Posted: Nov 15, 2025
HOUGHTON, Mich. — The Saginaw Valley State University football team scored in the closing seconds to capture a 24-21 win over Michigan Tech on Saturday afternoon. The Cardinals (6-5, 5-2 GLIAC) finish the season with a win and secure second place in the GLIAC standings.
Meijer Player of the Game Mason McKenzie (Caledonia, Mich. / Caledonia HS) recorded over 200 yards passing for the fourth time this season, with his second-highest total of 240 in the game against the Huskies. McKenzie completed 30-of-46 pass attempts, which is a career-high completion mark. He also threw for three touchdowns for the first time this season, and the third time for his career.
Saginaw Valley State drove the ball down to the Huskies' 15-yard line on the game's opening drive. Freshman running back Cornell Beard (Shaker Heights, Ohio / Shaker Heights HS) rushed for 32 yards on the first play from scrimmage to advance into Michigan Tech territory (43-yard line). McKenzie completed his first three passes to three different receivers, including a 19-yard toss to Terrence Brown Jr. (Detroit, Mich. / Martin Luther King HS) that moved things inside the 10-yard line.
A penalty by the Cardinals moved the ball back to the 20-yard line, and the drive stalled two plays later and forced SVSU to settle for a 32-yard field goal from Teagen Lenderink (Rockford, Mich. / Brentwood Academy TN) to give Saginaw Valley State a 3-0 lead with 10:39 left in the first quarter. The kick sealed the 9-play, 60-yard drive that chewed 4:21 off the clock.
Following a three-and-out on the Huskies' first drive, McKenzie continued to roll, completing his next four passes in the drive to start the game 7-of-7 for 62 yards. The 15-play drive stalled at the MTU 2-yard line, and Lenderink's field goal attempt was blocked by Jamison Stamps. The Huskies recovered and returned to the 13-yard line and held possession for the remainder of the first quarter.
The MTU drive was halted at the 27-yard line, and Austin Bills (Traverse City, Mich. / Traverse City Central HS) made a huge special teams play with a blocked punt that gave the Cardinals back the ball on the plus side of the field with 13:27 left in the first half.
McKenzie found Zarek Zelinski (Waterford, Mich. / Waterford Kettering HS) on a 4th-and-4 from the Tech 35-yard line for a five-yard gain and a first down. Beard advanced things to the 16-yard line with a 14-yard rush. Two plays later, McKenzie completed a pass to Eric Craft (Waterford, Mich. / Waterford Kettering HS), who made a move to beat his defender and score for the 10-0 lead after the extra point. The throw and catch completed an 8-play, 41-yard drive and left 10:17 on the clock before the break.
The Huskies responded with a 15-play, 70-yard drive that ended with a Nic Nora touchdown run from two yards out to trim the SVSU lead to 10-7 with 2:37 remaining before halftime.
The Cardinals ran 14 plays in 2:35 seconds to score before the break and increase the lead to 17-7 with two seconds remaining on the clock. McKenzie completed passes to Braden Hill (Charlotte, Mich. / Charlotte HS), Tony Kennedy (Avon, Ind. / Avon HS), Zelinski, Brown, and Bills during the drive. The final throw was a two-yard pass to Brown for his second touchdown pass of the day.
Michigan Tech battled back in the second half with a rushing touchdown on the opening drive of the third frame that cut the margin to 17-14 with 12:16 remaining in the quarter.
The SVSU offense punted twice and had a turnover on downs to end the third quarter, still holding onto the three-point lead.
Quarterback Alex Bueno hit Ethan Champney for a 39-yard touchdown pass to give Tech its first lead of the game, 21-17, with 6:18 left in regulation.
Brown accumulated 46 yards on two carries and a reception to move the ball to the MTU 37-yard line before McKenzie's pass to Craft was picked off by Porter Zeeman at the 1:53 mark of the fourth quarter.
A false start penalty turned a 3rd-and-2 into a 3rd-and-7, and Bueno's pass fell incomplete to force a punt and give the Cardinals the ball with 90 seconds remaining and a chance for a game-winning score.
McKenzie completed seven passes to five different receivers during the final 11-play drive by SVSU. He found Zelinski for 16 yards on a 3rd-and-7 before hitting Hill for 21 yards two plays later to move the ball to the Tech 20-yard line. McKenzie then completed a pass to Israel Bradford (Cincinnati, Ohio / Mt. Healthy HS) for 14 yards to the six-yard line. A spike stopped the clock in the closing seconds, and McKenzie finished off the day with a six-yard strike to Hill to retake the lead, 24-21, with only eight seconds left on the clock.
The Huskies had time for two pass attempts, but both fell incomplete, and SVSU secured the win to end the regular season with a victory.
The Cardinals gained 436 yards of total offense that included 240 from McKenzie and the passing game. SVSU registered 26 first downs and held the ball for 33:45 during the game.
Beard finished with 74 yards rushing on 11 carries, for a 6.7 yards-per-carry clip. Brown caught nine passes for 62 yards and a touchdown to lead the receivers. He also had three carries for 39 yards (13 ypc). Hill finished with six catches for 44 yards and a score. Zelinski compiled five receptions for 48 to complete the trio of receivers with five or more catches in the contest.
Jaden Bevier (Ypsilanti, Mich. / Ypsilanti HS) and Christian Boivin (Traverse City, Mich. / Traverse City West HS) led the defense with six tackles. Bevier added two TFLs. Timothy Alonzo Jr. (Maple Heights, Ohio / Maple Heights HS) finished with five stops, while Sean Hodges (Detroit, Mich. / Cass Tech HS), Adom LeDuc (Utica, Mich. / Utica Stevenson HS), and Trace Corlew (Gladwin, Mich. / Gladwin HS) totaled four tackles.
UP NEXT: The win completes the 2025 regular season for the Cardinals, who finish 6-5 overall with a 5-2 conference record to sit second in the GLIAC standings.