UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. – The Saginaw Valley State University football team scored seven times in a 49-28 victory over Gannon on Saturday afternoon. The Cardinals (1-1) totaled almost 500 total yards of offense, including 287 yards on the ground with six scores from four different ball carriers.
"The offensive line was fantastic, blocking and protection. Just an outstanding job by that group," said head coach Ryan Brady. "We have a lot of playmakers and a lot of weapons, and we were able to spread it around and keep Gannon off balance."
Meijer Player of the Game Michael Jamerson III (Flint, Mich. / Carmen Ainsworth HS) led offensively with two scores rushing and another receiving. Mason McKenzie (Caledonia, Mich. / Caledonia HS) recorded his second-straight 100-yard rushing performance. He completed 11-of-14 pass attempts for 159 yards passing and a touchdown toss.
"All-in-all very solid from the offense, and I thought the defense really bounced back well, [they] really played hard, much more disciplined. We did a good job on third down today," said Brady.
Saginaw Valley State's defense stalled the Golden Knights' (0-2) opening drive just short of midfield and benefitted from a high snap that pushed the ball back 37 yards and gave the Cardinals possession at the Gannon 17-yard line.
Terrence Brown Jr. (Detroit, Mich. / Martin Luther King HS) punched it in four plays later with a five-yard rush to give SVSU a 7-0 lead in the first five minutes of play.
The Cardinal defense forced a three-and-out, a ricocheted punt went 15 yards, and SVSU took over on the Golden Knights' 40-yard line. Jamerson III scored on a one-yard run five plays later to increase the lead 14-0 with 6:19 left in the first quarter. The sophomore from Flint, Michigan, carried the ball three times in the drive.
Gannon capped a 12-play, 75-yard drive with a four-yard rushing touchdown at 13:27 of the second quarter and cut the Cardinal lead in half, 14-7.
Saginaw Valley State responded with a 12-play drive of its own that started on the Cardinals' six-yard line. McKenzie completed 5-of-6 passing attempts for 57 yards to drive the ball down to the GU 21-yard line. Israel Bradford (Cincinnati, Ohio / Mt. Healthy HS) finished things off with a 21-yard touchdown run to push the lead to 21-7 with 7:18 left in the half.
Special teams came up big for Saginaw Valley in the drive, as Colin Kraatz (Saginaw, Mich. / Heritage HS) blocked Gannon's punt and gave the Cardinals the ball back three yards outside the red zone.
Brown scored his second rushing touchdown of the game 2:33 later with a six-yard run that widened the gap to 28-7 and completed a five-play drive.
The defense forced a turnover on downs to get the ball back to the offense with 60 seconds left before the half, but the score remained 28-7 as the teams entered the locker room.
McKenzie came out hot in the second half. He completed a pass to Brown for 38 yards on the first play from scrimmage in the third. He added 20 yards rushing on the next two plays before a five-yard pass to Zarek Zelinski (Waterford, Mich. / Waterford Kettering HS) moved the ball to the Gannon 12. Jamerson III registered his second touchdown of the game with a six-yard score to increase the margin to 28 points.
Jamerson III scored for a third time on the next SVSU drive with a nine-yard pass from McKenzie, ending a six-play drive and putting the score at 42-7 with 6:38 remaining in the third quarter.
The Golden Knights scored on the ensuing drive to chip at the lead, 42-14, with just under five minutes left in the third stanza.
The final Cardinal touchdown was scored in the opening 90 seconds of the fourth quarter when Jaquan Howard (Chicago, Ill. / Bolingbrook HS) scored from two yards out to complete a 12-play drive that chewed 6:07 off the clock and put the score at 49-14 with 13:31 left to play.
Gannon scored on its next drive with a three-yard pass and again with a one-yard run to put the score at 49-28, where it remained until the game went final.
Christian Boivin (Traverse City, Mich. / Traverse City West HS) led the defense in tackles for the second week in a row with eight stops, five solo. Junyoung Chung (Berrien Springs, Mich. / Berrien Springs HS) and Jamil Thomas (Ypsilanti, Mich. / Huron HS) totaled six tackles. Adom LeDuc (Utica, Mich. / Utica Stevenson HS) had four tackles, two solo, along with a sack and 1.5 tackles for loss. LeDuc also registered two quarterback hurries.
"Proud of the guys. I thought we did a lot of really good things on both sides of the ball," said Brady. "Definitely cleaned up some things on special teams. Overall, it is a good victory and onto the next."
The Cardinals will remain at home for week three as they host rival Northwood in the Axe Bowl on Saturday, September 13, at 6:00 p.m. ET.
