Huskies football retains Miner's Cup with win over Wildcats

David Archambeau/For the Gazette Michigan Tech athletic director Suzanne Sanregret presents the Huskies with the Miner’s Cup after their win over Northern Michigan Saturday at Kearly Stadium in Houghton.

By DAVER KARNOSKY

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HOUGHTON – With two key touchdown receptions from senior wide receiver Brandon Michalak, and a 78-yard punt return for a touchdown by freshman wide receiver Jaxon Lippert, the Michigan Tech Huskies football team retained the Miner’s Cup for the 14th straight year with a 39 – 9 win Saturday over the Northern Michigan Wildcats at Kearly Stadium in Houghton.

Michalak’s first touchdown came on a 25-yard strike from senior quarterback Alex Fries with 11:54 left in the second quarter. The catch ended a four-play, 64-yard drive for the Huskies and broke a 3-3 tie.

His second touchdown catch came in the third, when he came down with a 58-yard reception and ran for the touchdown with 13:04 to go.

Michalak was happy to be part of the Huskies’ 14th straight win in the annual game.

“It means everything,” he said. “It’s so much fun. The preparation going into this week is unlike any other and it’s a great time.

Individually, Michalak only made three catches that afternoon, but he used them effectively as he gained 106 yards and scored the two touchdowns.

“It’s amazing,” Michalak said about getting the opportunity to help the team achieve victory. “It’s great to see the confidence that the coach has in me, the relationship that I’ve built with my quarterback, and just everything, all the pieces coming together. I can’t live without my ‘O’ (offensive) line and my quarterback, so I’m just grateful.”

For the Huskies, the win came at a point in the season where they needed a turnaround after a pair of losses dropped them to 4-3 on the year and 1-2 in GLIAC play.

“It was big for many reasons.” said Huskies coach Dan Mettlach. “Like I said the other day, I felt like after the Davenport game we were looking at the film and kidding ourselves that we had too many chances, especially at home, that we couldn’t put them away. We were never in the game last weekend. The guys flushed it and we were on the Northern before we even got back on the bus at Ferris (state). So the guys approached it the right way.

“It just worked out that your rival comes in at a time when you are in a two-match skid. We didn’t have to do anything to get them ready for this game.”

Mettlach was also quick to point out that the Huskies as a team may have been too hyped to start the game, and that energy led to a first quarter that had very little connection like they wanted. Without a 42-yard field goal from freshman kicker Avery Kucharski, the Huskies and Wildcats would have come away with a scoreless tie after 15 minutes of action.

In the second quarter, the Wildcats answered with a 31-yard punt from Michael Karlen to tie things up before Michalak came up with his first touchdown reception.

Then the play became a flashy play by Lippert on an excellent punt by Wildcats punter Owen Halverson, which appeared to pin the Huskies deep in their own territory. At that point, Lippert made a few moves and found space down the left sideline all the way to the end zone.

‘It was huge at the time’ Mettlach said. “I mean, we have a drop on a vertical throw at the end of the first quarter. We miss a man who is four meters behind someone on the first drive. I mean, it didn’t go well. We finally get the score to make it a 10-3 game.

“But when that finally fell away, especially with what the defense was doing and what they were trying to do on offense, it was kind of, I don’t want to say you get some breathing room, but there’s a little bit less stress at that point , knowing that you are two scores higher at that moment.

Mettlach was proud of how well Lippert handled his first contact in his career.

“With what we were doing offensively, it was desperately needed at that moment for him to be able to make a play like that.” Mettlach said. “It was just great to see a true freshman touch the football in a game for the first time. To make that move that he initially made, and then get it in the black, was incredible.”

The Huskies picked up three more points on a 39-yard field goal by Kucharski with 40 seconds left in the first half to take a 20–3 lead into the locker room.

Michalak’s second touchdown reception was the only scoring play of the third quarter, and it gave the Huskies a 26-3 lead in the final 15 minutes of the game.

In the fourth quarter, the Huskies turned their offense over to freshman quarterback Alex Bueno, who scored on a 34-yard touchdown run to cap a seven-play, 96-yard drive with 11:40 remaining. He then threw a 12-yard touchdown pass to freshman wide receiver Ethan Hull with 6:46 left. That throw ended a nine-play, 50-yard scoring drive.

“I like what ‘AB’ does,” Mettlach said. “It’s not easy being talented and being the backup. Everyone always talks about preparation as if you were the starter. That’s easier said than done, but he comes to work every day.

“I said this a week ago about our backups, they get as many reps as the first-team guys, and on days like this we finally get him on the field. We don’t change anything with our offense, but they have to execute what we do. I think we saw today not only with his arm, but obviously when he gets loose with his feet, he also makes a difference with the ball in his hands. He’s been good all year.”

Bueno led the Huskies in rushing with 70 yards on four carries and a touchdown.

The Wildcats were one touchdown late when running back Tucker Welch crossed the goal line from 33 yards out with just 1:44 left in the game.

With the win, the 5-3 Huskies will hit the road this weekend to take on GLIAC newcomer Roosevelt in Chicago, Illinois.