52-50 victory over South Dakota Mines
HOUGHTON, Mich. – Michigan Tech quarterback Alex Fries produced a school record 471 yards passing with five touchdown passes in the longest game played in Michigan Tech history resulting in four overtimes seeing the Huskies outlast South Dakota Mines 52-50 at Kearly Stadium on Thursday evening.
Fries broke the single-game passing record of 441 yards set by Tyler Scarlett in 2012. Additionally, wide receiver Ethan Champney neared the school record for single-game reception yards with 227 on 10 receptions–a record set by Brian Janeshek (247 yards) in 2003.
Michigan Tech moves to 1-1 on the year while South Dakota Mines slumps to 0-2.
“Not a whole lot went our way, and a lot of it was self-inflicted. But I’m very proud of the effort and the will to keep fighting and find a way to get the win,” head coach Dan Mettlach said. “Porter Zeeman and Chase Koch stepped up big for us today and made some big plays.”
The Huskies were sluggish early after senior captain linebacker Marc Sippel left the game with an injury, ultimately allowing South Dakota Mines to jump out to a 21-0 lead and stun the home crowd on a gloomy and rainy Thursday in Houghton.
Fries began to turn the offense around, finding Michigan Tech’s program reception leader Darius Willis deep in the endzone for a 27-yard touchdown through the air to make it 21-7 with 3:44 to play in the second quarter.
MTU got the ball to start the second half, although the Hardrockers gained momentum with an interception on the Huskies’ opening play, translating into a touchdown in a drive that took four plays going 42 yards to once again give South Dakota Mines a three-touchdown advantage. The two teams traded touchdowns in the next two drives as MTU went 70 yards in under a minute with Champney highlighting the stanza with a 34-yard grab ending with a 10-yard reception from Drew Collins. The Hardrockers answered, trekking 74 yards to the end zone while taking 3:31 off the clock.
The Black & Gold came up big defensively with Connor Hindenach forcing a fumble recovered by Greg Lapetina putting Tech’s offense on the Hardrocker’s 9-yard line with running back Asher Gregory earning his first career touchdown on a nine-yard carry to make it 35-21 with 6:47 to play in the third.
MTU outscored the Hardrockers 14-0 in the 4th quarter kindled by a deep shot from Fries to Champney for 59 yards to make it a one touchdown affair with less than a minute played. The Huskies tied the game on their next offensive drive going 80 yards in eight plays with Collins getting the touchdown on a quarterback keeper.
South Dakota Mines attempted a 55-yard field goal as time expired–although the attempt was shy of the goal post, sending Michigan Tech into overtime for the second-straight game.
The Hardrockers scored first in OT with quarterback Jake Martinelli finding Colton Grover in the endzone to cap the seven-play drive. Fries went back to Champney for a 15-yard reception early in the drive before connecting with Champney for his second touchdown reception, this time a three-yard catch with freshman kicker Avery Kucharski tying the game at 42-all with the extra point.
Wide Receiver Brandon Michalak came up with a big grab for the second-straight week, this time a 10-yard reception from Fries in the end zone for the touchdown before Fries found Champney for the two-point conversion to take a 52-50 edge and put the Huskies’ defense in a position to seal the game.
Captain defensive back Hunter Buechel called the game when he deflected Martinelli’s short pass, erupting Kearly Stadium and sending the Huskies sideline onto the field in a victory celebration.
“I’m extremely proud of the team–proud of Chase Koch for stepping up and making big plays,” Champney mentioned. “Coming off a hard loss last week this win means a lot to us. We had a lot of mistakes but this is a step in the right direction. Extremely proud of Alex and the defense was awesome at bending but not breaking.”
The receiving core of Ethan Champney (220 yards), Darius Willis (115 yards) and Brandon Michalak (74 yards) made timely plays in the comeback with redshirt freshman Bryce Kurncz getting two receptions for 18 yards. Asher Gregory led the Huskies on the ground with 42 rushing yards on 10 carries and a touchdown.
Fries had a breakthrough game with a record-setting 471 yards passing, five touchdown passes going 29-for-51 in 76 plays.
Similarly, South Dakota Mines’ Martinelli also threw for over 400 yards in 102 plays with a stat line of 445 yards, five touchdown passes and 39-for-61 in completions.
Buechel led the Black & Gold with 15 total tackles (seven solo, eight assisted) with three tackles for loss totaling 14 yards. Sophomore linebacker Chase Koch came up huge for MTU filling in for Sippel finishing with 11 total tackles and a sack for 10 yards. Jared Tarrance accounted for a big interception in the fourth quarter.
Up Next
The Huskies continue their homestand next Saturday welcoming Hillsdale to Kearly Stadium slated for a noon kickoff.
