https://www.ourmidland.com/sports/article/SVSU-loses-on-last-second-field-goal-6966439.php
SVSU loses on last-second field goal
By Justin Brouckaert for the Daily News
Published 6:30 am EDT, Sunday, September 16, 2012
UNIVERSITY CENTER — In a battle of high-powered offenses, Findlay barely outlasted host Saginaw Valley State in a thrilling finish on Saturday night at Wickes Stadium.
The No. 10 Cardinals fell to Findlay 29-27 in GLIAC football after a 54-field goal attempt by SVSU junior kicker Scott Stanford looked good, but fell just short as time expired.
"I thought it went in," said SVSU coach Jim Collins. "He's made those in practice, and we've got confidence in his leg. That was within his range, but it just wasn't meant to be."
With the loss, the Cardinals fall to 2-1 on the season. Findlay improves to 1-1.
Findlay led 26-21 when the Oilers attempted a 33-yard field goal that was blocked by SVSU sophomore defensive back David Toussaint.
The Cardinals then took the lead with less than seven minutes remaining on a 34-yard touchdown run by senior running back Tim Hogue, but a failed 2-point conversion left the score at 27-26.
Findlay then marched down the field for a 94-yard drive that culminated in Seth White's 25-yard field goal, putting them up 29-27 with less than 10 seconds remaining.
The Cardinals made their last of many comeback attempts when junior quarterback Jonathon Jennings hit junior wide receiver Mark Thrash on a 38-yard strike to put them within field goal position for the 54-yarder, which fell short.
SVSU racked up 468 yards of offense on the night, but the passing game didn't start clicking until the second half.
"The offense came out flat tonight, and I put that blame on me, really," Jennings said. "We weren't really executing like we should have. We came out flat in the first half."
Jennings finished with 294 yards passing and two touchdowns with one interception. Hogue led the team in rushing with 121 yards and two scores, and Midland High graduate Michael Albrecht, a junior wide receiver, scored his second touchdown of the season.
The Cardinals' defense struggled against Findlay senior quarterback Clay Belton, a 6-foot-6, 330-pound senior who picked the SVSU defense apart all game, throwing for 335 yards and two touchdowns.
"He's a good quarterback. He knows how to move in the pocket, and we didn't get to him enough tonight," said SVSU senior linebacker Grant Caserta, who had 16 tackles in the game. "He really picked us apart when he needed to in the clutch."
Collins agreed that his team needed to put more pressure on the quarterback.
"If you give a guy time, he's going to find open receivers," Collins said. "We've just got to do a better job of locking down, getting pressure, getting people in the quarterback's face."
Despite the loss, Caserta said that his team's goals for the season remain the same.
"We have all of our goals still in front of us," he said. "We're just going to keep fighting and hopefully achieve our goals in the end."
The Cardinals travel to face Lake Erie next Saturday.
"Lake Erie's an underrated team in this league, and if we don't show up, they're going to give us a handful," Caserta said. "We've got to be ready this week."