INDIANAPOLIS - The Saginaw Valley State University football team traveled to face the University of Indianapolis in the 2015 season opener on Thursday night. After a solid first half and 10-6 lead at the break, the Greyhounds posted a 21-7 margin in the second half to pull out a 27-17 victory at Key Stadium.
The Cardinals got on the board first, using an 11 play, 48-yard drive that took 5:33 off the clock that resulted in a 30-yard field goal from redshirt freshman Alex Kenrick. It was his first career field goal on the first attempt and it gave SVSU a 3-0 advantage with 3:06 showing in the first quarter.
Indianapolis responded on its next drive, as it was capped-off with a 22-yard field goal from Brad Schickel to knot the score at 3-3 with 12:33 to play in the half.
Saginaw Valley marched the ball right back down the field and put together a 75 yard drive, using 10 plays and an 18-yard strike from Tyler Palka to Max Corcoran for the game's first touchdown. Corcoran's first career touchdown gave the visitors a 10-3 advantage.
The Hounds used a late first half drive to tack-on another field goal with eight seconds left, cutting the Cardinal lead to 10-6 with the teams heading into the break.
Indy notched the game's next three scores, using touchdowns at the 5:34 mark of the third, 13:03 in the fourth and another with 3:02 to play in the game. That gave the home squad a 27-10 lead with just over three minutes to play.
The Cards took over at that point with Brad Odeman Jr. entering the game at quarterback for the team's last series. Saginaw Valley put together an 11 play, 68-yard drive that was finished with a connection from Odeman to wideout Bryan Fobbs, who made a leaping catch and tip-toed the sidelines to find the endzone. Another Kenrick PAT made the score 27-17 with 41 seconds left on the clock.
After an unsuccessful SVSU onside kick attempt, the Greyhounds got the ball with 41 seconds left and were able to run the clock out, kneeling once to preserve the 10-point victory.
David Nay had 17 rushes for 57 yards on the ground for the Cardinals while Corcoran had five catches for 45 yards and a touchdown and Fobbs added four grabs for 69 yards and a score. Corcoran was selected as the Meijer "Player of the Game."
Palka was 8-of-16 through the air for 88 yards and a touchdown while Odeman had five completions on eight attempts, notching 58 yards and a touchdown on the game's last drive.
Matt McKoy had a team-high 10 tackles for the Cards defensively. Bryan Jones had nine tackles and a sack while Dillon Dixon and Joe Craven joined him with the nine stops each. It was Dixon's first career game and start at safety for SVSU.
Sophomore punter Andrew Courtemanche had a solid game for SVSU, booting five balls for 223 yards and an average of 44.6 yards. Two of those kicks pinned the Greyhounds inside their own 20.
Indianapolis led in total offense by a 410-240 margin. The Greyhounds got 13 catches, 241 yards and a score from Reece Horn and 304 yards passing from Connor Barthel. Neither team committed a turnover in the contest.
The Cardinals fall to 0-1 on the young season while Indy improves to 1-0 for 2015. Saginaw Valley continues on the road next week with a 1:30 p.m. contest at Tiffin University on Saturday, September 12th. The Dragons opened their season with a 34-13 victory over Walsh University on Thursday night.
