Tech Football Falls at No. 3 GVSU, 44-13

ALLENDALE, Mich. – The Michigan Tech football team was unable to answer the tall order at No. 3 Grand Valley State Lakers, falling 44-13 at Lubbers Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Michigan Tech (4-4, 1-4 GLIAC) struggled to find the run game while Grand Valley State (7-1, 4-0 GLIAC) trekked for 264 yards with five rushing touchdowns on the day, being led by quarterback Cade Peterson who had three rushing touchdowns on 14 carries.

"Grand Valley State is really good and I give them a ton of credit, they're well coached and took advantage of some things," head coach Dan Mettlach said. "I felt like it was still a game—even going into the 4th quarter, I don't feel like it's out of control but as hard as it is for the defense to get stops, the offense has to put points on the board to beat this team and we just couldn't do it today."

The Lakers' defense, who ranks second nationally in sacks per game, poured on eight sacks on the day, with one being a sack fumble.

Despite the lopsided affair, the Huskies defense notched two interceptions coming from Michael Bates Jr. His first grab stopped the Lakers offense for the first time on the day, with Samuel Kinne on the quarterback hurry. His second came with 11 minutes to go in the third quarter in the end zone. 

Drew Wyble went 2-for-2 on field goals, converting on his first attempt from 36-yards at the 13:39 mark of the second quarter to make it 14-3. His other make was also from 36-yards with 2:06 remaining in the third quarter.

Between field goals, quarterback Alex Fries found Nic Nora for his first career touchdown on a 10-yard pass just before halftime to make it 21-10.

Crucial penalties in the third quarter forced the Lakers to attempt their first field goal of the day, seeing Josh Horball connect on a 49-yard attempt with 5:56 remaining in the third quarter.

Unfortunately, the Huskies followed that up with an untimely interception on the first play of the drive, which resulted in a 21-yard rushing touchdown from Avery Moore just over a minute later to make it 31-10 before Wyble's second field goal concluded the third quarter scoring.

Peterson would record two of his three rushing touchdowns in the fourth quarter to coast to victory in the game's final minutes, showing the final score 44-13.

The Lakers were penalized 14 times for 133 yards, while the Huskies played soundly with only three penalties for 15 yards.

Nora and Darius Willis had five receptions to lead the Black & Gold's offense. Nora had 54 yards on his five receptions to go with his first touchdown as a Husky. Fries orchestrated the offense, throwing for 165 yards despite being sacked six times.

William Marano had a tough day against one of the top defenses in the nation, having nine carries with a long of 12-yards.

Marc Sippel (12 total tackles) and Kinne (11 total tackles) finished with double-digit tackles to lead the team. Kinne also accounted for a solo tackle for loss while being assisted on two tackles for loss, totaling 7-yards.

Josh Cribben also accounted for a solo sack, while Bates Jr. had a pass breakup to go with his two interceptions. Hunter Buechel finished with four tackles and blocked the extra point on the final GVSU touchdown drive.

Up Next

The Huskies return home for the two final games of the regular season. Next week, Michigan Tech will host NSIC foe Minot State on Saturday (Nov. 4), slated for a 1 p.m. kickoff.