GLIAC/MIAA football roundup: Ferris State handles Davenport in top-10 matchup

GLIAC

Ferris State 28, Davenport 7: Justin Payoute opened the game with a 43-yard pick-six to give visiting Ferris State (8-1) an early lead that they never surrendered in the Division II top-10 battle. Mylik Mitchell was 8-for-18 passing for 122 yards and one rushing touchdown. Tyrese Hunt-Thompson and Emari O’Brian also added rushing touchdowns for the Bulldogs. Jason Whittaker finished 18-of-31 for 159 yards, one touchdown to Roy Livingstone and two interceptions including the pick-six for Davenport (8-1).

Grand Valley State 66, Wayne State 10: The visiting Lakers (8-1) extended its winning streak to eight games as Cade Peterson was 10 of 11 for 140 yards passing and three touchdowns in limited action. Vincenzo Meschi also threw a touchdown late in relief. Tariq Reid had two rushing touchdowns on nine carries, and Avery Moore and Khalil Eichberger also scored rushing touchdowns. Eli McLean finished 10-of-16 for 127 yards and one touchdown to Max Nicklin for Wayne State (3-7).

Michigan Tech 37, Minot State (S.D.): William Marano carried it 23 times for 133 yards and one touchdown for host Michigan Tech (5-4). Drew Collins added a rushing touchdown in the second quarter and Will Fries finished the game with a passing touchdown to Ethan Champney. Minot State broke up the shutout with a field goal with 30 seconds left, but its offense gained only 149 total yards and fumbled it four times.

Saginaw Valley State 62, Northern Michigan 17: Micah Cretsinger recorded four interceptions and Christian Ellison returned an interception for a touchdown to power host Saginaw Valley State (5-5). Mike O’Horo and Willie Taylor combined for three passing touchdowns in split duty at quarterback. Terrance Brown, Austin Bills and Nick Johnson all scored rushing touchdowns. Aidan Hoard finished 9 of 22 passing for 51 yards and four interceptions for NMU (0-10). Michael Love got the Wildcats on the board with a second quarter kickoff return and Brock Franklin scored the offense’s only touchdown with a minute left.

MIAA

Alma 45, Adrian 24: Carter St. John was 16 of 19 passing for 239 yards, four touchdowns and an interception to keep visiting Alma’s (9-0) perfect season alive. He connected Cole Thomas, Eddie Williams and Zach Poff twice for touchdowns. Kahleel Brown added a rushing touchdown at the start of the second quarter that broke a 14-14 tie. Mark Lopez finished 14-for-28 for 171 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions for Adrian (1-8). His favorite target was Alyjuuan Paris, who had eight catches for 115 yards and a touchdown.

Hope 38, Trine (Ind.) 28: Host Hope (8-2) rallied from a 14-3 first-quarter deficit on the back of three passing touchdowns from Ben Wellman and two rushing touchdowns from Chance Strickland. Trine (5-4) scored on its first two possessions — rushing and passing touchdowns from Alex Price — and extended the lead to 21-10 just before half. Wellman, however, threw two touchdowns in the final minute of the half thanks to an interception by Cole Luhmann to give Hope a 24-21 halftime lead. Strickland and Wellman added to their touchdown total in the second half.

Albion 35, Olivet 7: Luke Lovell was 24 of 34 for 327 yards and four touchdowns to lead visiting Albion (7-2). Lovell threw three first half touchdowns to Devin Fridley-Bell, Dilon Denison and Aiden Adams to give Albion a 20-7 halftime lead. They added two more touchdowns, a 6-yard run from Taysha Nichols and a 7-yard pass from Lovell to Trevor Smith, in the fourth quarter. Olivet (3-6) struggled to get any offense going, finishing with 197 total yards and no offensive touchdowns. Cornerback Dianta Huffman had a 23-yard pick-six in the second quarter.

Kalamazoo 33, Greenville (Ill.) 23 (Friday): Kalamazoo (5-4) overcame five turnovers to secure the non-conference road victory. Josh Nichols was 25 of 38 for 343 yards, two touchdowns to Lucas Hanifan and Nate Clark and three interceptions. Greenville held a 16-14 lead at halftime, but Kalamazoo scored twice in the third quarter, including a touchdown on a blocked punt, to take the lead for good. Peyton Bates finished 17-of-34 for 240 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions for Greenville.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: GLIAC/MIAA football: Ferris State handles Davenport in top-10 matchup