Huskies football gets much-needed breather prior to GLIAC season
Plenty of aspects of their game could use work
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HOUGHTON -- Saturday, after his team squeezed out a 33-32 win over Upper Iowa to improve to 3-1 on the season, the No. 24 Michigan Tech Huskies football team's coach Dan Mettlach sounded more like a skipper whose team lost their second game rather than one whose team won their third game.
Mettlach is happy his team improved to 3-1, but knowing that, starting next week, his team heads into GLIAC play, where two top-10 programs lurk over the next month, he wants his team to be better disciplined moving forward.
"The positive is, obviously, that we found a way to get it done," said Mettlach. "Our all three phases, at crucial times, made plays necessary to get the win, ran the ball when we needed to, offensively; defensively, turned them over in the second half to get us some good field position, and, obviously, with the special teams getting the block kicks like we did, those points ended up becoming crucial as well.
"So, overall, nobody in the locker room is happy with what we put on the field on Saturday in terms of an entire football game. But, the positive part was that even when we didn’t play our best football, we found a way to get a win against a good football team."
Mettlach said that there are two ways to look at how the Huskies address things thus far.
"I think there’s two ways to look at it, one, we challenged ourselves with the first four weeks in terms of who we played, and to be 3-1 after that schedule, I think is a very positive thing," he said. "At the same time, it doesn’t matter what game we’re talking about. In the first four weeks, we haven’t played four full quarters yet, with the last one going into the bye week being probably the worst one as a whole that we played."
The Huskies have a lot to work on.
"There’s a lot to fix," Mettlach said. "Our guys are, obviously, in a good spot right now being 3-1, but nobody in our locker room is satisfied with where we’re at right now, with how we’re playing in terms of our own execution. So, I think our guys are hungry right now, understand how important this bye week is going to be, not only to get some guys healthy, but to take advantage of the reps we’re going to get fundamentally and scheme-wise from our own locker room.
"So, we’ve got a lot to take care of this week. We’ll take advantage of those three practices we’re going to have. Then, of course, hopefully we’ll get some bodies back next week after the bye week of getting some guys rested up. But (we have) a long way to go."
It's no secret that the Huskies have a number of key contributors who are suffering from injuries in some fashion. Junior wide receivers Bryce Kurncz and Nic Nora both missed the Upper Iowa game, while sophomore quarterback Elliott Larner and his twin brother Abram, a freshman wide receiver, both suffered injuries in the game. Mettlach feels the bye week could not come at a better time for the team.
"All of them dinged up in their own way," he said. "Some of them we hope to have back even this week, to get the reps during the bye week and whatnot. But, a couple of them we’re not going to get back until next week, or even see if they’re able to go until next week. Nic’s obviously a little bit longer timetable, so we’re in it right now."
Injuries also mean opportunities for players down the depth chart.
"I said that on Saturday, we’ve got some guys that are dinged up and are going to need some time to get healed up," said Mettlach. "At the same time, that provides extra reps for the guys that are behind them to get those opportunities and take advantage of them."
One player whose confidence rose Saturday was junior wide receiver Jaxon Lippert.
"I thought, after watching the film back, especially in the second half, Jaxon Lippert started to come on with the kick return and the big play. He made it in overtime, and started to play a little bit faster. I think he’s getting more comfortable."
Another player that Mettlach singled out was junior wide receiver Adam Rammouni.
"Obviously, we’re expecting a lot out of Adam as well," Mettlach said. "So, it’s not a situation where I feel like we need to rush those guys back. When they’re healthy and ready to go to where they can play full speed, we’ll get them back on the field. Until that time happens, those other guys are going to have to step up and take advantage of those reps."
Up next
The Huskies head to Chicago, Illinois, Saturday, Oct. 3, to take on Roosevelt.