Brandon Michalak catches two touchdown passes from Alex Fries
HOUGHTON, Mich. – The Michigan Tech football team won its 14th-consecutive Miner’s Cup with a 17-point second quarter eruption and 19 points scored in the second half in the 39-9 victory over Northern Michigan during Hall of Fame weekend at Kearly Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
The Huskies move past a two-game losing skid for an overall record of 5-3 and a league ledger of 2-2, while the Wildcats remain winless with a 0-8 overall and 0-4 in the loop.
“It’s awesome for the guys in our current locker room to win the Miner’s Cup, coming off of two tough weeks, to put the preparation in that they did and the focus in terms of everything we were trying to get back on track with was awesome all week,” Tech head coach Dan Mettlach said. “We came out and were maybe too amped up—the execution part, especially offensively, lacked in the first quarter, which was a bit frustrating, but it was a great win for our team and unbelievable for our program to win 14 in a row.”
The Huskies scored in their first drive of the game, with freshman kicker Avery Kucharski hitting a career-long 42-yard field goal, showing the only points scored in the first frame. Sophomore running back Jake Rueff got going early with three carries for 34 yards, with his first run of the day going for 25 yards.
Tech’s offense got its groove back in the second quarter after the Wildcats connected on a 31-yard field goal to tie the game at 3-all less than 90 seconds into the period. MTU answered in a hurry with quarterback Alex Fries finding Darius Willis for 39 yards on the second play of the drive before hitting Brandon Michalak wide-open downfield for a 25-yard touchdown, as Kucharski converted on the extra point to make it a 10-3 advantage for the Black & Gold.
The preparation that goes into this week is unlike any other and it’s a great time,” Michalak mentioned. “All the pieces come together with the trust that coach has in me and the relationship I’ve built with my quarterback—I can’t do it without my offensive line and my quarterback so I’m just thankful at the end of the day.”
Freshman wide receiver Jaxon Lippert gave the Huskies a spark by returning a punt 78 yards for a house call to jump out to a two-touchdown lead at 17-7 with 8:57 to go in the first half. Lippert’s punt return touchdown was the first for the Huskies in 12 years.
The Huskies held Northern Michigan to just 19 yards on 16 plays in the second quarter as Kucharski connected on his second field goal of the day with 40 seconds to play in the half to make it 20-3. Patrick Kastner recovered a muffed punt by the Wildcats after the field goal, but the Huskies were unable to translate the turnover into points.
Coming out of halftime, Michigan Tech once again scored in a hurry, taking just four plays to go 77 yards, highlighted by a 58-yard bomb from Fries to Michalak streaking down the middle of the field before reaching the end zone untouched to make the score 26-3.
The two teams traded three-and-outs over the next four drives before Northern Michigan took seven minutes off the clock, gaining just 34 yards, ultimately being forced to punt away to conclude the third quarter.
Michigan Tech outpaced Northern Michigan with 18 plays for 126 yards compared to the opposition’s 14 plays for 87 yards in the final frame of the game. The Huskies saw redshirt freshman quarterback Alex Bueno combine for 60 yards rushing in the opening drive of the quarter, with his second being a 34-yard rush to the endzone to make it 32-3. Running back Kolby Hindenach had two carries for 24 yards in the stanza.
Bueno also recorded his second career touchdown pass to wide receiver Ethan Hull on a 12-yard pass down the home sideline, as Kucharski connected on the extra point to make it 39-3 with 6:39 to play. The drive started at the 50-yard line, with Bueno rushing for 10 yards and finding freshman Bryce Kurncz for a 24-yard pass before the toss to Hull.
The Wildcats found the endzone on a 33-yard rush by Welch Tucker in a drive that took over five minutes to go 79 yards, although it would have no real meaning with the Huskies earning the 51st win in the series to win the 14th-straight Miner’s Cup and their 19th in the 22 years of the traveling trophy.
Fries tossed for 221 yards on 11-for-24 with two touchdowns and two interceptions. Michalak led the wide receiver room with 106 yards and two touchdowns on three receptions. Bueno impressed with four runs for 70 yards, recording a 34-yard rushing touchdown and a 12-yard touchdown pass to Hull.
Defensively, the Huskies saw Porter Zeeman record a team-leading eight total tackles (five solo and three assisted). Owen Watson recorded two sacks for 19 yards, totaling 3.5 tackles for loss. Hunter Buechel and Josh Cribben added three tackles for loss on the day.
The best punter in the land, Brenden Lach, had a quiet day with two punts for 97 yards for an average of 48.5 per punt.
Up Next
The Huskies take to the road next week, traveling to Chicago, Illinois, to face first-year GLIAC affiliate Roosevelt, slated for a 1 p.m. kickoff.
