Football Hits Road for Tilt at Northwood

THIS WEEKEND'S NOTES

CLIFFHANGERS
Twice this season and four times in the last nine games (dating back to last season), the Michigan Tech football team scored the game-winning points on the game's final play. Garrett Mead kicked a 39-yard field goal as time expired to give the Huskies a 34-31 win at Northern Michigan Sept. 27. Earlier this season (Sept. 4), Mead knocked home a 25-yard field goal to beat Wayne State 18-17. Last Nov. 9, Tyler Scarlett kept the ball on an option play to score the game-winning points in double overtime at Hillsdale (30-27). Tech's last meeting with Northwood (Oct. 19, 2013) was won when Scarlett's pass on the final play was tipped and caught by Jordan McConnell in the endzone for a 33-31 final. Considering three other games during the last calendar year were decided by less than one score, Michigan Tech fans have seen more than their share of exciting finishes.

SCARLETT POSTS FIRST 300-YARD GAME OF 2014
Quarterback Tyler Scarlett completed 22-of-34 passes for 302 yards and a touchdown at Northern Michigan in the Huskies' last game. It was Scarlett's first 300-yard game of 2014. Despite only having seven 300-yard games in his career, the senior has shattered Tech's school record for passing yardage. The four-year starter sits at 8,460 career yards with a record 69 touchdowns to just 22 interceptions. Perhaps Scarlett's most impressive stat is his record as a starting quarterback: 24-11.

Michigan Tech Career Passing    Yards    Pct     TDs    Ints
1.     Tyler Scarlett (2011- )    8,460    62.3    69    22
2.     Steve Short (2006-10)    7,471    .579    59    44
3.     Dave Walter (1983-86)    6,876    .505    48    59

TOP RECEIVING DUO
Michigan Tech has the top two players in the GLIAC in receptions per game. Brandon Cowie hauled in nine passes for 135 yards and a touchdown at Northern Michigan to improve his season average to 6.5 receptions per game. Andrew Clark, who had five catches for 76 yards and a touchdown at Northern Michigan, averages 6.3 receptions per game. The two are ranked No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, in the league in that category.

STOUT UP FRONT
Tech enters the Northwood game with the GLIAC's top rushing defense, allowing just 86.5 yards on the ground per game. That number ranks them 12th in all of NCAA Division II. Defensive tackle Tanner Agen is tied for second in the GLIAC in tackles for loss at 1,8 per game. End Nelson Wienke has been strong as well, with 5.5 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks. Tech's defensive front will be challenged this week with Northwood's triple option offense that averages 172.0 yards rushing per contest.

MEAD THE HERO
Twice this season Garrett Mead has kicked the winning field goal on the final play of the game. The 39-yard game winner at Northern Michigan was his second 39-yarder make of the game. He finished with 10 points in the game to improve his school-record kick scoring total to 193. Mead is 6-for-8 on field goals and 11-for-13 on extra points in 2014.

NELSON ADDS ANOTHER INTERCEPTION
Just one week after having a school-record-long 89-yard interception return for a touchdown vs. Saginaw Valley State, DeShawn Nelson posted another interception and return. The senior picked off a Northern Michigan pass and brought it back 19 yards. Nelson has eight career interceptions and a school-record 231 career interception return yards.

THE TECH-NORTHWOOD SERIES
Saturday's (Oct. 11) meeting between Michigan Tech and Northwood will be their 41st all-time. The Timberwolves own a 21-19 edge in the series, which started in 1965. The Huskies have dominated the recent history, however, with six wins in the last seven meetings. In two of those six wins, the lead changed hands on the final play. Tyler Cattelino kicked a 48-yard field goal to win 43-41 in 2007 and Jordan McConnell caught a tipped Tyler Scarlett pass for a 33-31 victory last year. Both were Tech wins at Hantz Stadium.

LEFFINGWELL FINDS PAYDIRT
Charlie Leffingwell scored his first two rushing touchdowns of 2014 at Northern Michigan Sept. 27. The junior reached the endzone on a two-yard run in the second quarter, then slipped several tackles on a 31-yard run in the third. Leffingwell, who is eighth on Tech's all-time rushing list, owns 374 yards this season and 2,219 for his career. He averages 93.5 yards per game and 4.7 yards per rush this season.

All-Time Leading Rushers    Att    Yds    Avg    TD    Lg
1. Jim VanWagner, 1973-76    958    4788    4.9    55    77
...
7. Joe Johnson, 2000-02    524    2435    4.6    20    73
8. Charlie Leffingwell, 2011-    453    2219    4.9    11    62    

IN THE RANKINGS
For the first time since 2012, the Huskies are ranked in the AFCA Division II Top 25 Poll. The Huskies entered the top 25 at No. 23 last week and moved up to No. 22 this week after the bye last Saturday (Oct. 4).

TIME OF POSSESSION BATTLE
Michigan Tech and Northwood are ranked No. 1 and No. 3 in the GLIAC in time of possession. The Huskies have held the ball for an average of 35:48 per game this season, good for fourth nationally. The Timberwolves average 32:19 of possession time each game (30th nationally).

CAPTAINS
Huskies' team captains for the 2014 season are defensive end Cameron Allen, cornerback DeShawn Nelson, center Bruce Tebelman and quarterback Tyler Scarlett. All four are seniors.

COACH KEARLY
Michigan Tech head coach Tom Kearly is in his ninth season as head coach and 15th overall with the Huskies program. The skipper owns a 54-33 record (.621 winning percentage) and has coached Tech to two of the eight eight-win seasons in school history. Kearly, a Hancock native and 1979 Winona State graduate, coached at Central Michigan for 19 seasons before returning to the Copper Country in 2000. He was the GLIAC Coach of the Year in 2010.

HUSKIES BITES
Saturday's game is Tech's fourth road game this season; it has played just one at home so far. The Huskies' second-half schedule flops with only one road trip and four of five at Sherman Field … A quarterback with a last name beginning with "S" has started 45 consecutive games and 88 of the last 95 games the Huskies have played. Tyler Scarlett is in his fourth year as starter. Drew Schaft started the streak in 2005. Steve Short then took over four games into the 2006 campaign. Only when Short was injured three games into the 2009 season did Brent Heim break the trend for seven games … Tech's win over Northern Michigan (Sept. 27) was its fifth consecutive vs. the Wildcats and kept the Miner's Cup in Houghton for the ninth time in the trophy's 13-year existence.

SUPERIOR PLAYERS OF THE GAME
Superior National Bank sponsors the Superior Player of the Game. Following each football game, a player is chosen. A list of the 2014 Superior Players of the Game is below.

Sept. 4 at Wayne    Garrett Mead: 4 FG (23, 29, 21, 25); game-winner
Sept. 13 at Malone    Tyler Scarlett: 16-of-20, 175 yds, 4 TD
Sept. 20 vs SVSU    Tanner Agen: 8 tackles, 3.0 TFL, 1.0 sack, 1 blk kick
Sept. 27 at NMU    Garrett Mead: 2 FG (39, 39); game-winner