UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. – The Saginaw Valley State University football team celebrated the 2023 senior class with a dominant 62-17 win over Northern Michigan on Saturday afternoon. Junior linebacker Micah Cretsinger broke a 17-year-old school record with four interceptions to lead the SVSU defense that finished with six takeaways. The Cardinals (5-5, 2-3 GLIAC) improved to .500 with the win while the Wildcats (0-10, 0-6 GLIAC) still search for the first win of the season.
Derrick Hinton Jr., got the scoring going with a 26-yard touchdown reception from Mike O'Horo that capped a seven-play, 71-yard drive in the first quarter. Cretsinger got his first interception of the game on the following Wildcat possession that gave the Cardinals the ball on the Northern Michigan 29-yard line. SVSU's offense stalled on the 26-yard line and settled for a 44-yard field goal by Ryan Heicher to increase the lead to 10-0 with 5:10 remaining in the opening quarter.
A fumble inside the NMU 20-yard line on the next drive gave the Cardinals good field position again and this time they cashed in on a 19-yard pass from O'Horo to Arron Foulkes with 3:45 left in the first.
Cretsinger's second pick came in the second quarter and gave SVSU the ball on the Wildcat 14-yard line. Terrance Brown rushed for a nine-yard touchdown to extend the lead to 24 with 7:22 left in the first half.
Christian Ellison joined the scoring with a 47-yard interception return for a touchdown on the next NMU drive that pushed the advantage to 31-0 with just under six minutes remaining before halftime. Willie Taylor entered at quarterback for the Cardinals and hit Hinton Jr., with a 53-yard bomb to add six more points to the lead.
Northern Michigan put points on the board on the ensuing kickoff with a 90-yard return for a touchdown to put the score at 38-7 with 53 ticks left on the clock.
Cretsinger's third swipe was a pick-six in the third quarter that he returned for 30 yards to put the Cardinals up 45-7 with 9:01 left on the clock. He would break the record on the next Northern Michigan drive when he tallied his fourth interception inside the NMU five-yard line.
Nick Johnson scored a three-yard run to cap that drive, and the score sat at 52-7 with 7:26 left to play in the third.
Northern Michigan hit a field goal in the opening 10 seconds of the final quarter to cut the lead to 52-10. The kick finished a long, 16-play, 41-yard drive that clipped 7:27 off the clock.
Austin Bills recorded his first touchdown of the season with a 5-yard scamper with 11:25 left in the game. The final points for the home side came on a 30-yard field goal in the closing five minutes.
The final points were scored by the Wildcats with a six-yard touchdown rush in the final minute of play to put the score at its final resting place before time expired.
The Cardinals finished with 458 yards of total offense (247 passing, 211 rushing). SVSU punched in 38 points off Wildcat turnovers in the game.
Taylor finished 7-9 passing for 138 yards and a touchdown. O'Horo was 7-12 for 102 with two touchdowns. Nick Patterson was the team's leading rusher with 44 yards on two carries. Brown had 39 yards and a score. Bills and Johnson also scored on the ground. Hinton Jr. had his second-consecutive game with over 100 yards receiving. He also registered a season-high two touchdowns on the afternoon.
Cretsinger led the defense with eight tackles and a forced fumble along with his record-breaking interception total. Mike Woolridge registered seven stops, one for loss, and recovered a fumble. Ellison had three tackles and his pick-six.
The Cardinals will finish the 2023 regular season on the road against Michigan Tech next Saturday, November 11. Kickoff in Houghton, Michigan, is set for 1:00 p.m.
