Searching for 14 in a row

Michigan Tech punter Brendan Lach kicks a ball during a game against Wayne State Saturday, Oct. 5, at Kearly Stadium in Houghton. (David Archambeau/For the Gazette)

HOUGHTON — In 21 meetings for the Miners Cup, the Michigan Tech Huskies football team has won the trophy in question 18 times. That does not mean that coach Dan Mettlach and his team are expecting to easily run away with the trophy for the 19th time, which would also be the 14th straight win in the series.

“Our guys don’t need any extra motivation when it’s Northern (Michigan) week,” he said. “That is a priority here at this university for going as long as I can remember being a part of it. So, what happened at Ferris (State), or what we didn’t do against Davenport, or what we did do well against (Wisconsin-)Oshkosh has zero to do with what this game is going to be about this weekend.

“Extra motivation is not necessary. At the same time, our guys do not take this weekend for granted at all. From 1955 to 2000, Tech never beat Northern. So, our guys understand the history, know what this rivalry is all about. We understand that we’ve had it for a while now with the cup being in our hands, and you know what the record is since 2000 until now. But, that means zero for this current team. What they currently have and anything from that standpoint, our guys are going to have to come out and play, execute physicality, be fast. (We) know what their record is, what our record is, what happened last week for both of us means nothing when the ball is kicked off.”

The Huskies enter this weekend 4-3 on the season and 1-2 in GLIAC play after back-to-back losses to Davenport and Ferris. On the other side of the field, the Wildcats come into Saturday’s matchup 0-7 overall and 0-3 in GLIAC play after falling in overtime last weekend to conference-newcomer Roosevelt, 16-10.

Michigan Tech is coming off a 51-13 loss against the No 4-ranked Bulldogs last weekend, but Mettlach feels like that loss does not hurt as much as the previous week’s 24-20 loss to the Panthers.

“I don’t know that there’s anybody that we should beat, but it’s two things; one, we lose a game like we did against Davenport where we felt like we had chances to win that game,” he said. “That one hurts a lot more afterwards than what just happened down at Ferris. I mean, we weren’t in that game at any point. Played well in the second quarter, both sides of the football. (Brendan Lach) did an incredible job all day long. But, there was never a time in that game where you’re sitting there saying, ‘Man, we had chances here, here, and here to make it a game.’ We had chances to make plays and it just didn’t happen.”

One player who had a good game on the defensive side of the ball was sophomore defensive back Junyoung Chung, who had five solo tackles and four tackle assists, to lead the Huskies with nine total tackles.

“Junyoung is a very talented, physical kid,” Mettlach said. “He can run. He’s young still, so the nuances of our defense, where I’m supposed to be in coverage when I’m supposed to be there, it’s like anybody else that’s getting their real first year playing. There’s some things that we have to get cleaned up from that standpoint, but love the way he plays. He loves football, loves being in the weight room, would love nothing more than to run through somebody rather than get a pick. I think he’s that kind of guy. (He is) very athletic, one of our best athletes we have, and (we) expect big things from the rest of this year and, obviously, the next two years as well.”

SCOUTING THE WILDCATS

This week, the Huskies face a Wildcats team that is struggling to put together a full game each week to this point. They have thrown the ball a total of 10 times over the past two weeks, combined, and that is something that Mettlach is very aware of heading into Saturday.

“I think part of what makes them tough to defend is that people don’t think they’re going to throw the ball,” he said. “Our guys are going to see a different scheme, period, than what we’re used to seeing. Even back in the day, when we were playing Northwood with their option, it’s different than what they were doing. So, I mention every week about our guys having to be gaps out of the box. We’re going to have to be this week, especially with the triple that they’re running, making sure our eyes are good to where we have the dive, the “Q” (quarterback) and the option guy accounted for.

“They attempted two passes last week? Maybe. It’s not been a lot. That concerns me more in terms of our guys falling asleep on the back end to when they do pull it and throw it. That’s, I think, what good option teams do is pick and choose their spots when they’re going to go over the top or get a cheap one. We have to make sure that we are not getting lulled to sleep in our secondary. When they finally do do that, (we need to make sure) we’re in position to make a play, so we know they want to run it. Obviously, going to what they did in the offseason, what they’re trying to do up front with their run game, it’s not a surprise. We’ve got six or seven games of them on film and it’s the same thing, what they’re trying to do every week.”

Mettlach pointed out that his team’s game plan will be different from how they dealt with the Bulldogs last weekend.

“Last week, we tried to nickel and dime Ferris to keep the football in our hands, take the clock off,” he said. “We can’t allow them (Northern) to make us bleed out with three and four yards of pop to where they can keep the football in their hands, and keep our offense off the field. We have to do some things to make some negative plays, hopefully get the football on the ground, and make sure that they’re not shortening the game up on us to where we have less opportunities offensively.

“That’s what teams that want to run football do is time. Possession is their ally, and we have to do a good job on defense, getting off the field so that doesn’t happen.”

GAME TIME

The Huskies and Wildcats are set for an opening kickoff of 12 p.m. Saturday at Kearly Stadium in Houghton.