| September
11, 2004
Football
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CARDS WIN EIGHTH STRAIGHT
ON THE ROAD IN A 45-0 WIN AT WAYNE STATE
DETROIT, Mich. – The Saginaw Valley State
University football squad shook off an opening week loss with a
resounding 45-0 win at Wayne State on Saturday from Adams Field.
The Cardinals captured their eighth straight road victory dating
back to last season and did so in all three aspects of the game
– offense, defense and special teams.
The defense put SVSU in the scoring column
early in the first quarter as junior safety Joe DiGiorgio
(Shelby Twp., Mich./Eisenhower) returned a Darren Haynes
fumble 45 yards to paydirt with 13:09 left in the quarter. DiGiorgio’s
return was the longest fumble return in school history. The extra-point
attempt was no good and the Cards led 6-0. The running attack produced
the second Cardinal touchdown as senior Marcus Ewing
(Lewiston, Mich./Johannesburg-Lewiston) scampered in from
10 yards out capping off a four-play, 19-yard drive. Senior quarterback
Mark Radlinski (Grand Rapids, Mich./Catholic
Central) misfired on the two-point conversion pass and SVSU
led 12-0 with 9:45 left in the opening quarter.
The aerial attack for the Cardinals got
warmed up midway through the first quarter as Radlinski connected
on three straight TD passes to three different receivers. The first
TD pass was hauled in by senior Stan Spencer (Mt.
Pleasant, Mich.) from 16 yards and the Larry Gibson
(Riverview, Mich.) PAT made it 19-0 with 5:10
remaining in the quarter. Senior wideout Mike Crawford
(Lake Orion, Mich.) collected his second TD catch of the
year from 10 yards with 2:52 left to give SVSU a 26-0 lead in the
game’s first 12 minutes.
The second quarter featured an acrobatic
TD grab by sophomore Bob Awrey (Freeland, Mich.)
his first TD catch of the year and it was 32-0 Cardinals with 6:03
left in the half. The Cardinals registered 202 total yards in the
first half and the defense clamped down the Warriors to 44 total
yards and just two first downs. Radlinski played sparingly in the
second half and went 16-of-22 through the air for 191 yards and
four TD’s. The four scores tied a single-game high for Radlinski.
He was also 13-of-18 for 119 yards and three scores in the first
half.
The senior duo of Radlinski and Crawford
connected again on a nice double move down the WSU sideline for
a 35-yard TD making it 38-0 with 10:55 left in the third quarter.
The final score came on the legs of junior wideout Rick
Cottengim (Elk Grove, Calif.) as he returned a
punt 69 yards for a TD making the final score 45-0 after a Bobby
Belmonte (East Grand Rapids, Mich./Catholic Central)
extra point. Cottengim set a school record for punt returns in a
game with seven returns for 138 yards.
The defense held WSU to 157 total yards
including just 22 yards on the ground. Junior linebacker John
DiGiorgio (Shelby Twp., Mich./Eisenhower) led
the attack with eight tackles. Seven different players had at least
four stops as the Cardinals posted their first shutout since last
year’s 38-0 victory over Ashland on September 27. SVSU was
a plus-four in turnover margin as well as senior Corey Gonzales
(Auburn Hills, Mich./Avondale) picked off two passes.
The Cardinals totaled 408 yards of total
offense including 231 in the air and 177 yards on the ground. Junior
Logan Barnhart (Haslett, Mich.) rushed
for 61 yards on nine carries to lead the Cardinals. SVSU (1-1, 1-1
GLIAC) will travel to Findlay for a 6:00 pm kickoff next Saturday.
Contact: Ryan Thompson (989) 964-4053
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