PREVIEW: Huskies ride to Texas

HOUGHTON, Mich. - Michigan Tech football (1-1) flies to Wichita Falls, Texas this Saturday to take on Midwestern State (1-1) at 8 p.m. EST at Memorial Stadium. It will be the first meeting between the two Division II foes. Fans can listen to the game on Mix 93.5 FM and online at pasty.net with Josh Ylitalo on play-by-play.

The Huskies are coming off a road loss to St. Thomas last Saturday at O'Shaughnessy Stadium. UST used a balanced attack and steady defense to soundly defeat Michigan Tech football 32-6 in non-conference play Saturday afternoon at O'Shaughnessy Stadium.

• The Tommies scored on the opening possession and capitalized on a blocked punt for a touchdown early in the game to squash Tech's bid for an upset over their Division I foe on the road.
• The Tommies frustrated Michigan Tech's offense and the Huskies netted 97 total yards on the ground along with 53 yards passing utilizing a combination of Will Ark and Steele Fortress at quarterback.
• UST flustered Tech with 16 quarterback hurries and 3.0 sacks.

THAT'S RIGHT (YOU'RE NOT FROM TEXAS)

• Tech football graduated 16 seniors in 2021 and is set to celebrate 23 seniors on October 29 this season.
• Eight Huskies were named All-GLIAC along with five honorable mentions. Eight of the 13 returned in 2022.
• Most Huskies hail from the state of Michigan. However, there are two Texas natives headed back to their home state. They include sophomore linebacker Dante Cardinali (Southlake, Texas) and Drake transfer junior JaKobe Davidson (Hutto, Texas).
• Davidson provides much-needed depth at cornerback behind veteran Kevin Lee.

YOU'VE BEEN SO GOOD UP TO NOW

• No. 58 Hayden Huttula (Sr., C, Hartland, Mich.) - AFCA First Team All-American, GLIAC Commissioner's Award, Team Offensive Lineman of the Year. Started all 10 games, team captain.
• No. 3 Braxton Blackwell (Sr., DB, South Lyon, Mich.) - Second Team All-GLIAC, Second on team with 74.0 total tackles, including 32 solo, 1.5 sacks, team-high eight passes broken up.
• No. 15 Michael Bates Jr. (Jr., DB, Dearborn, Mich. - Captured team-high four interceptions patrolling the middle of the field, 100-yard interception for a touchdown at Northwood, seventh in total tackles (44.0) with 2.5 TFL, five passes broken up.
• No. 32 Drew Wyble (So., K, Marquette, Mich.) - Second Team All-GLIAC, Converted 9-11 field goals (82%) with season-long 35-yard game-winner at Wayne St., 23-24 extra points (96%),
• No. 9 Austin Schlicht (So., DE, Oxford, Mich.) - Honorable Mention All-GLIAC, Team freshman of the year. Tied for second in the GLIAC in sacks (8.0), two forced fumbles.
• No. 8 Will Ark (Sr., QB, Green Bay, Wis.) - Honorable Mention All-GLIAC, Harold Meese Sportsmanship Award. Started all 10 games, 1,715 passing yards, 14 touchdowns, 7 interceptions, Rushing: 64 yards, two touchdowns. Averaged 37.3 yards per punt (19 total)

IF I WERE THE MAN YOU WANTED

• MTU's Marc Sippel posted a team-high 12 tackles for the second straight week with two quarterback hurries at St. Thomas. Hunter Buechel, Travis Ojala, and Benjamin Marion pitched in seven tackles apiece.
• Drew Wyble connected on a pair of field goals for Michigan Tech, including a 40-yard try late in the fourth quarter. The other split the uprights from 25 yards. Wyble is 3-3 on extra points this season.

I THINK YOU KNOW

• Junior quarterback Steele Fortress posted the majority of snaps at quarterback in week one, but the Huskies relied more of senior Will Ark against the Tommies.
• Ark has nine completions on 31 attempts through two games (29-percent) with one touchdown and one interception.
• Fortress is 9-for-19 (47.4-percent) thus far with one touchdown and zero interceptions. The duo have found nine different players through the air.
• Sophomore Darius Willis leads the group with seven receptions, 87 yards, and two touchdowns.
• The bulk of that production came on opening night against Wisconsin-Platteville.
• Sophomore Ethan Champney ranks second with 52 receiving yards on four receptions. 

ISN'T THAT SO

• Averaging just 81.5 yards, the Huskies ground game struggles from last year have carried over to a degree.
• On a positive note, junior running back Will Marano (Dearborn, Mich.) broke to the left sideline for a 25-yard gain at Division I St. Thomas on Saturday, which may be the spark to break MTU's slump.
• Behind on the scoreboard, the Huskies were forced to throw the football more often in the second half, contributing to the overall lack of opportunity for Marano and Emmett Boehler to find a rhythm at tailback.

SCOUTING THE MUSTANGS

• Junior defensive back Dylon Davis (Abilene, Texas) turned the tide in Midwestern State's favor Saturday with an interception return for a touchdown in the fourth quarter, lifting his team to a 28-14 win over Eastern New Mexico. H was named Lone Star Conference defensive player of the week for his efforts. Davis stepped in front of a crossing route and raced 43 yards in the fourth quarter. He also added five tackles.
• Freshman running back Devin Cross polished off an eight-play, 67-yard drive with a 15-yard burst up the middle to give the Mustangs a 28-14 advantage with 4:23 to play.
• Redshirt-freshman Tre Jordan picked off Martin later in the quarter allowing the Mustangs' offense to drain the clock ending the game inside the ENMU 10-yard line.
• Cross, who delivered the knockout blow with a 40-yard run on the last possession of the game, finished with a game-high 139 yards on 18 carries to buoy MSU strong rushing attack as the Mustangs closed the game with 265 yards on the ground. 
• Junior Neiko Hollins completed 13-of-30 passes for 184 yards at quarterback.
• Bill Maskill became the first six-time Lone Star Conference Coach of the Year while leading the Mustangs to their fifth league title. Maskill's 163 career coaching victories are the fourth most by active NCAA Division II head coach and ninth most amongst all active NCAA football coaches. His 150 wins as a head coach at a Lone Star Conference institution are the second most in league history.
• Midwestern State is 24-3 against non-conference NCAA Division II opponents during the regular season since the start of the 2002 campaign. The Mustangs had a 22-game winning streak against non-LSC foes snapped at Western Oregon in 2019, then fell at Central Washington last season.
• Midwestern State has owned Joe Golding Field by posting an 83-18 record (.822) during the Bill Maskill era (since 2002). The Mustangs have won the last seven games in Wichita Falls dating back to the 2019 season and are 28-4 since the start of the 2015 campaign.
• Midwestern State opened the 2022 season at No. 24 in the AFCA Division II Preseason Poll but dropped from the rankings with a 59-27 week one loss to Colorado State-Pueblo at home.
• The Mustangs have received votes at some point in each of the last 16 seasons dating back to the 2006 season (2020 excluded due to pandemic).