Michigan Tech wide receiver Ethan Champney celebrates scoring a touchdown during a game against Roosevelt Saturday at Kearly Stadium in Houghton. (David Archambeau/For the Gazette)

HOUGHTON — For the second straight week, the Michigan Tech Huskies football team scored 56 points in a win, this time over Roosevelt, but while that victory meant the team improved to 7-2 overall and 4-1 in the GLIAC, a postseason berth is not yet guaranteed.

Against the Roosevelt Lakers, the Huskies were sluggish out of the gate, and they found themselves down 24-21 at halftime. Michigan Tech then proceeded to score on nearly every possession of the second half to get to 56 points in the win.

“Yeah, the resiliency, play-the-next-play mentality, we talk about that all the time,” said Huskies coach Dan Mettlach. “At the same time, there aren’t any excuses. We have to figure out a way to start right from the opening kickoff, play full four quarters, not just when our backs are against the wall, finally get out of bed.

“So, I love the response that we had in the second half, but zero excuses for the way that we played in the first half. We’ve got to be better coaching staff-wise, players, everybody, to be able to get up for a noon kickoff at your place, to play the way we did in the first half, just unacceptable. And that needs to change.”

At the same time, the Huskies debuted a new starting quarterback against Roosevelt in freshman Elliott Larner. After seeing action in five games prior to Saturday, Larner had done enough to earn the chance to start with redshirt sophomore Alex Bueno out with injury. Larner was 6-of-12 through the air for 69 yards and had nine rushes for 60 yards on the ground in the first half. By the time the game ended, he was up to 14-of-23 passing for 195 yards with a touchdown and 13 rushes for 95 yards and a touchdown on the ground.

“We tried to get him into a rhythm early, move the pocket a little bit to get him some throws out where he’s not having to do it from inside the pocket, and missed a couple,” Mettlach said. “That’s the way it goes sometimes, you miss that first throw of the game, sometimes it takes a second to get back into the flow. But, I thought he settled nicely into the game as we went on.

“There’s a couple in the second half where we thought we had one thing pre-snap, they rotate their coverage, and he gets his eyes right back to where it needs to be, as if he’s done it a bunch of times. So, that was good to see.”

Larner’s quick-read ability could prove to be an asset for the Huskies in their final two games.

“The ability to change post-snap with where you’re going with your read based off of one guy’s movement, (Elliott) did a really nice job with that,” said Mettlach. “He got a bunch of people involved, which I liked.

Obviously, when he’s got the ball in his hands, he’s dangerous from that standpoint as well. So, overall, I thought he played a really good game. You take two of the throws where we’re moving the pocket and get those completed, and it’s a really good game. He’s coming. For a true freshman, in his first start, to handle the entire thing the way he did, I thought it went really well.”

Of course, it helps when Larner can rely on a deep receiver group that features senior Ethan Champney and redshirt sophomores Nic Nora and Bryce Kurncz.

“We’ve talked about that all year,” Mettlach said. “Those guys have to be people we rely on. Whether it’s absolutely Joe (Hartlieb) or Elliott playing, those guys have to be playmakers for us.

“They were on Saturday. Again, not necessarily all in the pass game, but getting involved in different ways with the run game, whether they’re carrying the football or blocking downfield. Really nice job by that whole group.”

At the same time, the Huskies’ defense bent, but didn’t break, again. After surrendering 24 points in the first half, they held Roosevelt to just seven in the second half.
”I think they played well in the first half as well,” said Mettlach. “It’s not just a second half thing. Obviously, Saturday we were able to get the football on the ground a couple times to start the third quarter, and that helps settle everybody down.

“Whether it’s adjustments, or guys just kind of easing into the game, however you want to look at it, the second halves have been pretty good to us up to this point. We need to be better at the start of the game. There were too many times where they had guys running free downfield with their vertical concepts, and, obviously, we’re going to see that again this weekend. So, we have to be better from the start from that standpoint. But, overall, I thought they played well Saturday.”

Scouting the Lakers

The Grand Valley State Lakers are not only nationally-ranked, they are a consistently tough team for everyone else in the GLIAC. This season, they are 5-3 overall and 3-2 in GLIAC play after a 59-13 win last Saturday over Wayne State. Their two conference losses this season have been to Saginaw Valley State and Ferris State on back-to-back weekends.

Their offense is run by redshirt freshman quarterback Andrew Schuster. He is 136-of-219 for 1,940 yards and 16 touchdowns.

His two favorite targets are junior wide receivers Lynn Wyche-El and Kellen Reed. Wyche-El has 28 catches for 427 yards and five touchdowns. Reed has 26 catches for 400 yards and five touchdowns.

The Lakers don’t ask for much from their running backs, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t effective. Senior Syone Usma-Harper has 47 rushes for 231 yards and two touchdowns. Sophomore quarterback Brady Drogosh has 37 rushes for 232 yards and four touchdowns. Sophomore running back Paschal Jolman has 25 rushes for 151 yards, but he has a team-high five touchdowns.

Game time

The Huskies and Grand Valley State will meet up at Lubbers Stadium Saturday, with an opening kickoff set for 2 p.m. in Allendale.