Huskies score 35 points in win vs. GVSU

HOUGHTON, Mich. — Michigan Tech opened the game against Grand Valley State with 35 unanswered points and went on to a 35-14 victory over the Lakers to improve to 6-0 on the season. Charlie Leffingwell rushed for 202 yards on 23 carries and scored two touchdowns, and Tyler Scarlett completed 15-of-22 passes for 174 yards.

“First half is as well as we’ve played in a long, long time,” said coach Tom Kearly. “Everything we called on both sides of the ball seemed to work, and our special teams were sharp. A lot of credit goes to the assistant coaches for having a great game-plan in place.

“The second half we tried to be smart with the clock. It wasn’t always comfortable, but in the end we did what we needed to do to get a win.”

Tech set the tone on the opening drive, converting a big third down to Anthony Root, setting up first-and-goal. Three plays later, Tyler Scarlett hit Andrew Clark on a floater to the back corner of the endzone for a 7-0 lead.

The Huskies defense held GVSU on downs in the red zone, and added another score. A roughing the punter penalty on GVSU continued the drive. The scoring play came as Brandon Cowie found Clark on a double-pass play for a 38-yard completion.

DeShawn Nelson intercepted a pass at midfield to give the ball back to the offense. Charlie Leffingwell ran 54 yards on the next play to make it 21-0.

Leffingwell scored again—this time on a 20-yard pass from Scarlett—to make it 28-0 less than five minutes into the second quarter. A Scarlett scramble from nine-yards out with 6:08 left in the half made it 35 unanswered Huskies’ points.

GVSU scored on its first possession of the second half to make it 35-7, but the defense didn’t allow another Lakers score until the final five minutes of the contest.

DeShawn Nelson led the defensive effort with 11 tackles (including eight solos), an interception (his third in the last two games) and a forced fumble. The Black and Gold recorded 7.0 tackles for loss in the game and claimed the game’s only takeaway.

On offense, Leffingwell did most of his damage in the first half, gaining 181 yards on just 14 carries. Clark finished with five catches for 69 yards and two scores. Cowie, in addition to his touchdown pass, had a game-high seven receptions for 73 yards.

Michigan Tech, which is 6-0 for the first time since 2004 when it opened 9-0, will host 7-0 and No. 11-ranked Ferris State at Sherman Field next Saturday (Oct. 25). The battle of the last two unbeaten teams in the GLIAC will kick off at 1 p.m.

(Information Courtesy of MTU Athletics)