PREVIEW: Tech Readies for Grand Valley State Round Two

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HOUGHTON, Mich. - Michigan Tech takes on No. 7 Grand Valley State for the second time this fall Saturday, October 30 at 3 p.m. EST at Lubbers Stadium. Fans can listen to the game free on Mix 93.5 FM with Josh Ylitalo on play-by-play. The Lakers handled the Huskies 44-21 at Kearly Stadium on September 25.

LAST TIME OUT

- No. 1 Ferris State pounced on the Huskies on their first play from scrimmage and carried momentum to a 38-10 win over the Huskies Saturday afternoon at Kearly Stadium. Will Ark tossed a 31 yard strike to Darius Willis in the endzone but MTU allowed the Bulldogs to post 471 yards of offense. FSU quarterback Jared Bernhardt completed 17 of 21 passes for 289 yards and three touchdowns. Will Ark connected on 15 of 32 pass attempts for the Huskies for one touchdown and picked up 5 of 13 (38-percent) of third down tries.

"I felt like early in the game, we just didn't tackle well," commented head coach Steve Olson. "It's hard to simulate in practice some of the speed they (Ferris State) have and that affected our leverage at times. On offense we just have to find more ways to move the ball and be a little bit better. I felt our effort was good but we got behind right away in the game which made it a challenge. We just have to try to keep working hard in practice to solve it and come out faster next week."

SCOUTING No. 7 GRAND VALLEY STATE

- GVSU picked up a 28-24 GLIAC road win at Northern Michigan Saturday afternoon to improve to 6-1 overall. The Lakers ran 54 plays and produced 376 yards of total offense, including 146 on the ground and 230 through the air. Quarterback Cade Peterson completed 17 of 22 passes for 230 yards and two touchdowns, while rushing for 38 yards. Young-Walls rushed for 56 yards and a pair of scores. Tillman added two catches for 65 yards and one score.

- Sophomore linebacker Abe Swanson (St. Charles, Ill.) earned GLIAC Defensive Player of the Week after tallying a career high 17 tackles (9 solo/8 assisted) against NMU, including one sack in the fourth quarter to stall a critical Wildcat drive and force a field goal attempt.

- The Lakers only loss of the fall came against top-ranked Ferris State at home 35-28 in the Anchor Bone Classic at Lubbers Stadium October 16 in front of a record 17,004 fans. 

- Peterson leads the conference with 184.9 passing yards per game. The Lakers are second in the GLIAC at 42.6 points per game and a league high 42 total touchdowns.

LEADING STATS

- With Austin Schlicht's sack of Ferris State quarterback Jare Bernhardt on the one yard line Saturday, the Huskies are up to 29.0 total sacks through eight games, good for No. 1 in the GLIAC and No. 3 in 

NCAA Division II. Tech averages 4.14 sacks per game and Schlicht leads league individuals with 6.5 sacks. All-America nose tackle Nate Lajoie has 4.5 sacks, tied for fourth in the GLIAC.

- Michigan Tech ranks No. 1 in the country for fewest penalties with 23 for 198 yards lost. Tech also has the fewest penalties per game (3.29) and ranks just ahead of Harding (3.62) for the top spot in the nation.

AIR ATTACK

- Will Ark continues to be Michigan Tech's go-to starting quarterback. The junior ranks second in the conference with 173.1 passing yards per game. Through seven games, Ark has 112 completions on 218 attempts (51.4-percent). He ranks second to GVSU's Cade Peterson with 10 passing touchdowns. Ark avoided being sacked against Ferris State last weekend and continues to be used as a punter on fourth downs. 

RUSHING REPORT

- The Huskies run game failed to gain much traction against the No. 1 Bulldogs Saturday due largely to scoreboard pressure in the second half. Jared Smith and Will Marano split the carries with Smith leading the way with 26 yards on nine attempts. Marano managed 25 yards on 13 carries and Will Ark took quarterback keepers for 10 yards on three attempts.

-Marano leads the team with 91 rush attempts this fall for 46.1 yards per game. He has two rushing touchdowns and one fumble. Smith has 175 yards on 64 attempts for 25 yards per game on average.

ON DEFENSE

- Veteran linebacker Marvin Wright leads the team with 56.0 total tackles (9th GLIAC). Braxton Blackwell comes in at 54.0 tackles (11th GLIAC), followed by John Paramski (54.0 tackles - 11th) and Josh Cribben (40.0 tackles - 20th). Lajoie, Schlicht, and Kevin Lee have forced two opposing fumbles apiece. Michael Bates Jr. has a team-high three interceptions patrolling the middle of the field.

WYBLE STILL KICKING WELL

-Freshman kicker/punter Drew Wyble made his only field goal attempt Saturday (21 yards) and went 1/1 on extra points. On the season, Wyble is 6-8 on field goals (35 long) and 16-17 on extra points. Wyble is averaging 34.0 net yards on punts with five punts inside the 20-yard line.

HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE

- The Huskies have two GLIAC Championships (2004, 2012) and two NCAA Tournament appearances (2004, 2014) in their 98-year history. Michigan Tech went 2-0 under head coach E.R. Lovell in their first season in 1920. The last time the Huskies finished first in the conference standings was 2004 under head coach Bernie Anderson. The entire 2020 fall season was canceled due to the ongoing pandemic (Covid-19). 

ON THE RADIO

- Mix 93.5 FM WKMJ will broadcast all 10 football games again this season. Josh Ylitalo will call all the action from the Kearly Stadium press box and travel with the squad.

WATCH THE GAMES

- Visit MichiganTechHuskies.com to watch the 2021 home matches live and on-demand via Stretch Internet Portal.

-Fan can watch all six 2021 fall home football games for $75.