Four rushing and one passing touchdowns
MARQUETTE, Mich. – Freshman quarterback Elliott Larner ran wild on Northern Michigan, scoring four rushing touchdowns and a passing TD en route to the Michigan Tech football squad’s 15th-consecutive Miner’s Cup victory, with a 56-17 boat-racing at the Superior Dome on Saturday afternoon.
The Huskies move to 6-2 on the season and 3-1 in the league as Northern Michigan drops to 1-7 overall and 1-4 in the loop.
The native of Lansing, Michigan, in his fourth game for the Black & Gold, compiled 171 net rushing yards on 13 carries, including a 60-yard explosion on his way to four rushing scores while completing three-of-six passes for 92 yards and a passing touchdown.
“I thought the young guys came in and executed well—we moved it efficiently and got some things squared away at halftime and shut their offense down for an overall good victory,” said Michigan Tech head coach Dan Mettlach. “Really impressed with Elliott’s showing today in a rivalry game-–first time playing some big minutes and being expected to play well, he did a really nice job. Northern’s scheme is really good and we contained them a little better in the second half and it worked out.”
Larner’s career day started early as he mustered the first two scores for the good guys in the first quarter, with the first coming after the defense forced a three-and-out to open the game. Larner orchestrated two scoring drives, both covering 79 yards and both ending with him rushing to the endzone, first from eight yards and the second from three yards out to make it 14-0 after one quarter played.
The Huskies utilized two quarterbacks most of the game, with Joe Hartlieb accounting for two passes to Nic Nora totaling 70 yards. Jake Rueff had two carries for 30 yards in the second Larner touchdown in the opening half.
Northern Michigan ate up the clock in the second quarter, while also being penalized for 45 yards on seven whistles before ultimately ending up on the scoreboard with a 28-yard field goal. The drive took 15 plays to go 71 yards while taking 8:41 off the clock. The Wildcats had another chance at a field goal later in the quarter, but it was missed from 26 yards out.
With under two minutes to go in the half, with the Huskies at fourth and one from their 40, Larner executed his first of two fourth-down conversions, this time for a 60-yard house call to make it 21-3 before heading into the halftime break.
Michigan Tech outscored Northern Michigan 35-14 in the second half, with Larner dumping a pass to Rueff that went the distance from 37 yards out to open the second stanza with a drive that took five plays to go 64 yards in under three minutes.
Following a Wildcats touchdown, Larner completed back-to-back passes to Ethan Champney (15 yards) and Bryce Kurncz (40 yards) before Rueff punched in his first rushing touchdown on the day from 10 yards to make it 35-10 following an Avery Kucharski extra point with 5:14 to go in the third quarter.
The Huskies let the good times roll in the fourth quarter, putting up a game-high 21 points in the final period. For the second time in the game, Larner turned a fourth-and-short into a touchdown, this time a 20-yard rush through the middle of the field, breaking two tackles before finding the endzone.
The defense held the Wildcats down after starting the drive from their 13-yard line, forcing a punt, which set up Nora for a 60-yard punt return touchdown, making it 49-10 with 11:01 remaining in the game.
The feel-good win was exemplified with under three minutes to play when NMU quarterback Austin Ridl fumbled deep in their zone only to be picked up by Brady Isaacson for the scoop and score, pushing the Huskies’ lead to 56-10.
With the game out of hand, Northern Michigan reached the endzone with under a minute to go to decide the game at 56-17.
Hartlieb passed for 99 yards, completing six of nine attempts with 33 rushing yards on three carries. Nora led the receiving core with 70 yards on two receptions. Chase Koch led the stellar defense with 10 total tackles.
Up Next
The Huskies return home to Kearly Stadium next weekend, welcoming second-year GLIAC affiliate Roosevelt, slated for a noon kickoff Saturday.
