Huskies earn All-GLIAC honors
GLIAC – Four Michigan Tech players were recognized All-GLIAC for the 2022 football season by the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, announced Thursday (Nov. 17). They include sophomore wide receiver Darius Willis (First Team Offense), senior center Hayden Huttula (First Team Offense), sophomore linebacker Marc Sippel (First Team Defense), and senior defensive back Braxton Blackwell (Second Team Defense). In addition, Austin Schlicht, Will Ark, Brandon Michalak, Josh Cribben, and Hunter Buechel were named honorable mentions.
Willis (Warren, Michigan) was the conference's top receiver this season. He topped the charts in receptions (74), receiving yards (1,051), and touchdowns (10). His 1,825 all-purpose yards were fourth best in NCAA Division II this fall. Willis started all 11 games for the Huskies. He posted a career high 13 receptions for 198 yards on November 12 against Saginaw Valley State and had three multi-touchdown games. Willis was an All-GLIAC Honorable Mention last season after making 30 receptions for 393 yards in 2021. Willis redshirted his first year at MTU in 2019.
Sippel (Wausau, Wisconsin) finished second in NCAA Division II tackles with 131 (58 solo), behind only Grant Bruner (131 tackles, Washburn). Sippel led the conference in the category by a margin of 26.0 tackles over Antonio Howard (Northern Michigan). Sippel also collected 13.5 tackles for loss (fourth), 1.5 sacks, one forced fumble, two fumble recoveries, and two passes broken up. He achieved a season high 15.0 tackles at Hillsdale College on November 5.
In his third season snapping the ball to quarterback Will Ark, Huttula (Hartland, Michigan) garnered first team honors this fall in 10 starts. Last fall, Huttula was selected AFCA First Team All-America and won the GLIAC Commissioner's Award. This is the second time Huttula has been named All-GLIAC First Team. In 2019, he was a member of the Don Hansen Third Team All-Super Region 3. In his first season after taking a redshirt in 2017, Huttula competed in six games.
Blackwell (South Lyon, Michigan) finished third on the Huskies with 74.0 tackles, including 50 solo tackles (second). The senior started all 11 games and posted 4.5 tackles for loss, one sack, and two interceptions. Last year, Blackwell was named Second Team All-GLIAC with 74.0 tackles and eight passes broken up. He was also All-GLIAC Honorable Mention in 2019 and played nine games as a redshirt freshman in 2018.
HONORABLE MENTIONS
Sophomore Austin Schlicht (Oxford, Michigan) collected his second GLIAC honorable mention this season. Schlicht posted 5.5 tackles for loss (fourth) and 34.0 total tackles (sixth) to go with a pair of sacks.
Senior Will Ark (Green Bay, Wisconsin) finished second in the GLIAC in touchdown passes (18) and passing yards per game (202.5) behind Jason Whittaker (Davenport) in both categories. Ark completed 57.7-percent of passes for 2,228 yards with seven interceptions. He also ran for five additional touchdowns. Ark was All-GLIAC Second Team in 2020 and an All-GLIAC honorable mention last season.
Sophomore receiver Brandon Michalak was third in the conference in yards per catch (18.1) and yards receiving (526) this season. He caught five touchdown passes and averaged 47.8 yards per game in 11 starts.
Josh Cribben (De Pere, Wisconsin) was fifth in the GLIAC this fall in sacks (6.5) and 16th in total tackles (61.0). Cribben also forced two fumbles, recovered one fumble, and put up 29 solo tackles for the Huskies.
Hunter Buechel (Lake Mills, Wisconsin) made the GLIAC defensive top-10 in eight categories, including 44 solo tackles (fifth), 78.0 total tackles (fifth), and two interceptions (seventh). Beuchel also returned one fumble for a touchdown and recorded a pair of sacks.
Michigan Tech finished the season 4-7 overall, 2-4 in conference matchups. Along the way, Tech played three nationally ranked opponents and Division I St. Thomas and finished third in Division II for fewest penalty yards per game (33.73). Last season, the Huskies had eight All-GLIAC selections with five players earning honorable mention.