HOUGHTON, Mich. — Midwestern State lost to Michigan Tech 48-27 on Saturday. The Mustangs passed for 332 yards and three touchdowns, but their five turnovers led to 20 points for the Huskies.
The Mustangs answered an immediate red-zone threat after
Kaden Brown's sack-fumble at the MSU 12, with
Charles McKnight making a tackle for loss and
Brycen Lewis breaking up a third-down pass before Michigan Tech missed a 19-yard field goal at 13:28. The Mustangs then moved 31 yards behind
Joseph Dodds' running and back-to-back Brown completions to
Fabian Baez, but the drive ended with an interception at the MTU 49. MSU's defense responded with
Ronald Manning's 12-yard sack and
Brayden Durocher's tackle for loss to force a punt, and the offense later put together an 11-play, 36-yard drive that included third-down completions to Baez and
Dexter Stigall IV before another interception. The Huskies broke through with a 16-yard touchdown pass at 3:02 and led 7-0 after the extra point, but the Mustangs closed the first quarter by moving from their 20 to the MTU 39 following a penalty that erased much of
Louis Hickman's 55-yard kickoff return.
MSU answered a 21-0 deficit with its only scoring drive of the second quarter, starting at the Michigan Tech 41 after an onside-kick penalty and moving behind
Kaden Brown's 28-yard completion to
Dominic Cox before Dodds scored from 1 yard with 2:47 left;
Kohen Maroney's kick made it 21-7.
The second quarter began with a fourth-down incompletion at the Michigan Tech 39, and after the Mustangs' defense forced a punt — aided by
Jaden Balina-Ayers' quarterback hurry on third down — Dodds opened the next series with back-to-back 9-yard runs before Brown was intercepted at the MSU 44. The Huskies converted that turnover into a short touchdown drive for a 14-0 lead, then stopped the Mustangs on fourth-and-1 at the MSU 42 and followed two MSU penalties with another rushing touchdown to make it 21-0. After Dodds' touchdown, the Huskies responded with a 53-yard scoring pass, and the Mustangs' next possession stalled after a sack before Michigan Tech added a 51-yard field goal as time expired to leave MSU down 31-7 at halftime.
Kaden Brown hit
Aanjay Feliciano for a 78-yard touchdown on third-and-13, and Maroney's extra point brought the Mustangs within 31-14 at 10:33 of the third quarter. Earlier, MSU opened the half with a defensive stop, with
Trevor Brooks pressuring an incompletion and
Malakai Matthews making the tackle short of the sticks before the Huskies punted. Lewis later intercepted a pass at the MSU 28 and returned it 15 yards, though the ensuing drive ended with a punt. After Michigan Tech added a 28-yard field goal to make it 34-14, the Mustangs answered with a sustained late drive from their own 25 to the Michigan Tech 4, highlighted by Brown's 13-yard run, completions to Baez, Dodds and
Dalton Bailey's 23-yard catch as the third quarter ended with the Huskies ahead 34-14.
The Mustangs produced two fourth-quarter touchdown passes and 130 yards of offense, but the Huskies turned a muffed punt into a short-field score and later added an 80-yard touchdown drive to finish a 48-27 result.
Earlier,
Sean Jastrab hit Cox for a 4-yard touchdown at 14:55, and Maroney's extra point made it 34-21 before the MSU defense got an
Ethan Dishman breakup and a McKnight tackle for loss on the Huskies' next possession. The ensuing punt was muffed by Hickman and recovered by Michigan Tech at the MSU 11, leading to a 5-yard touchdown run, though Durocher blocked the extra-point try.
Kaden Brown answered with a 78-yard drive that included completions to Baez, Matthews and Cox before his 16-yard touchdown pass to
Case Peacock made it 40-27 with 8:38 left. After the Huskies stretched the score to 48-27, the Mustangs moved from their 20 to the Michigan Tech 17 behind runs of 15 and 17 yards by
Ace Traylor and a 15-yard Brown-to-Peacock completion, but the drive ended on downs with 1:07 remaining.
Kaden Brown completed 26 of 46 passes for 328 yards and two touchdowns. Dodds rushed for 70 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries and added two receptions for 7 yards. Feliciano caught one pass for 78 yards and a touchdown. Lewis recorded four tackles and returned an interception 15 yards.
Elliott Larner completed 14 of 22 passes for 240 yards and two touchdowns and rushed 15 times for 85 yards and two more scores. Jake Rueff carried 18 times for 113 yards and two touchdowns. Abram Larner caught seven passes for 104 yards and a touchdown, while Nic Nora added four receptions for 95 yards. Chase Koch recorded 10 tackles, one sack and two interceptions.
Up next, the Mustangs host Western New Mexico at 6 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 19, at Memorial Stadium.
MSU is 1-1 overall. The Huskies are 2-0 overall.
