Ferris State football defeated the Michigan Tech Huskies in an interconference matchup at Kearly Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 21.
Following their loss versus Grand Valley State, the Bulldogs (5-2, 3-1 in conference) returned to the win column after getting off to a great first half on both sides of the ball that led to the 35-21 victory over the Huskies. Michigan Tech is now 4-3 overall and 1-3 in conference, and the Bulldogs get back on the track that may lead to the National Championship. However, Bulldog football has stumbled in rankings. The once #1 ranked team has been ranked between #4 and #9 nationally.
Head Coach Tony Annese reflected on the game and was proud of the way his team battled in the win but was concerned about the Bulldogs possibly coming out cold.
“We knew it was going to be a battle,” Annese said. “Obviously concerned about a little hangover from last weeks battle in which that’s heartbreaking for us when we start so poorly and fought back so hard and so there’s a lot of variables involved. So really proud of our guys just thrilled the way we played.”
Sophomore quarterback Carson Gulker scored the game’s first two touchdowns for the Bulldogs as they went up 14-0 over the Huskies. The Huskies responded early in the second quarter with a touchdown of their own pulling the deficit to seven with 11:51 remaining. The Bulldogs scored again with 3:14 remaining with a four yard touchdown run from Gulker, his third of the game.
Gulker and the Bulldog defense led the Bulldogs to a 21-7 lead at the half. The defense held the Huskies offense to seven points and forced four punts and a turnover on downs in the first half.
After halftime, both offenses battled with three straight touchdown drives. The Huskies scored first out of the half, followed by another Gulker touchdown run from three yards out to put the Bulldogs back up by two touchdowns. The Huskies responded with another touchdown drive in the third quarter.
The Bulldogs added another touchdown run from Gulker, his fifth of the day, to go back up two touchdowns. The defense proceeded to shut the Huskies offense down in the fourth quarter to secure the win.
Gulker gave his thoughts on the game and while giving credit to his offensive line.
“That was a smashmouth game, they played really hard on the other side of the ball,” Gulker said. “Our offensive line stepped up as the game went on, they were making big holes for me to run through. It was a fun game to play.”
The Bulldogs rushing attack helped propel them to victory as they rushed 47 times for 185 yards and 5 touchdowns as well as let them eat the clock away as the offense controlled the time of possession with 34:46 as the defense did their job getting the Huskies offense off the field.
The defense held the Huskies to 21 points but suffered to defend the pass as the Huskies offense threw for 326 yards. The defense was dealing with multiple injuries to starters and players stepped up to hold the Huskies off.
Senior defensive back Major Dedmond spoke on the defense missing starters, but making the most of
“It’s a next man up mentality around Ferris,” Dedmond said. “When you get your opportunity, you have to showcase what you got and then take advantage of every moment. We don’t get this opportunity much to just get on this field and play with each other, so once you get your opportunity you just got to take advantage.”
In the end, it was a team performance for the Bulldogs that ended with Ferris State getting the win on the road.
The Bulldogs will now come back home to Top Taggart Field to face off against American International Yellow Jackets on Oct. 28 with game time set for 1 p.m.