Huskies football hits the road to close out the season | News, Sports, Jobs

Michigan Tech linebacker Owen Watson prepares to play during a game against Grand Valley State on Saturday at Kearly Stadium in Houghton. (David Archambeau/For the Gazette)

UNIVERSITY CENTER — With one game remaining on its schedule, the Michigan Tech Huskies football team hits the road this weekend for a tough matchup against the Saginaw Valley State Cardinals. The Huskies are 6-4 overall and 3-3 in GLIAC play.

The Huskies enter Saturday’s game after dropping a 20-0 decision last weekend to the No. 5 Grand Valley State Lakers.

“I think looking back on it, (we had) pretty much the same feeling we had right after the game,” Huskies coach Dan Mettlach said. “The children played hard. We were physical, played fast. It’s just that if you want to win in this league against the best teams, the offense, the defense, the special teams all have to show up at the same time, and we just didn’t do that.

Mettlach said after Saturday’s game against the Lakers that he was disappointed that the offense was never able to really establish itself throughout the contest.

“The offense wasn’t consistent enough” he said. “The first few downs hurt us really bad, so whether we were trying to get three or four on the ground, or a quick gain, it just didn’t work, and that’s the end of the story.”

Mettlach couldn’t say enough about the quality of the Huskies’ defensive play, limiting the Lakers to just 20 points. However, they just weren’t able to enjoy the aspects of the game that could have made life a little easier.

“I thought defensively we played really well.” he said, “and then you give up the fake punt.” On the special teams side, we had an opportunity to cover a punt, but we didn’t do it. We’re close to blocking a punt, getting a little piece of it, but we just haven’t made enough plays as a team to win this football game. The effort, the tenacity, the way our guys approached the situation was incredible.

“So there are things we can learn and take from the game, obviously, in a positive way. Our guys in our locker room, our coaches, we all know, if you want to win games like this, everyone has to show up at the same time. It just didn’t happen.

The Huskies have had their share of tough times throughout 2024, but none have been more serious than the loss of senior linebacker Marc Sippel just two games into the season. This loss made the effort against the Lakers even more impressive. Add in the loss of senior wide receiver Ethan Champney in a win over Northern Michigan, and the Huskies are missing some key pieces late in the season.

“I think I said that after Marc got hurt the first time, I felt like we had depth, guys we could count on.” Mettlach said. “These guys have stepped up and played well since he’s been out. Obviously, it’s no different, him, starter, whatever, when you lose guys that you rely on that are in those roles for a reason, it’s never easy to move on. The guys who replaced all these players are doing a great job.

“Again, they’re in for a reason, especially Champney and Sippel. Given the amount of football these guys have played and being in their senior years, you rely on that experience in games like that. Of course it hurts, but I think our guys all played those spots and did a good job filling in for them.

Despite the offensive struggles, Mettlach likes where the Huskies are in terms of accountability.

“Our guys are in a really good position right now.” he said. “No one is pointing fingers or playing blame or anything like that. It’s just that we have to execute better. If that means as a team we need to simplify things, or put people in different positions, to be able to make these plays, that’s up to us to do. We’ve got to make sure our guys are confident to the point where we trust the protection, or we’re confident that this lineup is going to get it done in the run game, so on, so on, so they can continue to play. quickly and we will get there.

LOOKING FOR THE CARDINALS

The Saginaw Valley State Cardinals enter Saturday’s game looking for a chance to earn a playoff spot. They are 7-3 overall and 4-2 in GLIAC play after losing to No. 1 Ferris State last weekend, 27-24.

The Cardinals are counting on freshman quarterback Mason McKenzie to lead their offense. He is 131 of 237 through the air for 1,786 yards and 11 touchdowns. He also dominated the ground game with 110 carries for 654 yards and six touchdowns. He threw four picks.

Sophomore running back Terrance Brown was the featured back, rushing a team-high 116 times for 511 yards and six touchdowns.

Freshman receiver Joseph Walker has 28 receptions for 457 yards and three touchdowns. Junior Eric Craft has 25 catches for 201 yards and two touchdowns.

PLAY TIME

The Huskies and Cardinals are scheduled to kick off Saturday at 1 p.m. at the University Center.