22 unanswered points in final 15 minutes
UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. – (Courtesy: Saginaw Valley State) The Saginaw Valley State University football team fell to Michigan Tech 32-28 on senior day Saturday afternoon. The Cardinals (7-4, 4-3 GLIAC) were held scoreless in the second half as the Huskies (7-4, 4-3 GLIAC) scored 22 points in the fourth quarter to take the lead and earn the win. Saginaw Valley State recorded a season-low 19 offensive plays and a time of possession of 18 minutes, 55 seconds in the losing effort.
Meijer Player of the Game Mason McKenzie threw for a season-high 268 yards and three touchdowns. All three scores came in the first half as the Cardinals held a 28-10 advantage at the half. Terrence Brown Jr. led all receivers with two catches for 93 yards and a score. Brown’s 80-yard touchdown reception tied the game at seven in the first quarter. Joseph Walker had a touchdown reception while totaling four catches for 57 yards. Braden Hill snagged the third McKenzie pass in the end zone, his first touchdown reception of the season.
Senior linebacker Micah Cretsinger led the defense with 12 tackles, two tackles for loss, and two pass breakups. It is the second consecutive game Cretsinger has recorded 12 stops and the third time this season he compiled double-digit tackles. Fellow senior backer Alfred Dailey, Jr. had 11 tackles on the afternoon along with a half tackle for loss and two quarterback hurries. Eli Gordon also registered 11 stops with a half tackle for loss. Seniors Carson Berenyi and Harold Irby III recorded sacks along with junior linebacker Brandon Rawls.
Michigan Tech scored first with a 14-play, 75-yard drive that chewed up 7:58 off the clock for the 7-0 lead. The Cardinals responded with the 80-yard touchdown toss from McKenzie to Brown at the 5:42 mark of the opening quarter.
Brady Devereaux scored his fifth touchdown of the season in the second quarter to grab the 14-7 lead for SVSU with 7:15 remaining in the first half. The Huskies trimmed the lead to four with a 45-yard field goal after a 12-play drive that ate another 4:22 off the game clock.
McKenzie hit Walker on a 28-yard touchdown pass in the closing minute of the second half to extend the lead to 21-10. Adom LeDuc forced Jake Rueff to fumble and Rawls recovered for the Cardinals at the Michigan Tech 25-yard line with 46 seconds left in the half.
Dub Williams caught a pass on 3rd-and-10 for 14 yards to set up the McKenzie to Hill touchdown toss and SVSU took a 28-10 lead into the locker room at the half.
Four punts comprised the third quarter as neither team scored to keep the game at the 18-point gap from the first half.
The Huskies scored three touchdowns, a field goal, and stole two possessions with onside kicks to close the gap and take the lead, 32-28 with 2:05 left in the final quarter. Quarterback Alex Fries scored a three-yard run, Rueff scored from three yards out, Avery Kucharski made a 25-yard field goal, and Fries scored again with a seven-yard run to complete the 22 unanswered points. MTU’s defense forced a turnover on downs and killed the clock to take the win.
SEASON WRAP-UP: The SVSU football team finishes the 2024 regular season with a 7-4 overall record and a 4-3 mark in conference play. The Cardinals sit fourth in the GLIAC standings after the result of today’s game.
Mason McKenzie finishes his first season as the team’s starting quarterback with 2,054 passing yards and a 55.1% completion rate with 14 touchdowns to only four interceptions. McKenzie also leads the team in rushing with 662 yards and six scores. Terrence Brown Jr. compiled 530 rushing yards for six scores and 21 catches for 337 and four touchdowns. Joseph Walker led all receivers with 32 catches for 514 yards and four touchdowns.
Micah Cretsinger was the team’s leading tackler with 82 stops, 11 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery, an interception, and five breakups. Eli Gordon recorded 70 tackles, four interceptions (team leader), and six breakups. Alfred Dailey Jr. made 63 tackles, a sack, two TFLs, and six breakups for his final season.
