Chassell’s Maelene Warren puts up serve against Wakefield-Marenisco on Thursday, Oct. 10, 2019, in Chassell, Mich. (Eddie O’Neill/The Daily Mining Gazette)

HOUGHTON — It’s rivalry weekend at Kearly Stadium this Saturday as the Northern Michigan Wildcats come to town to take on the Huskies and try to take back the Miner’s Cup.

Saturday will mark the 18th playing of the Miner’s Cup game between the Upper Peninsula foes. Kickoff is 1:05 p.m.

“The Miners Cup means a lot to a lot of people,” said MTU head coach Steve Olson. “It’s a big deal for our alumni and the people around tow. Given that, it’s an incentive to play well and win this football game.”

The Huskies (2-2, 0-2 GLIAC) have kept miner’s helmet (trophy) for eight years now and according to Olson his squad has no plans of going anywhere.

“If our guys can’t get excited to play against NMU then I can’t expect them t be excited to play anyone,” he said.

Beyond the Miner’s Cup, this rivalry goes back to the 1920s. The Huskies lead the series 46-41-5 against the Wildcats. A year ago MTU slipped by NMU with a 35-33 come-from-behind victory in Marquette. Down 14-0, they rallied to take a 35-21 second-half lead. The Wildcats battled within two but the Huskies were able shut down an attempted two-point conversion with less than a minute remaining in the game.

“Last year was a close one, and I don’t expect anything different this year,” Olson said. “It seems like every game has been one that has come down to the wire with few exceptions.”

Neither team has a win in the GLIAC. The Huskies enter Saturday coming off a bye-week, which according to Olson, was a good respite.

“We were able to get some individual work in with players and get our bodies healthy,” he said. “A little more attention was given to our younger guys and we were able to do that with a scrimmage. I think it was nice for them to scrimmage and not be the scouts (of the other team) for a change. They got to run our offense and defense for once and that will help them as we move forward.

Olson said the bye-week gave his players a chance to catch up on academic work and tests as well.

The Wildcats (1-4, 0-3 GLIAC) enter Saturdays’ contest with just one win, a Week 1 30-9 win against McKendree at home. NMU averages 267.2 yards and 17 points per game so far this year. Wildcats quarterback Ryan Johnson averages 165 passing yards per game. His go-to receiver is Ravon Jackson, who has 22 catches for an average of 65.2 yards per game and one touchdown.

On the ground running back Tyshon King leads the charge as he has posted 65.8 yards per game and has four touchdowns.

The Huskies, on the other hand, are averaging 318.3 yards and 19 points per game in 2019. Junior quarterback Will Ark is averaging 171.8 passing yards per game. He has three touchdowns. He also leads the team in rushing with 31 carries for an average of 33.8 yards per game this season. In the air, wide receiver Ben Hartley is his target. Hartley has a total of 257 receiving yards with an average of 64.3 yards per game.

“Northern is going to come in here with a lot of energy,” Olson said. “They have talent in the way of good running backs and good wide receiver. They play hard and aggressive. We need to do the same. We are excited once again to have the chance to play in front of our own fans. It should be a good game.”