MARQUETTE, Mich. – The Saginaw Valley State University football team invaded Marquette on Saturday, and came out with a 38-21 victory.

In the first quarter, the Cardinals turned up the offense early when tight end freshman Brandon Williams ran for a 1-yard touchdown capping a 13-play, 84-yard march to the end zone.

On Northern Michigan’s next drive that started on their own 11 yard line, the Wildcats were hit with a false start penalty, pushing them back to the six. After Northern gained two yards, the Cardinals were able to stop the Wildcat’s next two plays, pushing Northern to 4-13 on the 8-yard line. The Cardinals were able to stop the next play for a safety to go ahead 9-0.

In the second quarter, the Wildcats scored on the opening drive, but the field goal attempt was blocked, and returned for a defensive point after attempt giving the Cardinals the edge 11-6. With time winding down in the second, Cardinal quarterback sophomore Dan Stiefel (Emmet, Mich./Sterling Heights Stevenson HS) connected on a 3-10 pass to senior running back Brandon Emoett (Caro, Mich./Caro HS) to give the Cardinals a 17-6 lead heading into halftime.

At the start of the third quarter, SVSU started its drive on their own 28 yard line. During the drive, the Cardinals were able to get five first downs as they marched down the field. SVSU capped its drive with a 7-yard touchdown pass from Stiefel to junior wide receiver Galen Stone (Grand Blanc, Mich./Swartz Creek HS) to put the Cardinals up 23-6. After senior kicker Jeremy Burr (Saginaw, Mich./Swan Valley HS) nailed the extra point, the Cardinals took a commanding 24-6 lead.

SVSU went into the fourth quarter leading 24-13, but in the opening drive of the final quarter, the Wildcats were able to score, and complete the two-point conversion to put the game within field-goal range for Northern Michigan.

As the Cardinals regrouped after a drive that went three-and-out, SVSU got the ball back on their three-yard line to start a 97-yard drive that would put the game out of reach in the waning minutes of the game as Emeott capped a 14-play drive that put the Cardinals up 31-24. Senior defensive back Matthew Black (Toronto, Can./Northern Secondary School) intercepted a Wildcat pass and ran it 27 yards for a Cardinal touchdown, giving SVSU the lead 38-21.

Overall, the Cardinals produced 401 total yards on offense while SVSU’s defense held Northern Michigan to 236 offensive yards.

The Cardinals are back in action Saturday (Oct. 11) as SVSU will take on Tiffin University at Harvey Randall Wickes Memorial Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for noon.


Contact: Matthew D. Woodbury (989) 964-4053