PREVIEW: Tech ready for St. Thomas round two

HOUGHTON, Mich. - Michigan Tech football travels to St. Paul, Minnesota to take on University of St. Thomas Saturday, September 10 at 2 p.m. EST in non-conference action. The Huskies hosted the Tommies last season and fell 12-9 at Kearly Stadium. St. Thomas is playing in its second season as an NCAA Division I member.

HUSKIES LAST WEEK 

• Michigan Tech football began 2022 with a 23-13 win over Wisconsin-Platteville Thursday night in Houghton. Wide receiver Darius Willis caught a pair of touchdown passes and linebacker Marc Sippel led the team with eight tackles and 1.5 sacks.
• The Huskies led 7-0 at halftime and utilized three quarterbacks, including Steele Fortress who ran into the endzone from the three yard line.
• "There were some things that we did well and also some things that we need to continue to work on to get better," Olson said when asked to evaluate the performance. "We had some opportunities in the second half and get to the quarterback and get off the field so that was an area where we need to get better."
• Will Marano led the run game with 48 yards on 17 attempts. Tech did not commit a turnover, gathered in one fumble and capitalized on their first team safety in more than four years.

COMING BACK

• 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.

KEY RETURNERS

• 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)

LAST YEAR VS ST. THOMAS

• The Tommies collected a 12-9 win at Kearly Stadium in their first game as an NCAA Division I member institution last season. The Huskies led 9-3 at halftime, but UST kicker Louis Hyde split the uprights from 32-yards with 59 seconds left in the game to seal the fourth quarter comeback.
• St. Thomas netted 269 of total offense compared to Michigan Tech's 233. 
• Marvin Wright led the Huskies with 10 tackles and MTU posted 5.0 sacks.
• Coach Olson reflected after the game, "We made a few too many mistakes and that enabled St. Thomas to win a close game today. We just have to continue to get better and keep working hard."
• This week marks the first ever trip for Michigan Tech to O'Shaughnessy Stadium.

TOMMIES LAST WEEK

• St. Thomas suffered defeat against Southern Utah (Big Sky) 44-13 to open their season in Cedar City, Utah. The Tommies rushed for 180 yards and posted 462 yards from scrimmage. 
• Senior quarterback Cade Sexuaer (South St. Paul, Minn.) posted a career-high 207 passing yards and completed 15 of 29 passes with one touchdown and one interception for a 116.2 quarterback rating. 
• Junior wide receiver Jacob Wildermuth posted a team-best 66 receiving yards.

SCOUTING THE TOMMIES

• St. Thomas is in the midst of its 119th season of varsity football and Glenn Caruso is in his 15th season as Head Coach. After his hiring in 2008, Caruso led the Tommies to two NCAA Division III championship games over eight seasons.

• He is a six-time National Coach of the Year (most among active coaches). 

• He compiled a 133-24 record (.847 win%) before the Tommies made the jump to Division I in 2021.

• The Tommies bring back 20 starters from last year, including 10 defensive players, eight offensive athletes, and their top kicker and punter. Caruso's preseason roster includes 30 seniors and approximately 75 returners, plus 30 freshmen and four transfers.

• With a 7-3 record last season, St. Thomas posted its 14th consecutive season with seven or more victories, sharing third place in the 11-team PFL.

• The Tommies posted a 4-0 home record to extend their O'Shaughnessy Stadium regular-season win streak to 33 and their overall on-campus victory streak to 20.

• The purple were picked for third place in the 2022 Pioneer preseason coaches' poll behind Davidson and San Diego.

• St. Thomas' 30 seniors include 13 who are in their fifth season of eligibility.

• 13 players received All-Pioneer Football League recognition in 2021.