Michigan Tech’s Darius Willis (2) fights through a tackle while Owen Watson (42) blocks and Mitchell Stanchina looks on in support during a game against Wayne State Saturday at Kearly Stadium in Houghton. (David Archambeau/For the Gazette)

HOUGHTON — Michigan Tech struggled in the run game all day.

But in the final minute of the game Saturday, the Huskies only needed a yard.

Huskies quarterback Will Ark took the snap and lowered his head behind his front line as they pushed across the goal line to score with 27 seconds remaining. Drew Wyble’s extra point gave Michigan Tech a narrow win against Wayne State on Homecoming.

It’s the kind of win that can be a shot in the arm for a Huskies team that entered the game with a 1-4 record.

Now, with Northern Michigan coming to Kearly Stadium for the Miner’s Cup on Saturday, the Huskies have built the kind of momentum that can change the course of a season.

“Almost speechless,” Michigan Tech coach Steve Olson said. “It’s exciting for the whole crowd. It’s exciting for our team. I’m just very happy for the football team because they worked extremely hard. We’ve battled through a lot of injuries, and to come out here and get a W, I’m very proud of who we are as well.”

Make no mistake, Saturday wasn’t a perfect game by any means for either team. The Huskies and Warriors combined for six turnovers, including three lost fumbles for Tech.

Whereas some games are defined by whoever makes the first mistake, others are defined by redemption.

The Huskies’ run game on Saturday was abysmal, especially in comparison to Wayne State’s. The Huskies gained just 70 yards on the ground on 23 carries.

The Warriors, meanwhile, amassed 414 rushing yards on 56 carries. Myren Harris went nuclear with the ball in his hands, rushing for 295 yards on 36 carries and two touchdowns.

“We said they’re going to manipulate their formations or they’re going to try to maneuver around to to try to figure out how to run run the ball against you,” Olson said. “They had success and it was a matter of us, not so much any schemes that we did, it was just a matter of us having to show up and be physical and stop it.”

Michigan Tech’s passing game was a strong suit, and the Huskies leaned into it in the second half to leverage Wayne State’s man coverage.

Huskies quarterback Will Ark completed 22 of 31 passes for 340 yards and three touchdowns.

Saturday turned into a dogfight between the Warriors’ rushing and the Huskies’ passing. Ark connected with tight end Brandon Michalak for a 59-yard score in the third quarter to cut Wayne State’s lead to 24-21. Warriors running back Kendall Williams answered later in the fourth quarter with a 48-yard run that made it a 31-21 game with 11:26 in the game.

Tech’s first play from the line of scrimmage after Williams’ score was a 79-yard pass to Darius Willis. Willis caught a bubble screen and found open space where he turned on his speed and raced for an open lane between Warriors defenders into the end zone.

The Huskies defense held the Warriors to a field goal, getting the ball into Ark’s hands at the Tech 36 with 2:22 remaining.

After an incomplete pass, Ark connected with Willis for 13 yards. Ark ran for 3 yards and threw to Willis again for six yards. Marano converted a third-and-1 with a 1-yard rush. Ark connected to Willis for 10 yards to the Warriors 31. After an incomplete pass, Ark threw to Marano for 14 yards to the Warriors 17. Ark dropped back to pass on first-and-10, tucked the ball, and ran it up to the Warriors 1. Tech took a timeout and Ark pushed the ball across the goal line for the score.

Wayne State’s passing game was about as successful as Tech’s rushing, with Warriors’ quarterback Josh Kulka completing 9 of 16 throws for 90 yards and two interceptions.

Tech linebacker Braxton Blackwell picked off Kulk’s second pass on the third play of the game and returned it 47 yards for a touchdown.

Willis’ big day

Willis had nine catches for 183 yards and a touchdown. He set a career-high with receiving yards in what also was his first game with 100 receiving yards. His 79-yard score was the longest play of his 16-game career for the Huskies.

“I was just running a bubble rout and I saw Will working, scrambling my way,” Willis said. “Then he threw the ball and then I knew I had to make something happen, cut it inside and then just kept running away from them and ended up in the end zone.”

Ark passes for 300 again

Saturday was Ark’s fourth game of his career passing for more than 300 yards in a game. It was his first game passing for more than 300 yards since he threw for 317 yards on Nov. 16, 2019 against Northwood.

“I felt like for the majority part of that game, I was seeing everything,” Ark said. “We made a couple mistakes offensively, we’ll fix them. I missed a couple of throws, I missed a read, and missed a signal that ended up costing us one. It’s a good job by the whole team staying together and not giving up until the final horn blew.”