INDIANAPOLIS – The Saginaw Valley University football team scored 14 points in the fourth quarter to climb back from a 10-point deficit to defeat 15th-ranked Indianapolis on the road on Saturday night. The Cardinals (3-1) fought through the weather and turnovers, to earn the victory and spoil the Greyhounds' homecoming.
Meijer Player of the Game Eli Gordon led the way for the SVSU defense for the second straight week with nine tackles. He also recorded a tackle for loss and returned an interception 70 yards to the house to give the Cardinals a 21-17 lead early in the fourth quarter.
"That is a good football team. They have a great defense and a great quarterback," said Head Coach Ryan Brady. "We hung in there and we battled today."
The Cardinal defense settled in after the Greyhounds gained 43 yards in the first two plays but had to settle on a 33-yard field goal to take a 3-0 lead in the opening three minutes of the game.
Mason McKenzie gave SVSU the lead with a 37-yard touchdown pass to Dubb Williams on a 4th-and-2 to put the score at 7-3 at the 10:19 mark of the first quarter. The touchdown pass sealed a six-play, 55-yard drive for the Cardinals and was Williams' first career touchdown.
UIndy quarterback Gavin Sukup completed a 21-yard pass to Anthony Crowell to retake the lead, 10-7. A fumble by the Cardinals gave the ball back to the Greyhounds and they punched it in from two yards out and extended the lead to 17-7, where it would sit for the remainder of the first half.
Brady Deveraux capped SVSU's opening drive of the second half with a four-yard touchdown run that cut the Greyhound lead to 17-14.
Gordon then gave the Cardinals the lead in the fourth quarter with his 70-yard interception return for a score with 10:30 left to play.
A five-yard run from Jon Lewis put UIndy back on top, 24-21 at the 6:30 mark of the final quarter. However, Terrance Brown Jr. caught a pass from McKenzie and took it 56 yards for a touchdown that put SVSU back on top 28-24.
The Greyhounds had two more drives to try and retake the lead, but the Cardinal defense forced a three-and-out in the first one and ended the second with an interception from Brandon Rawls that sealed the win for SVSU.
McKenzie finished the evening 15-for-26 for 220 yards and two touchdowns through the air. Brown Jr., led the Cardinals in rushing with 16 carries for 60 yards as well as receiving with two receptions for 62 yards and a score.
Leonard Henry IV finished with eight tackles and 2.5 sacks in the game. Adom LeDuc registered six stops and Alfred Dailey Jr. added another five. Gordon and Rawls recorded interceptions. Rawls also had two tackles and a half-sack in the game.
The Cardinals will hit the road again next week as they make the trip to Marquette to face Northern Michigan in the first GLIAC contest of the season. Kick-off against the Wildcats is set for 1:00 p.m. (ET).
