October 30, 2004
Football Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

     CARDS SEE PLAYOFF HOPES SLIP AWAY WITH A 38-18 LOSS AT MICHIGAN TECH

HOUGHTON, Mich. – The Saginaw Valley State Cardinals ran into a spirited Michigan Tech squad on Saturday from Sherman Field and the end result was their second straight road loss, 38-18. With the defeat, the Cardinals saw their playoff hopes slip away due to a strong second-half effort from the Huskies. The first half saw the Cards lead 18-17 at the break, marking the first time the Huskies had trailed all year at intermission. The Huskies took the opening kickoff and drove the distance of the field. Kirk Williams had the key play of the drive with a 36-yard reception. The scoring play was a 10-yd TD catch by Brian Janeshek from Dan Mettlach capping off a six-play, 76-yard drive.
     The Cardinals would score on their opening drive to answer the Huskies. Sophomore Bob Awrey (Freeland, Mich.) caught a 27-yard pass on the first play from scrimmage for SVSU. Senior Marcus Ewing (Lewiston, Mich./Johannesburg-Lewiston) had a key 31-yard run to the Huskies two-yard line and on the following play, senior Mark Radlinski (Grand Rapids, Mich./Catholic Central) found a wide-open Stan Spencer (Mt. Pleasant, Mich.) on a two-yard TD catch at 10:09. The extra-point was missed and Tech led 7-6.
     Janeshek caught his second TD of the game on a three-yard catch at 6:06 and the PAT made it 14-6. The Cardinals got good field position later in the first quarter on a 29-yard punt return to the Michigan Tech 30-yard line. One play later, Radlinski connected with senior Mike Crawford (Lake Orion, Mich.) on a 30-yard TD with 3:36 to play and the score 14-12 after a failed two-point conversion.
     Michigan Tech upped their lead to 17-12 on a 21-yard field goal by Grant Botz with 7:31 to go in the half. SVSU got a big 71-yard catch by Awrey on their next drive and Logan Barnhart (Haslett, Mich.) carried it in from one-yard to make it 18-17 at half.
     The second half saw SVSU miscues and the Huskies took advantage outscoring the Cardinals, 21-0, in the final 30 minutes. The big momentum swing began as the Cardinals drove to the Tech 28-yard line and failed to convert on a fourth-and-2 on the Cards first drive of the second half. After Tech took over on downs, Kirk Williams ran a season-long 72 yards for a TD and after a two-point conversion pass to Steve Fantetti it was 25-18 at 11:30. The Cardinals had another shot to cut into a 28-18 lead late in the third quarter, but MTU stuffed SVSU three times on the goal line and a Bobby Belmonte (East Grand Rapids, Mich./Catholic Central) 20-yard field goal was blocked by Brian Lepley.
     The Huskies totaled 569 yards, including 416 rushing yards on 58 carries. The Cardinals managed 376 yards of offense, but just 137 yards in the second half. Radlinski did manage to break the school record for passing yards throwing for 230 yards and two scores in the game. Radlinski now has 6,792 career passing yards. Ewing carried 17 times for 93 yards and Barnhart carried 13 times for 49 yards. Awrey caught four passes for a career-high 135 yards.
      The Cards wrap up the regular season next week at Ferris State with a 1:00 pm kickoff.
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Ryan Thompson: (989) 964-4053