Touchdown with eight seconds remaining gives Cardinals the win
HOUGHTON, Mich. – The Michigan Tech football squad concluded the regular season with a heartbreaking 24-21 loss to Saginaw Valley State on a windy Senior Day at Kearly Stadium.
Michigan Tech (7-4, 4-3 GLIAC) claimed its first lead of the day with a 39-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Alex Bueno to veteran wide receiver Ethan Champney to make it 21-17 with 6:18 to play.
The defense earned its first turnover of the day with an interception on Saginaw Valley State’s (6-5, 5-2 GLIAC) next possession with Porter Zeeman picking off Mason McKenzie. However, the Cardinals would score the go ahead touchdown, orchestrating a 11 play, 75 yard drive making it 24-21 with eight seconds to play, ultimately deciding the contest.
“Obviously you don’t ever want to end the season that way, we’ve got an unbelievable group of seniors that played valuable minutes today–taking the lead late and getting beat that way is tough for everybody.” said Tech head coach Dan Mettlach. “Now we’re going into the off season with that being that last game we played. I loved the way our guys played and competed today but it’s just a tough way for it to end.”
Saginaw Valley State found success in the opening half scoring 17 points compared to just a touchdown for the Huskies. The Cardinals amassed 262 yards of offense while holding the Black & Gold to just 94 yards in 24 plays. SVSU jumped out to a 10-0 edge with a field goal in the first quarter and a 14-yard touchdown pass with 10:17 to go in the second quarter.
Senior running back Kolby Hindenach helped keep the offense on the field, converting a fourth and short ultimately resulting in a two yard rushing score by Nic Nora to make it 10-7 following the extra point by Avery Kucharski with 2:37 remaining in the half as the drive ate up 7:40 off the clock.
The Cardinals answered with a touchdown just before the end of the half with a pass from McKenzie to Terrance Brown Jr. with the extra point making it 17-7 in favor of the opposition heading into the break.
The Huskies mustered a six play 75-yard drive to open the half with two runs of over 20 yards by Jake Rueff started by a 23 yard pass from Bueno to Nora resulting in a three-yard quarterback keeper by Elliott Larner to make it 17-14 in 2:44.
MTU’s defense held the Cardinals scoreless in the third quarter as SVSU was unsuccessful on three third downs and one fourth down. The stonewall defense held the opposition to just 22 yards on 13 yards.
Both teams found the endzone in the final stanza with the Cardinals pulling out the go-ahead score to escape Houghton with a 24-21 decision.
For the second-straight season, the Huskies finish the fall campaign with seven wins in the Dan Mettlach era, the first back-to-back seven win season in a decade, last happening in 2014 (9-2) & 2015 (7-3). Michigan Tech finishes in a tie for third with Davenport in the GLIAC standings.
