UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. – The #16th ranked Saginaw Valley State University (SVSU) football team fell to Northern Michigan University in a heartbreaking 23-20 homecoming game day loss today (Oct. 3).

The Cardinals lit the scoreboard first when Austin Borchard (San Juan Capistrano, Calif. / San Clemente HS) gave Saginaw Valley a three-point lead on a 23-yard field goal early in the first half. The Wildcats would respond mid-way through the second quarter when they connected on a 27-yard field goal to knot the score at three. Quarterback Chuck Dowdell (Ft. Wayne, Ind. / Indiana State University) completed a 15-yard pass to Andrew Beaver (Dearborn Heights, Mich.) to put the Cardinals up 10-3 heading into the locker room at the half.

Early in the second half, Northern Michigan would tie the score with a 24-yard touchdown pass. The Saginaw Valley offense struggled on their second possession of the half as Dowdell threw an interception that would lead to a Wildcat touchdown, giving them the lead 17-10. The Cardinals would begin to chip away at the Northern Michigan lead as Borchard would convert on a 20-yard field goal to make the score 17-13. Dowdell would find Nick Gallina (Troy, Mich.) on a 37-yard post route completion to the nine-yard line, as Saginaw Valley would take the lead for the third time of the game when Dowdell completed a four-yard pass to Galen Stone (Grand Blanc, Mich. / Swartz Creek HS) to put the Cardinals up 20-17. The Saginaw Valley defense would not be able stop the Wildcats as they scored the game-winning touchdown with just four seconds left in the game. Dowdell launch a desperation heave that would end up intercepted to end the game, 23-20.

The Cardinal defense was led by John Jacobs (Prudenville , Mich. / Midland Dow HS) and Mike LeVand (Grandville, Mich.) who both had 17 tackles on the afternoon while Carlton Downs (Detroit, Mich. / Denby HS) added 11.

With the loss, Saginaw Valley falls to 4-2 overall on the season and 3-2 in the GLIAC, while Northern Michigan moves to 4-1 overall on the season and 4-1 in the GLIAC. The Cardinals will return action when they travel to Tiffin next Saturday (Oct. 10) for a 1:30 p.m. kickoff.