Michigan Tech forces four turnovers
ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. – The Michigan Tech football team used a 20-point first half and four total takeaways to outmatch Roosevelt, 20-7, at Morris Field on Saturday afternoon.
The Huskies have won two in a row and elevate to 6-3 overall and 3-2 in the league. Roosevelt, in its first year at the Division II level as a GLIAC affiliate, drops to 1-7 overall with a 1-4 record in league play.
“I’m proud of the guys, winning on the road is never easy, especially in this league,” Tech head coach Dan Mettlach said. “It felt like at halftime the score should’ve been different, but the guys played hard right until the end and found a way to get it done. At the end of the day, going on the road and playing a team that wants to play with that much pressure—it’s great reps for our guys up front and we’ll be better for it.”
The Huskies needed 17 plays to go 80 yards in the first stanza to jump out to a 13-0 advantage. On the flip side, the Black & Gold’s defense held first-year GLIAC member Roosevelt to five yards in just 12 plays.
Senior defensive lineman Austin Schlicht helped set up the first score for the Black & Gold with a sizable 11-yard sack of Lakers quarterback Carson Budke, forcing a three-and-out on their first drive of the day. Michigan Tech got to work on Roosevelt’s 41-yard line with senior quarterback Alex Fries hitting wide Receiver Darius Wills for a touchdown pass on the opening play to take a 7-0 lead just minutes into the contest.
Tech’s defense produced two turnovers in the first stanza with junior Porter Zeeman forcing a fumble recovered by veteran linebacker Owen Watson at the Roosevelt 25 at the 12:17 mark. The second turnover came on the first play of the Lakers’ drive, starting at the 6:08 mark when junior defensive lineman Connor Hindenach recorded a sack on Carson Budke recovered by Hunter Buechel.
First-year kicker Avery Kucharski connected on two field goals in the opening quarter, connecting on a 41-yard field goal at the 6:15 mark and a 25-yard field goal following the fumble recovery to make it 13-0.
Following another three-and-out for the Lakers, Michigan Tech earned good field position with a 19-yard return from Asher Gregory, setting up the Black & Gold for a seven-play, 43-yard drive resulting in a 17-yard touchdown grab for true freshman wide receiver Bryce Kurncz to make it a 20-0 game. Fries connected with Brandon Michalak for 14 yards to open the drive, then used his legs to get 22 yards before finding Kurncz on the visiting goal line for his first career reception touchdown.
After shutting out Roosevelt in the first two quarters of play, points became hard to find for both teams in the second half as the Huskies earned just 55 yards in 15 plays, while the Lakers didn’t do much better with 73 yards in 16 plays in the third quarter.
Roosevelt made things interesting in the final quarter with 120 of their total 230 yards coming in the last 15 minutes. Following a Huskies turnover, the Lakers strung together an eight-play, 61-yard drive capped with a nine-yard run by Cryus Zuell, making it 20-7 with 10:22 to play.
The next three drives would result in three-and-outs before Roosevelt began trekking downfield again at the 7:41 mark. The Lakers began picking up momentum with a 23-yard toss from Budke to Jack Young Jr. at the Huskies 39-yard line. Roosevelt looked for a similar result on the next play, but senior defensive back Sam Ahern spoiled the comeback attempt with an interception over the middle, trekking 19 yards before being brought to the ground.
With 5:09 remaining, the Huskies turned to the run game to eat up the clock, getting under the two-minute timeout with backup quarterback Alex Bueno accruing 24 yards on six carries before the Lakers offense returned to the field following a turnover on downs.
An untimely facemask penalty against the Lakers backed the home team to their 28-yard line down 13 points with 1:49 to play. Budke got pressured rolling out of the pocket on the first play of the drive, throwing the ball away only to be taken away by Jared Tarrance to firmly slam the door on a comeback try, allowing Tech to kneel out the remaining 1:33.
Junior lineman Porter Zeeman had himself a day with a team-leading eight tackles. Hunter Buechel recorded three tackles for loss, including a sack for 14 yards, while Austin Schlicht recorded two tackles for loss, highlighted by an 11-yard sack.
Alex Fries went 12-of-28 for 142 yards and two touchdowns, adding 25 yards on the ground. Sophomore running back Jake Rueff led the Black & Gold with 54 yards on 21 carries while grabbing five passes for 40 yards. Darius Willis was the top receiver with three receptions for 58 yards and a touchdown.
Senior punter Brenden Lach posted six punts for 273 yards (45.5 average) with two punts over 50 yards.
Up Next
The Huskies return to Kearly Stadium for the home finale next weekend, hosting No. 7 Grand Valley State for Senior Day, slated for a noon kickoff.
