DETROIT -- Saginaw Valley traveled to Wayne State University on Saturday (Sep. 28) night in GLIAC action, taking on the Warriors in a night game at Tom Adams Field. A late SVSU comeback effort would not be enough in the end, as a couple early mistakes cost the Cardinals and WSU held on for a 24-20 win.
The Warriors took their opening drive and scored with 10:43 showing on the clock for a 7-0 lead over the Cardinals.
SVSU fumbled on its opening play of the game and Wayne State took over at the SV two yard line. The Cards held the Warriors to the field goal and the home team claimed the 10-0 lead with 8:52 to go in the first.
WSU tacked-on another score when Leon Eggleston picked-off a pass and returned it nine yards for a touchdown as 2:41 showed on the clock in the first, pushing the Warrior lead to 17-0.
That score held true into the second quarter and the Cardinals got on the board first with a 38 yard field goal from Connor Luksic at the 5:13 marker of the second quarter. That drive was set up by an interception from Nick Whiteside, who picked-off a pass in Warrior territory to stall a drive.
Luksic would tack-on another field goal with 34 seconds left in the first half, trimming the deficit to 17-6 heading into the halftime break.
Nate McCrary helped the Cardinals dig into that Warrior lead with the first play of the second half, taking a rush around the left edge and down the sideline 83 yards for the score. A Luksic PAT made the score 17-13.
The Warriors answered with a third quarter touchdown of their own, however, as James Hill ran one in with 9:58 left in the quarter to extend the cushion to 24-13.
Saginaw Valley drove at the end of the third and Ryan Conklin ran in a score from two yards out to finish an 11 play, 76 yard drive and make the score 24-20 with 13:20 to play.
An SVSU field goal attempt with just over eight minutes left in the fourth was blocked and eventually Wayne State got the ball back with 4:32 left on the game clock.
A couple of first downs helped the Warriors run down the clock from there and eventually seal the 24-20 victory.
Inside the Boxscore
- McCrary surpassed his career-high set last week at home against Michigan Tech, rushing 15 times for a new career-best 156 yards and a touchdown. He was named the Meijer "Player of the Game" for his efforts.
- Casey Williams had a team-high five catches and 79 yards receiving.
- Luksic was 2-of-3 on field goal tries, connecting on kicks of 38 and 32 yards.
- David Still had a team-high nine tackles with 1.5 tackles-for-loss.
- Michael Woolridge matched Still's nine stops and had a TFL as well.
- Marvin White added eight tackles for the Cardinal defense.
- Nick Whiteside had three tackles with an interception while Austin Egler had four stops with a sack.
- WSU had 312 yards of total offense and SVSU had 307.
- The Warriors had a 168-139 edge in net yards rushing and SVSU had a slim 168-144 edge in the passing game.
Up Next...
Saginaw Valley hosts Northwood University this upcoming Saturday (Oct. 5) for the annual Axe Bowl rivalry game. It will be homecoming for the Cardinals as well and kickoff will be at 1:00 p.m. at Wickes Stadium.
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