Tech Football Falls to No. 9 Ferris State, 35-21
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
No. 9 Ferris State (5-2) | 7 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 35 |
|
Michigan Tech (4-3) | 0 | 7 | 14 | 0 | 21 |
HOUGHTON, Mich. – The Michigan Tech football team battled hard against the No. 9 nationally-ranked Ferris State before ultimately falling 35-21 at Kearly Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
The Huskies fall to 4-3 overall with a conference standing of 1-3, while the Bulldogs move to 5-2 overall and 3-1 in the loop.
"I love the way our guys battled, I thought we played hard right from the opening kick and guys believed we had a chance to be in the game," head coach Dan Mettlach said. "Ferris State is loaded, unbelievably talented and made enough plays when they had to get scores. I give our guys a ton of credit to be down 21-7 at half, to come out and get the score to answer but we couldn't get the timely turnover or big play in the fourth quarter."
Quarterback Alex Fries had a career-high 306 yards through the air on 23-of-40, with the Huskies totaling 396 yards compared to the Bulldogs' 372 yards.
Similarly, the No. 9 ranked Bulldogs also got vital efforts out of its quarterbacks as Carson Gulker controlled the offense with 120 yards and five touchdowns to go with seven-of-nine for 80 yards passing.
Gulker scored on FSU's opening drive, capping a 78-yard drive with a 12-yard run, taking only 2:31 off the clock.
The Bulldogs would score again following a blocked punt leading to a short field in the second quarter, with Gulker rushing for 15-yards on the opening play of the drive to make it a two-touchdown game 13:33 into the second quarter.
The Huskies would get on the scoreboard on the following possession with a career-long 62-yard reception by Nic Nora, putting the Black & Gold on the Bulldog's 20-yard line with Drew Collins relying on a quarterback keeper taking it 20 yards for his first career touchdown.
However, Michigan Tech had no answers for Gulker, who answered with an 83-yard scoring drive two possessions later to tally his third touchdown run of the day with 5:23 remaining in the first half.
Fries would lead the Huskies downfield for an 11-play, 75-yard drive capped by a nine-yard rush, by Fries to cut the score to 21-14.
However, the Bulldogs run game would continue to eat up the clock, resulting in another Gulker touchdown to once again make it a two-touchdown contest.
Once again, Fries answered the call, finding Ethan Champney for a 43-yard touchdown to bring the score to within a touchdown with 2:31 left in the third quarter.
The Bulldogs opened the fourth quarter with six quarterback carries in the drive by Gulker before ultimately marching into the endzone to cap his fifth touchdown of the day.
A last-chance effort for the Huskies offense was halted after an untimely interception with less than a minute to go in regulation, closing the door on a comeback.
For the second straight year, wide receiver Brandon Michalak posted a season-high against the Bulldogs, recording four receptions for 62-yards.
Darius Willis led the Huskies with five receptions for 81-yards while Champney accounted for 77 yards on two receptions to go with a touchdown. Nora also recorded a career-high 69 yards receiving on two receptions.
Fries, along with his career-high 326-yards passing, trekked 40 yards on nine carries and a touchdown.
Marc Sippel and Owen Watson posted nine total tackles to lead the way defensively for Michigan Tech. In total, the Huskies had eight tackles for loss, totaling 39 yards.
Up Next
The Huskies return to the road traveling to Allendale, Michigan, for a tilt against No. 2 nationally-ranked Grand Valley State slated for a 3 p.m. kickoff.
