Posted: Nov 01, 2025
CALEDONIA, Mich. — The Saginaw Valley State University football team fell 31-17 at Davenport on Saturday afternoon. Mistakes plagued the Cardinals (5-4, 4-1 GLIAC) as the Panthers (5-3, 4-2 GLIAC) scored all 17 first-half points on SVSU blunders.
Meijer Player of the Game Zarek Zelinski (Waterford, Mich. / Waterford Kettering HS) recorded a career-high 82 receiving yards that included his 64-yard touchdown reception in the third quarter.
Davenport hopped out to a 7-0 lead after blocking the Cardinals' punt and recovering the loose ball in the endzone with 13:39 on the clock in the opening quarter.
Michael Jamerson III (Flint, Mich. / Davison HS) had three runs for 47 yards, including a 37-yard gain on a 2nd-and-5 that pushed the ball to DU 13-yard line. Three plays later, Nicholas Patterson (Mooresville, Ind. / Mooresville HS) punched the ball into the endzone from five yards out to tie the score at 7-7 with 6:35 remaining in the first quarter.
The second Davenport score was the result of a fumble recovery at the Cardinal 13-yard line. Quarterback D'Wan Mathis found Clint Walker for a four-yard touchdown pass to put the score at 14-7 in favor of the Panthers in the closing minute of the opening quarter.
Mason McKenzie's (Caledonia, Mich. / Caledonia HS) pass was picked off at the 5-yard line and returned 43 yards to set up DU on its own 48. The Panthers drove the ball down to the SVSU 12, but were forced to attempt a 29-yard field goal, which was good, widening the gap to 17-7 with 4:11 to play in the first half.
The Cardinals moved to the DU 22-yard line late in the second quarter and attempted a 39-yard field goal to trim the deficit to seven points. The kick was blocked by Mark Gorbatenko, and the score remained 17-7 as the teams entered the locker room at the break.
Teagen Lenderink (Rockford, Mich. / Brentwood Academy, TN) got another field goal try in the third after a 9-play, 51-yard drive stalled inside the Panthers' 10-yard line. Lenderink made the 26-yard attempt, and the lead was cut to 17-10 with 8:26 on the clock.
Mathis found Keonta Nixon for a 34-yard reception later in the quarter that put Davenport inside the five. Two plays later, Cephus Harris ran it in for a one-yard touchdown, and DU extended the lead to 24-10 with 2:02 left in the third.
McKenzie hit Zelinski on the first play of the next drive for a 64-yard touchdown pass on a flea flicker that cut the lead to one score, 24-17, with just under two minutes left in the third stanza.
Davenport would score on a deep ball from Mathis to Nixon at 11:50 of the fourth quarter to move the score to 31-17.
The Cardinals moved the ball to the Panthers' 7-yard line, but Braden Hill (Charlotte, Mich. / Charlotte HS) threw an interception in the endzone on a double pass play, and DU took over with 5:16 left in regulation, and were able to kill the clock and seal the win.
McKenzie finished the game 14-of-29 for 188 yards and a touchdown. He rushed 22 times for 84 yards as well. Jamerson III totaled 14 carries for 93 yards. Zelinski caught three passes for 82 yards and the score. Terrence Brown Jr. (Detroit, Mich. / Martin Luther King HS) had a team-high five catches for 50 yards. He also ran twice for 20 yards in the game.
Christian Boivin (Traverse City, Mich. / Traverse City West HS) led the defense with 10 tackles, one for loss. It is the fourth game this season that Boivin has finished with double-digit stops on his stat line. Jaden Bevier (Ypsilanti, Mich. / Ypsilanti HS) had eight tackles, 1.5 for loss. Tyree Hill (Ann Arbor, Mich. / Ann Arbor Huron HS) and Brandon Lewis (Lansing, Mich. / Lansing Catholic HS) had six tackles. Sean Hodges (Detroit, Mich. / Cass Tech HS) added five tackles to the losing effort.
UP NEXT: The Cardinals host Ferris State for the final home game of the season next Saturday, November 8, at 1:00 p.m. (ET).