Football Defeats Michigan Tech 29-24

OVERVIEW

SCORE: Northwood Timberwolves 29, Michigan Tech Huskies 24
RECORDS: Northwood (3-3, 1-3 GLIAC), Michigan Tech (3-3, 2-2 GLIAC)
LOCATION: Hantz Stadium - Midland, Mich.
RECAP: Corey Burdgick's late touchdown clinches a 29-24 victory over Michigan Tech Saturday afternoon (October 7).

INSIDE THE GAME

• Starting with solid field position, Northwood was able to move 62 yards down the field in 2:11 to strike first. Quarterback Joe Garbarino was able to hit Alex Spicuzzi for a significant third down conversion early on in the drive. Vashon Nutt mixed in a crucial 23-yard sprint up the middle to get Northwood into scoring position, and Dom Giovinazzo capped the drive with a 17-yard rushing touchdown to put the Timberwolves up 7-0 just under five minutes into the first.
• On their fourth drive, Northwood extended their lead. Starting from their own 13-yard-line, the Timberwolves needed eight plays to move 87 yards down the field. Garbarino was able to find Nathan Skene for a 22-yard completion on first down to spark the drive. Carter moved the Timberwolves inside the Tech 30-yard-line with a 31-yard rush down the left sideline. The senior running back was able to cap the drive with a four-yard score on the ground pushing the lead to 14-0.
• Michigan Tech was able to answer Northwood's second scoring drive with an 11-play series of their own, capping the drive with a one-yard TD run with 6:54 left in the half.
• Aided by an offside penalty on Northwood on a punt by MTU, the Huskies found new life on their last drive before the half was over. Marching 80 yards down the field in 14 plays, Tech was able to tie the game on a four-yard touchdown pass with four seconds remaining in the half.
• The Northwood defense came to the aid of an offense that was held to a three-and-out to start the second half. Charles Williams was able to force the issue and stuff the Tech running back into his own end zone for a safety and a 16-14 Timberwolves' lead 3:16 into the second half.
• On their ensuing possession from the safety, Nutt made sure to capitalize on the short field. His 64-yard kick return put Northwood at the Michigan Tech 19-yard-line. Six rushing plays later, Carter was in the end zone with his second touchdown of the day, a three-yard score. The nine-point swing put Northwood up 23-14 with 9:09 left in the third quarter.
• Michigan Tech was on the verge of answering Northwood's safety and touchdown with seven points of their own. From their own 28, the Huskies clawed their way to the Timberwolves' 12-yard-line before a third-down sack by Keyon Whitfield. That forced the Huskies to settle for a field goal to make it a six-point contest at 23-17.
• After forcing Northwood to punt, the Huskies came back for unfinished business from their previous scoring drive. Starting from the Timberwolves' 49-yard-line, the Huskies used seven plays, aided by a pass interference penalty along the way, to march down the field for six. An 11-yard pass on 3^rd-and-goal completed the drive and gave Tech the lead at 24-23 with 8:35 left in the game.
• Garbarino ended up throwing an interception on Northwood's ensuing drive, but the defense came up with a stop to get the ball back to NU with 4:55 remaining. Marching 80 yards down the field, the Timberwolves picked up four first downs in addition to a crucial facemask penalty to bring Northwood within striking distance at the Tech 23-yard-line. Cory Burdgick was able to get the team ever so closer with a 20-yard rush up the middle before eventually finishing the drive with a two-yard score to put Northwood on top 29-24.
• The Huskies got the ball back with 1:17 remaining, but NU linebacker Chase Harrington made the final big play of the game. He picked off the MTU pass off a deflection with 53 seconds remaining. That allowed Northwood to run out the clock and earn the win. 

GAME STATS

• FIRST DOWNS: Michigan Tech 22, Northwood 22
• RUSHES-YARDS: Northwood 47-282, Michigan Tech 47-210
• PASSING YARDS: Michigan Tech 113, Northwood 93
• TOTAL OFFENSE, PLAYS-YARDS: Northwood 69-375, Michigan Tech 74-323
• TIME OF POSSESSION: Michigan Tech 31:19, Northwood 28:41

GAME NOTES

• Northwood has now won the last two matchups over Tech after losing six consecutive decisions from 2010-2015.
• Harrington's INT was the first of his career.

UP NEXT

• The Timberwolves will travel to Wayne State on Saturday (October 14) for a GLIAC matchup against the Warriors. Game time is set for 6 p.m.