Michigan Tech wide receiver Ethan Champney (10) and tight end Drew Collins (12) celebrate a touchdown by Champney during a game against Bemidji State Thursday at Kearly Stadium in Houghton. (David Archambeau/For the Gazette)

HOUGHTON — A year ago, the Michigan Tech Huskies football team took on a very talented Bemidji State Beavers squad that made it deep into the NCAA Tournament, battling into overtime before eventually falling.

Fast forward a year, and the Huskies got their second chance at the Beavers Thursday night at Kearly Stadium in Houghton. This time, the Huskies shut down the Beavers in the second half, and used a number of what coach Dan Mettach refers to as “gadget plays” earn a 37-17 victory over the No. 16-ranked Beavers.

“I can’t say enough about the guys, Top 16 team coming in, as many new faces as we had, I felt like the confidence, and the way we went about our business in early camp, was incredible,” Mettlach said. “There was nobody with big eyes tonight. It’s a really good football team that we beat.

“Ethan Champney scores on a play that was not designed to be that, but that’s what you have to do is count on your vets to make smart decisions. He saw a void and just kept it in his hands, rather than trying to throw it or get rid of it at that point, so some of our gadgets obviously helped us get things back, settled down.”

The Huskies do not have long to enjoy the win, as they have to prep for a trip to face South Dakota Mines in a week, and will break the bus ride up into two days.

“I think that’s one thing when we watch it tomorrow, as a staff, and hopefully the guys will understand it when we get them back in here on Saturday,” said Mettlach, “we scored three times on gadget plays that, obviously, they executed them, that’s great. But offensively, there were too many of our explosives that were off of those kind of plays or ‘AB’ (Alex Bueno) making something out of nothing, which is awesome, and he’s going to need to do that for us.

“We need to get more consistent moving the football with our base stuff so that we’re not going to be able to rely on trick plays or ‘AB’ getting us out of trouble over and over again.”

Still, Bueno, a redshirt sophomore quarterback, looked poised behind center, rushing 16 times for 102 yards, and going 15-of-24 through the air for two touchdowns and one interception.

“To be honest with you, in warm ups, our team meal at 2:00, that first drive, he never, ever looked like the moment was too big for him, which was awesome to see,” Mettlach said. “That is the type of guy he is.”

Bueno broke a huge run on the Huskies’ first drive. Down by seven after a 25-yard touchdown run by Beavers quarterback Connor Carver, Bueno took the ball, spun, opened up the field and ran for 45 yards to get the Black and Gold into Beavers territory. The play led to a 32-yard field goal from sophomore kicker Avery Kucharski.

From there, Bueno settled in and never looked back.

“I think I’ve been talking to everybody about it for the last six months, that the plays that he’s capable of making with his feet is different than what we’ve had around here in a long time,” said Mettlach. “At the same time, managing the game, when to throw uncovered, when to hand it off, when to pull it, he’s going to need more reps to get better at that kind of stuff. But, he got us out of a ton of trouble today. And it wasn’t just the big plays, there were a couple third downs that he converted with patience in the backfield, just letting things develop, and understanding where the sticks are at.

“I thought, for his first start, (he) played really well, and I can’t say enough good things about him with what he did. We have to get some stuff figured out moving forward, and he’s going to have to be better with some of the other stuff, but ran for 100 yards. He was efficient throwing the football, and I thought that he was a voice in the huddle on the sideline, from that leadership role, that was just constant, which was great to see, because he is not a very vocal kid. For that to show up, and to get that presence from your ‘Q’ (quarterback) is obviously incredible.”

Early in the second quarter, the Beavers extended their lead to 14-3 on a 39-yard run by Carver, but the Huskies answered with a 5:11 drive that ended in a 22-yard end around by Champney into the right corner.

The Huskies forced a turnover on downs with 7:57 left in the quarter and then, just two minutes later, capped off a 48-yard drive with a 14-yard run by junior wide receiver Nic Nora for a touchdown to put the Huskies up 16-14.

“It felt great,” said Nora, who missed all of 2024 with an injury. “It’s always a long year with injuries, and I just kept my head down, kept grinding, and it felt awesome to be back out there, especially with the result with a top 16 team coming to our house. It was really fun to be back out there with the guys, for sure.”

After the Beavers regained the lead with a 14-yard field goal to close out the first half, Nora’s number was called again on a shovel pass from Bueno to cap a 2:41 drive in the third quarter and put the Huskies up 24-17.

“Both the calls, the first one was a reverse, I knew the flow of the defense would be going away, so I just had to make sure if that edge got full, it’s always just a race to the pylon,” Nora said. “Then, same thing with the shovel pass. If I can get outside that edge, just use your speed and use your agility to get to that pylon. So, that’s what I saw on both of them. I just hit the gas and luckily I got to the black.”

Nora finished with three rushes for 19 yards and a touchdown. He also made three catches for 28 yards and a touchdown.

The Huskies jumped ahead 31-17 after junior running back Jake Rueff scampered into the end zone to cap a five-play, 61-yard drive with a 47-yard touchdown reception with 12:37 left in the fourth quarter.

Rueff rushed 17 times for 57 yards in the game. He also had five receptions for a game-high 70 yards and a touchdown.

Bueno then called his own number from three yards out to cap a 23-yard touchdown drive to extend the Huskies’ lead with 10:53 remaining.

Junior linebacker Porter Zeeman led the Huskies defensively with eight tackles, including four solos.

Up next

The Huskies hit the road to face South Dakota Mines in Rapid City, South Dakota, Thursday, Sept. 4, with opening kickoff set for 8 p.m.