MARQUETTE, Mich. – The Northern Michigan football team took on the Michigan Tech Huskies in the annual Miner's Cup game on Saturday afternoon in the Superior Dome, with the Wildcats falling 56-17. 

Northern trailed 21-3 at halftime, but had several chances to be much closer after three trips to the red zone resulted in only three points over the first 30 minutes. Meanwhile, the Huskies found the endzone three times on five first-half possessions. They went on to score five more touchdowns in the second half, including a punt return and a fumble returned for a score. NMU added a touchdown in both the third and fourth quarters. 

The Wildcats kept attacking the ground with 270 rushing yards, but the Huskies nearly matched with 269 on the ground and a 199-75 advantage through the air. NMU struggled with the explosive plays, as Tech averaged 9.0 yards per play while NMU had 4.7.  

Trevor Theuerkauf led the Wildcat offense with 106 rushing yards and 75 passing yards. He ran in NMU's lone rushing score and accounted for the passing touchdown to Ian Engstrom, the first of his career. Noah Dobert added 93 more rushing yards. Michigan Tech's Elliott Larner ran for 171 yards and four touchdowns, while also throwing for another. 

The loss drops Northern to 1-7 overall and 1-4 in the GLIAC. Michigan Tech improved to 6-2 and 3-1. 


How it Happened
The Wildcats won the opening coin toss and opted to receive, but a quick three-and-out gave the ball to the Huskies. Tech connected on a 40-yard pass play just two plays into their drive, followed by a 29-yard run to get into the red zone. Quarterback Elliott Larner converted an 8-yard touchdown run to give MTU a 7-0 lead at 9:38. 

Chris Battley brought the following kickoff out to the 44, and Northern moved into the red zone, but a missed 35-yard field goal kept them off the board. Tech responded with another touchdown drive, as Larner ran his second in from three yards out to make it 14-0 at 3:12 of the first. 

The Wildcats again moved the ball into Husky territory to open the second quarter and made it inside the 10-yard line, but four false start penalties were too much to overcome. Nicholas Gruesen connected on a 28-yard field goal to make it 14-3 with 9:23 left in the half. 

NMU appeared to have some momentum as they forced a three-and-out and moved the ball thanks to 15 and 31-yard rushes from Trevor Theuerkauf, but facing a 4th-and-goal from the four, a missed 25-yard field goal resulted in an empty trip. 

The Huskies made it 21-3 by halftime, converting a 4th-and-1 from their own 40, going 60 yards up the middle on a Larner run. 

NMU outgained Tech 189-181 in the opening half, but only three points in three trips into the red zone plagued the half. Both quarterbacks shined on the ground, as Theuerkauf ran nine times for 100 yards and Tech's Larner carried eight times for 117. 

Tech extended its lead to 28-3 on the opening possession of the second half. Larner connected with Jake Rueff from 37 yards, capping a 5-play, 64-yard drive. 

Northern briefly moved the ball over midfield on its next possession, but was forced to punt. The Huskies muffed the kick, and NMU recovered the ball at the 9-yard line with a prime opportunity to score. Jahi Wood converted on an option run to the right, his 7th of the season, to bring the score back to 28-10 with 6:18 left in the third.  

MTU immediately answered with a 3-play, 65-yard touchdown drive. NMU trailed 35-10 with 5:13 left in the quarter.

Michigan Tech tacked on three more scores in the fourth, with one rushing, one on the punt return, and another on a fumble recovery. NMU added an 18-yard touchdown pass from Theuerkauf to Ian Engstrom in the final minute for the 56-17 final score.


Up Next
Northern will travel to No. 1 Ferris State on Saturday, November 1. The opening kickoff is set for 1 p.m.