky State next Saturday, September 19 at 2 p.m.
