Michigan Tech offensive lineup Rowland Ball (75) and his teammates protect quarterback Alex Bueno (15) during a handoff in a game against Ferris State Saturday, Oct. 18, at Kearly Stadium in Houghton. (David Archambeau/For the Gazette)

HOUGHTON — After falling at home to the No. 1-ranked Ferris State Bulldogs two weeks ago, the Michigan Tech Huskies football team bounced back last Saturday on the road with a commanding 56-17 win over their rivals, the Northern Michigan Wildcats, down at the Superior Dome in Marquette.

“It was good,” said Huskies coach Dan Mettlach. “I thought we played well in all three phases, a couple of hiccups with the muff punt and the turnover before half. But, all in all, I thought the guys prepared well, showed up, played hard, and, obviously, executed at an efficient rate as well. So it was good to see.”

More impressive than the score was the fact that the Huskies (6-2 overall, 3-1 GLIAC) did it without the services of redshirt sophomore quarterback Alex Bueno, whom Michigan Tech held out of the game. Senior quarterback Joe Hartlieb and freshman quarterback Elliott Larner performed well as a duo in Bueno’s absence.

Hartlieb was 6-of-9 through the air for 99 yards. He also ran three times for 32 yards. Larner was 3-of-6 for 92 yards and a touchdown. He also ran 13 times for 172 yards and four touchdowns.

“I thought they were good, both effective when they were in,” Mettlach said. “There’s a couple throws we wish we could have had back. I thought there were still some yards we left out there from that standpoint. But, in terms of managing the football game, and taking what the defense would give us, I thought they did a nice job with that, which goes along with the entire offense at that point, playing ‘Q’ (quarterback), young ‘Q,’ whatever it is.

“If it’s not the starter in the game, everybody’s got to kind of step up at that point, and whether it be the wide receivers blocking downfield in the ‘Q’ run game. or offensive line doing what they did with the run game, the screen game was very well done by everybody.”

Larner had only seen spot play in three earlier games before Saturday, but the numbers he put up were very promising.

“It was good to see,” said Mettlach. “He’s a true freshman. He’s been on a college campus since late July, August, so he hasn’t been around a ton. But, he is different mentally in terms of handling that position at a young age. There’s obviously some, going into it, wondering a little bit how he’s going to handle the adversity when it hits, or the moment being that it was a rivalry game and packed dome, so on and so forth, but he was ready to go right from the get go and nothing phased him.

“He ran hard. He’s patient in the run game until things opened up, and the yards after contact were good too.”

The Huskies have already racked up 1,507 yards rushing this season, which is nearly 400 better than their opponents. Mettlach attributes that change to the offensive line, along with the fact that Michigan Tech has a pair of quarterbacks who are effective running the ball.

“I think it goes hand in hand, right? They’re in their second year playing together as a group, so they’ve got more experience up front,” he said. “I think anytime you can add in the quarterback to the run game, it’s one more guy that people have to account for. So whether it’s ‘AB’ (Bueno) or the two that played on Saturday, there’s an extra hat that needs to be accounted for, where it’s not just predictable what we’re going to do with the run game.

“To be honest, we’re better on the edge this year. We’ve spent a long time blocking downfield too, so it all plays into it. But, the offensive line is significantly better than we were a year ago. There’s a little bit of nastiness to them right now with what we’re doing, and I think they’re enjoying getting to that point where we can lay on people, if it gets to that point in the game, and be able to count on that part of the offense, which we haven’t been able to do in the last couple years.”

Scouting the Lakers

The Roosevelt Lakers are 1-6 on the year, having opened the season with a win over Quincy. However, since then, they are 0-6, which includes 0-4 in conference play after a 75-23 loss last Saturday to Davenport.

However, Mettach likes a lot of what he sees in them.

“They’re talented; opposite of what we saw this past weekend. They’re going to want to throw it a ton offensively, and they’ve got dangerous weapons on the outside with some speed, so they’re going to put the ball in the air often, and we have to be good on the back end with that,” he said. “At the same time, (we have to) find ways to get pressure on the ‘Q’ so he can’t just stand back there and throw it where he wants to. We have to be able to force the ball out of his hands sooner than he wants.

“Defensively, structurally, they’re going to look a lot like the teams we saw the last couple weeks, and last year. They had success heating us up in the box, and muddying up that picture for us, whether it be our run game or the pass game.”

Senior quarterback Zach Zella leads the offense. He has gone 109-of-177 through the air for 1,148 yards and nine touchdowns. He is also effective with his feet when he has to be. He has run 32 times for 141 yards and a touchdown.

Senior running back Cam Davis anchors the ground game. He has rushed 129 times for 473 yards and two touchdowns.

On the outside, the Lakers’ chief threat isn’t senior wide receiver Norion Espadron, who has 35 catches for 477 yards and a touchdown, but rather senior tight end Jack Young Jr., who has 27 catches for 289 yards and four touchdowns.

Game time

The Huskies and Lakers are set to battle Saturday at 12 p.m. at Kearly Stadium in Houghton.