White Beats Black 32-9 in Spring Football Game
HOUGHTON, Mich. — John Williams rushed for 171 yards and two touchdowns to lead the White Team past the Black Team 32-9 in Michigan Tech Football's annual spring intrasquad scrimmage today at Sherman Field. Several hundred fans turned out under sunny skies to watch the Huskies' final workout of the spring.
"It was a great day," said Tech coach Tom Kearly, who begins his 10th year as Huskies skipper in 2015. "The players did a great job of preparing, we had a great crowd and we came out of it relatively injury-free. I think everyone had a lot of fun."
Having the most fun on the day was probably Williams, who had not one, but two 60+ yard touchdown runs in the contest. The first came in the second quarter and gave his team a 6-3 lead after Black had gotten on the board just two plays earlier. The second iced the game with 4:16 remaining, making it a 23-point differential.
After Williams' first TD run, Team Black responded with a 70-yard drive spurred by a 40-yard pass from Brandon Cowie to Kevin Kirkland and a 28-yard strike to Jacob Mineau. Eric Kostreva capped the drive with a two-yard rush and a 9-6 advantage.
Quarterback Jake Brown engineered long drive the other way as the half was winding down. Brown went 4-for-4 passing on the drive and Sam Badalamenti scored on a two-yard rush for a 12-9 White advantage they would not surrender.
Team White scored 26 unanswered points over the final 30:21 of action to earn the victory. Quarterback Isaiah Hackney and running back Charlie Schmidt each had scoring runs for their victorious club.
All three quarterbacks played well. Cowie was 15-of-27 for 188 yards. Hackney was a perfect 6-of-6 for 71 yards. Brown was 6-for-11 for 87 yards.
Mitchell Ryan posted a game-high nine tackles for the White Team. Derek Ferris added eight stops. Derek Cingel, Alex Gauronskas and Tyler Jacqmain all had interceptions in the contest.
Michigan Tech is coming off a 9-2 season last fall with the school's second-ever NCAA Playoff appearance.
"Expectations are high for this program," added Kearly. "We think we've got a chance to be a very good football team again."
The Huskies open their season in a Thursday night game at Sherman Field. Wayne State comes to Houghton Sept. 3 to get the 2015 campaign underway.
Note: April is Autism Awareness month, and Michigan Tech's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee raised $263 for the cause at the spring football game by collecting donations and holding a halftime football toss contest for fans.