PAINESVILLE, Ohio - The No. 20 Saginaw Valley State University football team defeated the Lake Erie Storm by a score of 51-24 in a Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference contest to give head coach Jim Collins his 100th career win.
Saginaw Valley found the endzone with 10:36 left in the first quarter to take a 7-0 lead on a Tim Hogue (Inkster, Mich.) run up the middle. Hogue's touchdown was setup by a 53-yard pass from Jonathon Jennings (Columbus, Ohio/Westerville South HS) to Meijer "Player of the Game" Jeff Janis (Tawas, Mich.). Hogue finished the game with 107 yards on 24 carries.
Lake Erie responded on their ensuing possession with an eight-play, 71-yard drive to tie the score at 7-7.
The duo of Jennings to Janis hooked up again to set up a 22-yard field goal by Scott Stanford (Novi, Mich.) for the 10-7 Cardinal advantage. Jennings finished the game 23-of-41 for a career-high and school record 511 yards and three touchdowns.
The Cardinal defense forced the Storm to punt on their next possession to set up Jennings and the Cardinal offense. This time he found Michael Albrecht (Midland, Mich.) for a 53-yard touchdown to cap off a three-play, 70-yard drive to give SVSU a 17-7 lead.
Jennings found Deon Jobe (Grand Rapids, Mich./East Grand Rapids HS) from 36 yards out for his second touchdown of the game and a 24-7 lead.
Stanford then recorded a 21-yard field goal, his second of the game, to extend the Cardinal lead to 27-7 with 9:04 left in the second quarter.
The Storm tacked on a field goal late in the second quarter to cut the Cardinal advantage to 27-10 at the half.
Lake Erie tallied another scored with a touchdown to start the second half, but the Cardinal offense would respond with an 11-play, 73-yard drive that was capped off by a five-yard touchdown run by Jennings to put SVSU up 34-17.
Hogue posted his second touchdown of the game on a one-yard run up the middle to cap off a 10-play, 66-yard drive that extended the Cardinals lead to 41-17.
Jennings then found Janis on a short pass that Janis took to the house for a 73-yard touchdown after breaking a tackle. Janis finished the contest with 12 catches for a school and conference record 300 yards and a score.
Stanford nailed his third field goal of the game to give SVSU the 51-24 victory.
The defense was led by Grant Caserta (Holland, Mich./West Ottawa HS) who recorded 10 tackles and an interception. Brian Johnson (Muskegon, Mich./Catholic Central HS), Jon Bryant (Lauderdale Lakes, Fla./Boyd H. Anderson HS) and Mason Duke (Attica, Mich./Imlay City HS) all recorded six tackles for the Cardinals.
SVSU will return to action next Saturday (Sept. 29) when they host Ferris State for Homecoming and First Responders Night sponsored by Draper Chevrolet and Toyota.