HOUGHTON, Mich. - "A total team effort."

Those were the words used by Michigan Tech football coach Tom Kearly to describe his team's 24-7 victory over Wayne State this afternoon. The Huskies dominated time of possession, gained twice as many yards and seemingly made all the big plays to claim their home opener in front of 2,417 fans at Sherman Field.

"This is not 2009," said Kearly. "This is a new football team with new leadership. We're playing well right now. I think the key is defense. When you have a good defense, you have a chance to win every week."

Indeed Tech's defense was up to the challenge. Wayne State was coming off a 63-point performance at Tiffin a week ago but were held to just a single touchdown. The Warriors (2-1 overall and 1-1 in the GLIAC) posted just 190 yards of total offense, less than half of their 451 average entering the game.

For the second straight week, the game was very much in doubt at half. Wayne State scored on its opening possession with an 10-play, 58-yard drive.

Tech tied the game early in the second quarter. Phil Milbrath made at least four defenders miss on a beautiful 33-yard run from scrimmage to take the ball down to the 14. Two plays later, Tim Schmalz found the endzone on a fullback dive.

Wayne looked to regain the lead on their next drive, but Michael Rittenour made a leaping interception on the goal line to quell the threat.

The teams entered halftime tied at seven.

Wayne State got the ball to start the second half, but turnovers killed their first two drives. Chet White intercepted a Mickey Mohner pass and Ben Foelker recovered a Josh Renel fumble-both plays at midfield.

The home team capitalized on the second WSU miscue. A Steve Short-to-Bryan LaChappelle pass went for 36 yards down to the WSU 15. Four plays later, the two hooked up again as the tight end LaChappelle started to block, then rolled wide open in the endzone for the go-ahead score.

Michigan Tech put some distance on the Warriors with a 16-play drive that drained 8:54 off the clock. After being stopped on two plays from inside the three, Tech went for a fourth-and-one. Schmalz reached the endzone for the second time on the day with the clock showing 12:58 in the fourth.

Senior kicker Tyler Cattelino added the exclamation point with a 40-yard field goal amid heaving crosswinds at the 3:41 mark to make the score 24-7.

Milbrath went over 100 yards for the second straight game with 128 on 29 carries. Short was very polished in running the offense once again. He completed 17-of-30 passes for 200 yards and rushed for 35 more in helping Tech go 6-of-14 on third down and 3-of-3 on fourth down.

LaChappelle was the Huskies' top receiver with 71 yards on six catches. Four other Tech players had at least two receptions.

Rittenour had a huge game defensively with a team-high six tackles, the interception and a half sack. Jesse Vandenberg also posted six tackles including two for loss.

The final stat sheet revealed a 388-190 advantage in yards of total offense for Tech. The Black and Gold also held onto the football for 37:59 of the 60 minutes.

Michigan Tech, which is 2-0 overall and 2-0 in the GLIAC, will take its unbeaten record on the road next Saturday (Sept. 25). The Huskies travel to Indianapolis for a 2 p.m. kickoff vs. the Greyhounds.

Notes: The seven points given up to Wayne State was the fewest allowed by the Huskies at home since Oct. 4, 2008, when it defeated Ferris State 21-7 … Rittenour has two interceptions in as many games this season … Milbrath owns 12 career 100-yard games … Tech has won two in a row vs. Wayne State and five of the last eight.