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Wildcat Football Falls To Saginaw Valley In Dome
 Click the AUDIO buttons to hear RRN's Max Stevens player spotlight interviews with NMU's Jake Witt and Stanton Johnson. (NMU Photo) STORY COURTESY OF SAGINAW VALLEY STATE ATHLETICS MARQUETTE, Mich. – The Saginaw Valley State University football team played its final road game of the regular season against Northern Michigan University on Saturday at the Superior Dome in Marquette, Mich.
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STORY COURTESY OF NMU SPORTS INFORMATION MARQUETTE, Mich. - The Northern Michigan University Football team welcomed GLIAC rival Saginaw Valley State University to town for the Wildcats' Senior day. The 'Cats jumped out to an early lead and hung in there all game but ultimately fell to SVSU 30-21. Saginaw Valley State won the toss and deferred to the second half, so the Wildcats got the ball first. The 'Cats first drive saw six plays for 16 yards then a punt to the SVSU 17-yard line. The Wildcats held the Cardinals to a three-and-out and got the ball back at the NMU 39-yard line. A miscue on 3rd down leads to a Wildcat punt that lands on the SVSU 17-yard line. A strong effort on defense and the Wildcats force an SVSU punt. The drive started on the NMU 22-yard line. SVSU responded with a defensive stance of their own and forced an NMU three-and-out. The 'Cats punt bounces out of bounds at the SVSU 46 yard-line. An SVSU three-and-out and the 'Cats start their drive at their own 20-yard line after a touchback on the punt. One play is all it took for the Wildcats to find the endzone, as Tyshon King brought it to the house for an 80-yard rushing score! The extra point is good, 'Cats lead 7-0 A touchback brings SVSU to their own 20-yard line to start their drive. A tackle for a loss on first down proved too much to overcome and the 'Cats got the ball back on their own 23-yard line. The 'Cats couldn't draw up anything on their possession and were forced to punt on 4th and long. SVSU fielded the punt and had a small gain to start their drive on the SVSU 41-yard line. After one quarter, the 'Cats held a 7-0 lead. On a drive that carried over from the end of the first quarter, SVSU drove 59 yards and punched the ball into the endzone for the score. The extra point was missed, and the Wildcats remained in the lead with a score of 7-6. NMU started their drive from their own 28-yard line. Zach Keen was slinging the ball with 20 and 14-yard receptions by Charlie Gerhard and Tyshon King respectively highlighting the drive that brought the 'Cats to the SVSU 24-yard line, but the 'Cats missed the field goal attempt. The score remained 7-6 NMU. SVSU started at their own 24-yard line, strung some plays together, and brought the ball down the field to NMU's 14-yard line. On 4th and a yard to go, Jhermari Marbry and DJ Hutcherson got to the quarterback and forced a turnover on downs. The 'Cats started their drive from their own 16-yard line with under two minutes left. The NMU offense strung some plays together, highlighted by Zach Keen completing a 20-yard pass to Brenden Sersaw, but ultimately were held to a punt that Daniel Riser pinned on SVSU's 1-yard line with four seconds left. SVSU ran the ball and the half ended. NMU held a 7-6 lead going into the locker room. A great kick-off from Northern forced SVSU to start their drive from their own 10-yard line. The Cardinals drove the ball down the field and punched it in from the 1-yard line for the score. The extra point is good and the Cardinals took a 13-7 lead with 10:57 to go in the 3rd quarter. A good return from the 'Cats and a penalty on SVSU saw the Wildcats' drive start on their own 30-yard line. The 'Cats gained a first down but ultimately punted away. An NMU bounce propelled the ball and forced the punt returner to jump on the ball at the Cardinals' 20-yard line. A defensive pass interference call on third down hurt the 'Cats as the Cardinals got a fresh set of downs, but the 'Cats sniffed 'em out on the next third and long to force an SVSU punt. NMU started the drive on their own 9-yard line, and a quick completion to Brenden Sersaw for 11 yards got the 'Cats a first down. A holding penalty on the next play brought the 'Cats back to their own 11, and couldn't climb out of the hole. SVSU forced another NMU punt, which was fielded at the SVSU 45-yard line and returned to the NMU 3-yard line. With a short field in front of them, the Cardinals found the endzone on the second play of their drive. The extra point was good, giving the Cardinals a 20-7 lead with 2:51 to go in the 3rd quarter. The 'Cats started on the 22-yard line following the SVSU kickoff and gained six yards before Daniel Riser took the field. His punt landed at the SVSU 40-yard line and took a Cardinal-friendly bounce to the SVSU 45-yard line. Time expired in the third quarter with Northern down 20-7. The Wildcats couldn't hold the Cardinals on a 3rd and long, and a few plays later the Cardinals found paydirt on a 13-yard pass. The extra point was good, extending the Cardinals' lead to 27-7 with 12:32 left in the fourth quarter. An unsportsmanlike conduct penalty after the touchdown on SVSU moved the kickoff back to the Cardinals' 20-yard line and the 'Cats returned the ball to their own 46-yard line, but couldn't find offense and were stopped for a quick three-and-out. Saginaw started from their own 20-yard line but couldn't get past the first down line, and the 'Cats respond with a defensive stance of their own. The SVSU punt was blocked by Ethan Obeng and Rad Premovic scooped and scored for the 'Cats giving his team 6 points. The extra point was successful, making it 27-14 with 9:20 to go in the fourth quarter. NMU attempted an onside kick that was successfully recovered by Kyle Sahr. Their drive started just over half-field at the SVSU 49-yard line. A few quick strikes from the 'Cats and a clutch pass from Zach Keen to Brenden Sersaw from 12 yards out and the 'Cats found the endzone for the third time on the evening. The extra point was good, and the 'Cats cut their deficit to 27-21 with 5:59 to go in the fourth quarter. The 'Cats attempted another onside kick that was unsuccessful, and the Cardinals were in good field position. John McMullen had two massive sacks mixed with a holding penalty on the Cardinals, the 'Cats got the ball back on their own 7-yard line with 2:20 left in the fourth quarter. The 'Cats drive started with a quick strike from Keen to Sersaw for 12 yards and the first down, but ended two plays later with a Cardinals interception. The Cardinals started on the Wildcats' 22-yard line and didn't make it much farther before kicking a 23-yard field goal to give the Cardinals a 30-21 lead with 1:27 left in the game. The Wildcats couldn't get anything going on their final drive of the game, and Zach Keen's hail-mary throw on fourth and long with time expiring fell incomplete. SCORING PLAYS Tyshon King 80-yard rushing touchdown. Punt was blocked by Ethan Obeng, Rad Premovic recovers in the endzone for a touchdown. Zach Keen to Brenden Sersaw for a 12-yard receiving touchdown. STATS LEADERS Zach Keen completed 20 passes for 176 yards and one touchdown on the evening. He was intercepted once. Tyshon King rushed 19 times for 124 yards and an 80-yard rushing touchdown. He also had 5 receptions for 20 yards. Brenden Sersaw had five receptions for 60 yards and one touchdown. Charlie Gerhard had three receptions for 47 yards. DJ Hutcherson had five solo tackles and 10 assists for 15 total tackles. Antonio Howard had four solo tackles and 11 total tackles. Tavion McCarthy led the team with 6 solo tackles and 10 total tackles. UP NEXT The Wildcats will travel to Painesville, Ohio to clash against Lake Erie College on Saturday, November 12. Kickoff is set for 12 p.m. |
