UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. – The Saginaw Valley State University football team fell 28-21 to Northeastern State in the annual Red Feather Classic on Thursday night.
Meijer Player of the Game Mason McKenzie (Caledonia, Mich. / Caledonia HS) combined for 344 total yards with three touchdowns on the evening. McKenzie completed 14-of-21 passes for 243 yards and two touchdowns and rushed 12 times for 101 yards and another score.
The Riverhawks (1-0) had three scoring drives that lasted over six minutes in the first half. The first was a 10-play drive that chipped 6:20 off the clock and ended with a 29-yard field goal for a 3-0 lead.
The Fighting Cardinals (0-1) moved the ball to the Northeastern State 42-yard line before the drive stalled.
NSU held the ball for another 8:50 seconds with a 17-play drive that took the game into the second quarter and put the score at 6-0 following a 36-yard field goal by the Riverhawks.
The Saginaw Valley State offense got the ball back for just the second time at the 11:59 mark of the second quarter. The Fighting Cardinals took advantage of the opportunity, scoring on a 14-yard pass from McKenzie to Terrence Brown Jr. (Detroit, Mich. / Martin Luther King HS) to take a 7-6 lead with 10:18 remaining in the half. Brown finished the game with four catches for 56 yards and a score. He also contributed on the ground with two rushes for 14 yards.
Northeastern State responded with another long drive that consisted of 16 plays. It chewed 75 yards and 8:51 off the clock and ended on a one-yard rushing touchdown and flipped the advantage back to the Riverhawks, 13-7, and left just 80 ticks on the clock for SVSU.
The Fighting Cardinals only used 26 seconds as they recaptured the lead on a 14-yard touchdown pass from McKenzie to Braden Hill (Charlotte, Mich. / Charlotte HS) that put the score at 14-13 going into the break.
McKenzie finished the first half 6-of-7 passing for 150 yards and two touchdowns through the air. Hill caught two passes for 81 yards and a touchdown in the first 30 minutes of play.
Saginaw Valley State received the ball at the start of the second half and drove 75 yards in 10 plays to extend the lead to 21-13 following a 21-yard run by McKenzie at the 9:47 mark of the third quarter.
The Riverhawks reached the SVSU 43 with just over four minutes remaining in the third quarter and were stuffed on a 4th-and-1 by linebacker Christian Boivin (Traverse City, Mich. / Traverse City West HS) for a turnover on downs. Boivin had a phenomenal debut for the Fighting Cardinals as he led the team with 18 tackles, seven solo, and a half a sack.
The game flipped on a one-yard rush for a score by Northeastern State in the opening minute of the fourth quarter. The Riverhawks completed the two-point conversion to tie the game at 21 with 14:03 remaining in regulation.
Saginaw Valley State responded with a 10-play drive that reached the Northeastern State one-yard line. McKenzie rushed for gains of 23 and 16 to push the ball down the field. He was held to no gain on a 4th-and-goal run up the middle to keep the score tied.
The Riverhawks drove 99 yards on 14 plays and chewed off another 6:13 on the clock in a drive that ended with a three-yard touchdown run and put the score at 28-21 with 3:17 left in the game.
McKenzie came out firing in a must-score situation. He hit Hill up the middle for a 34-yard gain to get to the Northeastern State 40-yard line. He bounced back from two straight sacks to rush for 18 yards on a 3rd-and-22 before completing a 20-yard pass to Brown to convert on the fourth-down play and put the Fighting Cardinals in the red zone. The late push by SVSU was thwarted with an interception in the end zone with 1:08 left, and the Riverhawks killed the clock to seal the win.
Hill had a career night with his first 100-yard receiving game after his three catches for 115 yards and a score. Adom LeDuc (Utica, Mich. / Utica Stevenson HS) had a career-high 10 tackles in the game, three solo, as well as a sack. Brandon Lewis (Lansing, Mich. / Lansing Catholic HS) had nine tackles, three solo, and one pass breakup. Sean Hodges (Detroit, Mich. / Cass Tech HS) and Jaden Bevier (Ypsilanti, Mich. / Ypsilanti HS) each totaled eight stops. Bevier added a half sack to his totals. Junyoung Chung (Berrien Springs, Mich. / Berrien Springs HS) finished with six tackles from the defensive backfield.
The Fighting Cardinals remain at home for a week two matchup against Gannon on Saturday, September 6, at 2:00 p.m. ET.
