PREVIEW: Huskies close regular season at Kearly Stadium

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HOUGHTON, Mich. - Michigan Tech football hopes to end the regular season on a winning note and take third place in the standings away from Saginaw Valley State on Senior Day at Kearly Stadium. Seniors to be honored prior to Saturday's game include Matthew Connolly, Corey Cotey, Justin Davis, Keegan Delforge, Jacob Hiltunen, Ryan Jones, Nate LaJoie, Mark Luebke, Dalton Norris, Justin Novotny, John Paramski, Hunter Richards, Jared Smith, Brendan Thompson, Marvin Wright, Fred Kemp, and Jordan Janssen.

LAST TIME OUT

- Taking advantage of four turnovers and shutting down the Timberwolves offense, Michigan Tech posted a comprehensive 34-0 victory over Northwood Saturday afternoon at Hantz Stadium in a Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football game in front of 1,031 fans. 

It was the first shutout of an opponent for Tech since November 13, 2010 (21-0 over Northern Michigan). Michael Bates Jr. picked off his fourth interception of the season and ran it back 100 yards in the third quarter while Justin Davis and Jared Smith also added touchdowns for the Huskies.

SCOUTING THE CARDINALS

- SVSU made it five straight wins, storming back against Northern Michigan on Senior Day Saturday. The Cardinals fell behind 21-6 as the Wildcats scored three quick touchdowns in the second quarter. SVSU closed the gap just before the half and rolled after the break, closing the game with 27 unanswered points in a 33-21 victory.

-The Cardinals honored 18 seniors on the squad Saturday. Junior quarterback Matt Considine has five touchdown passes and 10 interceptions and completes 49-percent of his passes for 197.2 yards per game. Redshirt freshman quarterback Colby Newburg has split considerable time with Considine and has five touchdowns and one interception with 41 completions. 

-Senior Tommy Scott ranks second in the GLIAC with 95.0 rushing yards per game. Scott has a team best 11 touchdowns. He also has three fumbles.

-SVSU has a wide range of passing targets. Junior Casey Williams leads the team with 40 receptions and 66.4 yards per game. He and senior tight end Isaiah Johnson-Mack each have caught four touchdown passes.

-Kicker/punter Connor Luksic has been named GLIAC Special Teams player of the week four times this fall. He made a 48-yard field goal in a win over Wayne State on October 23.

BUILDING THE ARK

- Steadily rising through the ranks, quarterback Will Ark ranks second in the conference with 174.9 passing yards per game, behind only Cade Peterson (188.1 ypg - GVSU). Ark completed 14 of 24 passes at Northwood for 182 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. He also rushed for eight yards. 

- Ark completes 51.6-percent of passes and has 12 touchdown passes compared to six interceptions. His longest touchdown pass of the season went for 48 yards to Jordan Janssen.

LEADING STATS

- Michigan Tech leads NCAA Division II in fewest penalties with 31 penalties for 260 yards through nine games.

- The Huskies also lead the nation in fewest penalty yards per game (28.89), just ahead of Harding (32.10).

- Tech is tied for 16th in Division II in team sacks with 30.0. One sack against Northwood Saturday helped the Huskies tie the program record for sacks in a season for the third time. The Huskies also recorded 30.0 sacks in 2019.

SPECIAL TEAMS REPORT

- Freshman kicker/punter Drew Wyble is 9-for-11 on field goals this season and 20-for-21 on extra points. Saturday, Wyble went 2-for-2 on field goals and 4-for-4 on extra points.  He also made three punts at an average of 32.7 yards and seven kickoffs.

- Justin Davis ran back a kickoff for 26 yards at Northwood.

RUSHING REPORT

- Jared Smith broke out for his best game of the season Saturday, with a season high 123 yards on 21 carries (5.9 average yards per carry). Smith also had one touchdown run and a season long 41-yard carry against the Timberwolves.

- Will Marano carried the ball 11 times for 52 yards (4.7 avg) Saturday and backup quarterback Kyle Wood ran in a direct snap touchdown and finished with 14 yards on the ground.

LAST MEETING WITH SAGINAW VALLEY STATE

- Michigan Tech football fell at Saginaw Valley State on September 21, 2019 23-7 in what the opening contest of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference schedule for both teams. 

- The Huskies scored first for the third straight week, but the Cardinals recorded 23 unanswered points, including 17 in the fourth quarter to pull away.

- Ark completed 15 passes for 242 yards and one touchdown to help lead the Huskies attack. Wenzlick had a big game for Tech, reeling in six receptions for 114 yards and the 52-yard touchdown catch in the first quarter. 

- Wide receiver Ben Hartley followed with three receptions for 66 yards and averaged 22 yards per reception. Emmett Boehler was Tech's leading rusher with 38 yards on 10 carries. As a team, the Huskies had 320 yards of total offense, with 242 yards being generated through the air.

- The Cardinals had 350 yards of total offense with nearly an even number of rushing and passing yards. Dillon Webb had six tackles followed Nick Whiteside and Michael Woolridge with five tackles and an interception apiece to guide the SVSU defense.

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. Play-by-play voice Josh Ylitalo calls 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 games live and on-demand via Stretch Internet Portal.

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

PRESEASON GLIAC POLL

-Michigan Tech was picked to finish 5th (24 points) in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll, announced by the conference office. 

- Ferris State and Grand Valley State are at the top of the rankings at No. 1 and No. 2 respectively. The Bulldogs edged the Lakers for the top spot by six points with 49. Ferris State also gathered seven first place votes while Grand Valley State had one. Wayne State checked in at No. 3 with 36 points with Saginaw Valley State at No. 4 with 25 points.