HOUGHTON, Mich. – Against a backdrop of beautiful fall colors and amid strong winds at Sherman Field, the Northern Michigan football team showed significant signs of improvement on Saturday afternoon, despite falling 56-33 to Michigan Tech in the Miner's Cup.
Most notably was freshman quarterback Matt Stevens.
Making his first career start, Stevens led the Wildcats to season highs in points and total yardage, completing 25 of 38 passes for 319 yards and a touchdown while adding 68 rushing yards and a score on the ground, all while not turning the ball over. It was the most passing yards for a Wildcat quarterback since Mariano Valenti threw for 368 yards against Quincy on September 23, 2023.
Northern totaled 553 yards of offense, its most in a game since gaining 566 in a 42-14 win over Post on September 24, 2022. The Wildcats also set season highs with 234 rushing yards and 319 passing yards, outgaining the Huskies by 61 yards overall. NMU matched Michigan Tech 21-21 in the second half.
The Wildcats also received a strong performance from Noah Dobert, who rushed for 110 yards and two touchdowns, while Noah Hofmann added 55 rushing yards and a score. Wilson Ptacek led the receiving corps with seven catches for 82 yards and a touchdown.
Michigan Tech capitalized on several explosive plays to build a 35-12 halftime lead, including a 64-yard touchdown pass and a late scoring play featuring a lateral. The Huskies finished with 492 yards of offense, averaging 9.8 yards per play on 50 plays, while Northern averaged 6.4 yards across 86 plays.
Tech's Alex Bueno completed 10 of 13 passes for 268 yards and three touchdowns, connecting with Abram Larner eight times for 236 yards and two scores. Elliott Larner added 93 rushing yards and three touchdowns on just 10 carries.
How it Happened
Michigan Tech opened the scoring with a six-yard rushing touchdown by Jake Rueff at 10:54 of the first quarter. Northern answered on its first possession of the game, as Stevens connected with CJ Cunningham for a 45-yard gain on the first pass of his first career start. Dobert capped the six-play, 65-yard drive with a four-yard touchdown run, though the extra point was missed to leave the Huskies ahead 7-6.
Tech responded immediately, finding Abram Larner for a 64-yard touchdown on the second play of its ensuing drive to extend the lead to 14-6. Northern moved across midfield on its next possession behind runs from Stevens and Dobert, converting a fourth-and-6 with a completion to Ptacek.
A holding penalty later set the Wildcats back, and they were unable to convert a fourth-and-4 from the Tech 28-yard line. The Huskies capitalized with a 58-yard touchdown run by Elliott Larner on their next possession, taking a 21-6 lead into the second quarter.
Northern was unable to score on its opening possession of the second quarter, but the defense recorded its first stop of the afternoon to get the ball back. Tech eventually put together another scoring drive, extending its advantage to 28-6 with 4:28 remaining in the half.
Stevens and the Wildcat offense responded with one of their best drives of the afternoon. The freshman continued to find his receivers as Northern moved into Tech territory, setting up Dobert for his second touchdown of the game on a one-yard run with just 14 seconds remaining. The two-point conversion was unsuccessful, making it 28-12.
The final play of the half proved costly for Northern. Tech connected on a deep pass to Larner, and as the receiver was wrapped up, he lateraled to Bryce Kurncz, who ran into the end zone for another touchdown. The Huskies carried a 35-12 lead into halftime after scoring touchdowns on five of their six possessions. Tech held a 333-242 advantage in total yards, while Stevens had completed 13 of 18 passes for 163 yards.
The Wildcats opened the second half with the ball but were stopped on a fake-punt attempt up the middle. Tech took over in Northern territory, but the Wildcat defense answered with a stop on fourth down. Stevens then used his legs to help move Northern into the red zone, but another fourth-down attempt, this time from the Tech 15-yard line, came up short.
The Huskies followed with another explosive play, a 72-yard gain that set up Elliott Larner for his third rushing touchdown of the afternoon on the next play. The score extended the Tech lead to 42-12 with 5:20 remaining in the third quarter. Northern continued to move the ball and reached the Tech 10-yard line before the end of the period.
Stevens connected with Ptacek for his first career touchdown pass on third-and-goal from the six-yard line early in the fourth quarter. The Wildcats converted the ensuing two-point attempt to Ptacek, cutting the deficit to 42-20 with 14:08 remaining.
Northern's defense then created its first turnover of the game when Murphy Monreal intercepted a tipped pass from Bueno. However, Dobert fumbled on the first play of the ensuing possession, giving the Huskies the ball deep in NMU territory. Tech quickly capitalized, as Bueno found Larner for a touchdown reception to push the lead to 49-20 with 11:59 remaining.
Stevens continued to lead the Wildcat offense, scoring on a one-yard rushing touchdown with 5:57 left to make it 49-27. After Tech's next possession, Northern put together another scoring drive, highlighted by a deep completion from Stevens to Ptacek that moved the Wildcats inside the five-yard line. Hofmann finished the drive with a three-yard touchdown run, bringing Northern within 49-33 with 1:38 remaining. The two-point attempt was unsuccessful.
Michigan Tech added one final touchdown in the closing minute to secure the 56-33 victory.
Up Next
The Wildcats return home next week, hosting the Roosevelt Lakers on Saturday, October 24.
