Score: Saginaw Valley 20, Northern Michigan 12
Records: SVSU (4-4, 2-4 GLIAC) | NMU (1-6, 1-5 GLIAC)
Location: Superior Dome

MARQUETTE -- Coming off a tough home loss the week prior, the SVSU Football team traveled north to Marquette to take on the Northern Michigan University Wildcats on Saturday (Oct. 21) afternoon. The Cardinals had a stellar offensive output, coupled with solid rushing defense in posting a 20-12 win over the Wildcats at the Superior Dome. 

Tommy Scott Jr. had a season-high 140 yards rushing on 26 carries while Chad Gailliard reeled-in a career-best 13 catches and 229 yards in the matchup. They each scored a touchdown in the victory over the Wildcats. 

The Cardinals got on the board first, as Drew Franklin hit on a 20-yard field goal try to give the visitors a 3-0 lead at the 14:18 mark in the opening quarter. 

After the Wildcats tied the game at 3-3, Saginaw Valley took a 10-3 lead into the locker room after Gailliard caught a 9-yard touchdown pass from Ryan Conklin to cap-off a six play, 66-yard scoring drive. 

The lone score in the third quarter came via a Northern Michigan field goal, trimming the Cardinal lead to 10-6 heading into the fourth quarter. 

A Scott 9-yard touchdown run a couple minutes into the fourth quarter pushed the SV lead to 17-6 with 12:51 to play in the contest. 

NMU scored shortly after that, adding a long touchdown pass to make the score 17-12 after a two-point conversion failed.

Franklin came up big again for the Cards, making the lead 20-12 with a 32-yard field goal as 8:37 was showing on the clock. 

The SV defense held strong from there, fending-off a Wildcat drive deep into Cardinal territory to secure the 20-12 victory.  

Inside the Boxscore

• Scott had 26 rushes for 140 yards and a touchdown. 
• Conklin was 17-of-26 for 247 yards and one touchdown. 
• The Cardinals held the Wildcats to zero yards rushing in the contest and held the GLIAC's leading rusher to just 33 yards on the ground. 
• Gailliard had 13 catches for 229 yards and a score. He was named the Meijer Player of the Game after the career output. 
• Franklin was 2-for-2 on field goal attempts, connecting on tries of 20 and 32 yards. 
• Justin Whitted had a team-best eight tackles with a pass break-up.
• Michael Alexander added seven stops for SVSU. 
• Jack Jennings and Myles Collier each had six tackles, with Jennings adding a pair of sacks and another tackle for loss. 
• Ryan Verhelst had four tackles with an interception.  
• It was the first win for the Cards at the Superior Dome since the 2010 season, which was a 24-17 victory. 

Up Next...

Saginaw Valley returns to Wickes Stadium for the final home contest of the 2017 season. The Cardinals host Tiffin University in another league matchup. Kickoff is slated for 3:00 p.m. The Dragons are coming off a 38-24 home loss to Ashland on Saturday. 

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