HOUGHTON, Mich. -- Lee Marana rushed for 125 yards and Michigan
Tech's defense came up with plenty of big stops to propel the
Huskies to a 14-12 Great Lakes Intercolleigate Athletic Conference
victory over Hillsdale on Homecoming at Sherman Field. Will Clark's
tackle on the Charger's two-point conversion try with 6:15 to go
proved to be one of the biggest plays of the game.
"It's great to get a win on Homecoming with great crowd support,"
said first-year head coach Tom Kearly, who earned his first career
win. "We were able to cut out the big mistakes and our defense did
what it needed to do."
Hillsdale (3-2, 3-2 GLIAC) opened the game by marching 66 yards
inside the MTU five-yard line before the Huskies stuffed the
Chargers on four straight chances at the goal line.
Starting quarterback Steve Short then drove Tech 95 yards the other
direction. Kirk Williams was responsible for 55 of the 95 yards,
the last 20 coming on a touchdown reception after shaking loose
from a tackle near the line of scrimmage. Alex Tiseo added the
extra point for a 7-0 Huskies lead.
The Chargers were stopped on downs again on their next drive, this
time at the Tech 23-yard line after a solid tackle by Clark and
linebacker John Vanderlaan. After a three-and-out by the Huskies,
HC was in business again in Tech territory. On fourth and four to
go, Mark Petro kicked a 31-yard field goal, but the Huskies were
flagged for being offside. The Chargers took the three points off
the scoreboard to gain the first down. Three plays later, Robert
Haynes intercepted a Mark Nicolet pass to end the scoring
threat.
An diving interception by Hillsdale's Jared Kell at midfield two
minutes later led to the visitor's first score. Nicolet hit Nick
Gurica on back-to-back passes of 29 and 18 yards to find the
endzone with 44 seconds left in the first half. Petro's extra point
failed as it was tipped at the line of scrimmage, leaving the
score, 7-6, heading into halftime.
Tech received the ball to open the second half and ran 6:14 off the
clock with a 13-play, 80-yard drive. The Huskies converted three
third downs on the series and Marana scored from 17-yards out on a
broken play. Short fumbled the snap, picked it up and flipped it to
Marana who danced to the endzone. Tiseo added the all-important
extra point for a 14-6 advantage.
The teams battled for field position until early in the fourth
quarter. Hillsdale caught a break when it recovered Keith White's
muffed punt return at the Tech 39-yard line. Ten plays later,
Nicolet scored on a one-yard option run. HC tried some trickery
with the two-point conversion by pitching it to the tailback and
throwing it back to Nicolet. Clark made a strong, one-on-one tackle
at the two-yard line to preserve the 14-12 Huskies' lead with 6:15
to play.
Michigan Tech's rushing attack finished off the remaining clock.
The Huskies converted two third downs and a fourth-and-one during
the drive to keep the ball out of Hillsdale's hands and preserve
their first victory of the season.
Tech (1-4, 1-4 GLIAC) gained 211 yards on the ground behind
Marana's second 100+ yard game of the season. Short carried the
ball 14 times for 55 yards and completed 11-of-17 passes for 113
yards and a touchdown. Williams was on the receiving end of seven
of those passes for 82 yards and a score.
Nicolet was 18-of-22 for 204 yards and a TD for the Chargers.
Gurica caught nine balls for 141 yards. Phil Martin gained 59 yards
on 20 carries.
MTU free safety Ryan Essex led all tacklers in the game with 13.
Linebacker Bryan Klett added 11 tackles, 3.0 tackles for loss and a
fumble recovery. Hillsdale linebacker Tom Korte led his squad with
11 stops.
Michigan Tech will travel to Ferris State next Saturday (Oct. 7)
for a 2 p.m. kickoff in Big Rapids, Mich.
