Huskies top Cardinals on Senior Day 21-20
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Saginaw Valley State (7-4) | 3 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 20 |
|
Michigan Tech (6-4) | 7 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 21 |
HOUGHTON, Mich. - Jordan Janssen, Hunter Richards, and Jared Smith scored touchdowns and the defense forced a turnover on downs to ice a 21-20 Michigan Tech victory on Senior Day over Saginaw Valley State Saturday afternoon at chilly Kearly Stadium. The win snapped the Cardinals' five-game win streak as Tech secured third place in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference with a 5-2 record (6-4 overall). Saginaw Valley State fell to 4-3, 7-4 overall. The Huskies also broke a team record for sacks in a season (30.0 set in 2019) and 18 seniors made their final appearance in a black and gold uniform.
"It felt great," said senior nose tackle Nate LaJoie. "It was a picture-perfect ending for us. It almost felt like a movie. We battled through so much adversity this last year, came all the way through COVID-19 in 2020, and then finally got the chance to have a winning season. I couldn't have asked for a better group of guys to do it with."
After a first-quarter field goal by Connor Luksic put the Cardinals on the scoreboard first, quarterback Will Ark completed a 28-yard touchdown pass to cap an eight play, 68-yard drive for a 7-3 lead. Smith added six more points on a four-yard run in the second quarter to bookend an 82-yard drive which took 7:18 off the clock. Colby Newburg answered on a quarterback keeper for Saginaw Valley State with a 4-yard jaunt, cutting Tech's lead to 14-10 at halftime.
The Cardinals snagged the lead again in the third quarter when Tommy Scott broke free for a 37-yard score but the Huskies immediately went back to work on offense. Faced with fourth down and four yards to go at the Cardinal 23 yard line, Ark scrambled out of the pocket to his right and with several scarlet jerseys bearing down, heaved a pass to the middle of the endzone to a wide-open Richards. Drew Wyble made his third extra point for a 21-17 edge in the waning minute of the third quarter.
"Will is pretty elusive back there," Richards said. "I kept looking back and he was doing everything he could to stay off the ground. Our offensive line did a good job giving him enough time and he just chucked it up there. I'm just so glad he saw me and put it right where he had to. I'm thankful for that."
The teams traded punts to start the fourth quarter. Then Victor Abraham recovered a Darius Willis fumble for Saginaw Valley on the Michigan Tech 37 yard line. Luksic kicked a 24-yard field goal on the ensuing possession to bring the Cardinals within a point of a tie game with 4:57 remaining.
The Huskies failed to sustain their next drive and Ark punted down to the Saginaw Valley 24-yard line with 2:30 left. The Husky defense forced an incomplete pass to halt Saginaw Valley State on their own 32-yard line on fourth down and two. Ark then kneeled down the remaining 28 seconds.
"It kind of felt like a playoff game for us today against Saginaw Valley," said Richards. "We both put our best efforts out there to try and finish third in the conference and we got the W. We have great resiliency and pride in our locker room. We have a lot of great leaders on this team and it really meant a lot to us to win on Senior Day."
Ark completed 15 of 28 passes for 141 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception. Smith led the run game for the second straight weekend with 61 yards on 15 carries (4.1 avg). Jordan Janssen pulled in four catches for 36 yards and Willis finished with 26 yards and one touchdown. Jason Janquart led the MTU with 10 tackles (three solo) and senior John Paramski recorded 9.0 tackles.
Saginaw Valley State split snaps between two quarterbacks. Newburg threw for 116 yards (10-for-15) and Tanner Slazinski finished 10-for-15 for 63 yards. Scott rushed for 94 yards and one touchdown and Isaiah Johnson-Mack caught nine targets for 78 yards.
"For our senior group, today's win means a tremendous amount," said head coach Steve Olson. "All of our coaches and players worked extremely hard this season and I couldn't be prouder of them for what they accomplished on and off the field. At the end of the day, we played as a team today. The offense, defense, and special teams fought hard and they all made the big plays that we needed today."
Seniors recognized prior to the game Saturday included Smith, Lajoie, Richards, Fred Kemp, Matthew Connolly, Corey Cotey, Justin Novotny, Keegan Delforge, Jacob Hiltunen, Ryan Jones, Mark Luebke, Dalton Norris, Justin Davis, Marvin Wright, and Jordan Janssen.
Michigan Tech (6-4, 5-2 GLIAC) finished above the .500 mark for the first time since 2015 with two more conference victories and three fewer conference losses than their last season of competition in 2019. Saturday marked the end of the 99th regular season of Husky football, which kicked off for the first time in 1920 under head coach E.R. Lowell.
