HOUGHTON, Mich. – The Michigan Tech football team takes to the road for a tilt with first-year Division II and GLIAC affiliate Roosevelt, slated for a 2 p.m. kickoff at Morris Field on Saturday.

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About the Lakers

Roosevelt is still finding its position in the NCAA in its first year in Division II within the GLIAC, with an overall record of 1-6 and 1-3 in the league. The Lakers earned their first conference win of the season on Oct. 19 with a 16-10 overtime victory against Northern Michigan at the Superior Dome. 

Roosevelt made things interesting last weekend, hosting a stellar Davenport team entering halftime with a 14-10 advantage. Although the Panthers held the Lakers scoreless in the second half, escaping Morris Field with a 19-14 decision. More interestingly, Roosevelt accrued just 156 yards of total offense with minus-21 yards on the ground and 177 yards through the air.

Senior quarterback Carson Budke has tossed for 1,547 yards with six touchdown passes and six interceptions. His top receiver is sophomore Keonta Nixo, averaging over 100 receiving yards per game and three touchdowns. Alex Tran has also caught three touchdown passes for Roosevelt with 14 receptions and 169 total receiving yards. Senior running back Cyrus Zuell controls the run game for the Lakers, averaging 67.4 rushing yards per outing and a team-leading five touchdowns. 

Jacob Bellizzi (48 total tackles) and Jaylen Olokun (44 total tackles) lead the Lakers defensively. Bellizzi has two sacks for 20 yards, while Olokun has 7.5 tackles for loss this season. 

About the Huskies 

The Huskies venture on their second-to-last road weekend of the season following their 14th-straight Miner's Cup victory over Northern Michigan 39-9 at Kearly Stadium during Hall of Fame weekend to elevate to 5-3 overall and 2-2 in the loop.

Senior wide receiver Brandon Michalak recorded his second multiple-touchdown game of the season, recording two receiving touchdowns on three receptions totaling 103 yards to lead the team. Backup quarterback Alex Bueno was productive in the second half with 70 yards on the ground on just four carries with a rushing touchdown. Bueno also connected with redshirt freshman wide receiver Ethan Hull for the second time in their young careers, with a 12-yard touchdown toss in the 4th quarter.

Possibly the most electric play of the game came on a Huskies punt return in the second quarter when true freshman Jaxon Lippert recorded a 78-yard punt return for a touchdown. It was his first appearance returning a punt for the Huskies, marking the first punt return touchdown in 12 years.

ICYMI: TRUE freshman Jaxon Lippert's ?????????? punt return of his career was a 78-yard ????. It's the first punt return touchdown for the Huskies in 12 years!#CRTD | #FollowTheHuskies pic.twitter.com/q8hDxlrM8O

— Michigan Tech Football (@MTUFB) October 29, 2024

Senior quarterback Alex Fries is atop the league in touchdowns (17), passing yards (1,834) and passing yards per game (229.3). His dynamic trio of wide receivers have combined for 16 receiving touchdowns. Darius Willis is the GLIAC leader with seven touchdowns also, averaging a league-high 6.3 receptions per game. Ethan Champney has recorded a GLIAC-high 631 receiving yards and 78.9 receiving yards per outing. 

Second-year running back Jake Rueff controls the run game with 398 rushing yards, averaging 49.8 per game with two touchdowns. Asher Gregory averages 11 rushing yards a game with two scores.

Junior defensive back Dante Basanese continues to patrol the top spot in the league with 62 total tackles, averaging 7.8 tackles an outing. Owen Watson adds 52 total tackles with two sacks and 10.5 tackles for loss. Hunter Buechel (47 total tackles) is fifth in the league with four sacks as Josh Cribben (45 total tackles) and Austin Schlicht (38 total tackles) have recorded three sacks to rank eighth and 10th in the GLIAC, respectively.  

Senior punter Brendan Lach ranks second nationally in punting average (46.8) following a weekend where he only recorded two punts.