HOUGHTON, Mich. -- Michigan Tech racked up 222 yards on the ground and held #23 Saginaw Valley State off the scoreboard for 55 minutes of play in a 20-7 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference victory this afternoon. The win in front of 2,011 diehard fans at a cold, blustery Sherman Field was the Huskies' third consecutive triumph.

Quarterback Steve Short and running back Lee Marana provided Tech's offensive spark for the second straight week. Short completed six-of-eight passes for 103 yards and rushed for 88 more yards and two touchdowns. Marana tallied the 21st 100+yard game of his career with 129 yards on 33 carries.

On defense, MTU created three turnovers -- all interceptions -- and held the Cardinals to only two conversions on third and fourth down combined.

"We were good on money downs today -- especially on defense," said head coach Tom Kearly. "We're looking to get better each week and this was a good step forward against a good football team."

The game's first score didn't come until late in the first quarter. Tech drove 67 yards on six plays, thanks in large part to Short's 52-yard completion to Bobby Slowik to the SVSU 11-yard line. Three rushes left Tech with a fourth-and-two at the three-yard line. The Huskies elected to go for it, and Short sprinted into the endzone on a designed QB run behind a nice block from Marana. Alex Tiseo tacked on the extra point for a 7-0 lead.

The score remained 7-0 through halftime, although the Cardinals had a first-and-10 at the MTU 16 midway through the second quarter. Bryan Klett intercepted Vinnie Miroth's pass at the seven-yard line to extinguish the threat.

In the third quarter, Miroth was picked off again. This time Sean Spellman hauled in a pass that was deflected at the line of scrimmage. Tech proceeded to run 5:43 off the clock on a 13-play drive. Short tallied 29 yards on the ground during the series including a fourth-and-one conversion that led to a three-yard touchdown run for Marana. The Huskies led, 14-0, with 29 seconds left in the third quarter.

Saginaw returned the ensuing kickoff to the 50-yard line and completed a 25-yard pass on the next play. The Huskies' defense held on four straight downs at their own 20 to give the ball back to the offense. After a punt, the Cardinals were again stopped on fourth down. Tech took over possession and two plays later, Short put a spin move on a pair of SVSU defenders and sprinted 55 yards to paydirt. That left the score, 20-0, with 6:26 to play.

Miroth completed six-of-seven passes on the next drive to give Saginaw some life. Rick Cottengim's eight-yard reception in the endzone closed the gap to 20-7 at the 4:14 mark. SVSU was unable to mount any more offense. Tech held the visitors on downs with 1:37 to play before Klett tallied his second interception of the last play of the game.

SVSU was limited to 75 yards rushing and finished with 274 yards of total offense. The Huskies amassed 320 yards of total offense.

Miroth finished 19-of-37 for 199 yards and a touchdown. SVSU's Brandon Emeott tallied six catches for 42 yards. Three different MTU receivers (Slowik, Kirk Williams and Keith White) had two catches each. Slowik notched a career-high 60 yards receiving.

Tech's Cheyne Nelson had a team-high-tying eight tackles including a tackle for loss. Ryan Essex also had eight stops for the hosts. SVSU's defensive effort was led by Josh Miller's nine tackles.

Michigan Tech (3-4, 3-4 GLIAC) will remain home to host arch rival Northern Michigan next Saturday (Oct. 14) at 1 p.m for the fifth-annual battle for the Miner's Cup.

Notes: Short is 3-0 as starting quarterback . . . Williams extended his streak of games with a catch to 13 . . . SVSU was the Huskies' third ranked opponent this season (#1 Grand Valley State and then-#18 Northwood were the others) . . . Marana added 129 yards to his career rushing total, which now stands at 4,204 yards . . . Tech has won two of the last three meetings with Saginaw Valley State