Playing at the Superior Dome in Marquette, the Huskies came to town and plowed through the NMU defense to the tune of 56-17.

That extended Tech’s win streak over Northern to 15 straight games going back that many years and to Northern’s last win in the series in 2009.

Just a week earlier, the Wildcats ended their long overall losing string of 28 games that had dated back to the end of the 2022 campaign. They traveled to the Chicago suburbs to knock off Roosevelt 42-21 with a program-record 538 yards rushing even while not completing a single pass.

On that day, NMU never trailed and took the lead for good in the second quarter. But back at its home against a strong MTU unit on Saturday, the Huskies jumped out with two unanswered touchdowns in the first 12 minutes, piling on until they built a 21-3 advantage at halftime and 56-10 before the home team scored its final points.

Northern Michigan University head football coach Shane Richardson, top left, talks to his Wildcats during their game at Roosevelt in Arlington Heights, Ill., on Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025. (Photo courrtesy NMU)

With Saturday’s loss, NMU fell to 1-7 this season, 1-4 in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, while Tech improved to 6-2 and 3-1, alone in third place behind 4-0 Saginaw Valley State and national No. 1 Ferris State.

Northern held just a one-yard advantage on the ground, 270-269, and while completing nine passes, didn’t even reach its low average of 86 yards passing per game, totaling 75 on this day with redshirt freshman quarterback Trevor Theuerkauf, a Menominee High School graduate.

Tech, meanwhile, added a fairly modest 199 yards through the air using three QBs after starter Alex Bueno, who has more than 1,200 yards passing, was unable to play.

As the stats would seem to indicate, the Huskies didn’t dominate all over the field. Rather, NMU was unable to cash in on some good opportunities, particularly in the first half when the score was still close.

The Wildcats made three trips into the Tech territory during the first half and only had three points to show for them.

And though Northern won the turnover battle, 2-1, all on lost fumbles, it was the Huskies who turned their turnover directly into points when the Huskies’ Brady Isaacson returned a scooped-up fumble 59 yards for a TD in the game’s late going.

Earlier in the fourth quarter, Tech’s Nic Nora — a Kingsford product — brought back a punt 60 yards for its other non-offensive score.

While Theuerkauf had just 75 yards on 9-of-19 passing, he did have a TD throw of 18 yards to Negaunee grad Ian Engstrom in the final minute, plus the U.P.-produced QB ran for a team-high 106 yards in just 13 carries, his longest a 31-yard jaunt.

Noah Dobert, who had 243 yards at Roosevelt, had 93 yards vs. Tech on 23 attempts, while Jahi Wood, who totaled 233 yards in suburban Chicago, had just 34 yards on eight rushes Saturday.

Engstrom finished with four catches for 36 yards, while teammate Joe Mueller had two catches for 23 yards and Dobert two snags for 10 yards.

Tech, which finished 10 of 19 passing for 199 yards, included Joe Hartlieb completing six, Elliott Larner three with a TD, and Josh Byers one.

Larner also led all rushers with 171 yards on the ground in 13 carries, a 13.2-per-carry average, while also scoring four TDs that way. Huskies teammate Jake Rueff added 45 yards rushing and Hartlieb 32.

Among Tech pass catchers, Nora caught a pair for 70 yards while Bryce Kurncz had one for 40 yards and Rueff one for 37 yards that was a TD.

On defense, the Wildcats’ Jaylen Houston and Andrew Stewart had fumble recoveries, while Xavier Martinez and Jake Price were credited with forced fumbles.

Brady Redmer had NMU’s only QB sack, while Jax Hertel had 1 1/2 tackles for loss among his seven total. Luc Damiani led Northern tacklers with eight as Mitch Larkin joined Hertel having seven.

Hertel and the Wildcats’ Jacquille Brown each had a pass breakup.

After Northern’s opening three-and-out, Tech took over and Hartlieb threw a 40-yard pass to Nora on the second play to quickly move the Huskies inside NMU territory. Four plays later, Larner ran through the middle for an 8-yard TD, and with the first of eight Avery Kucharski extra points, MTU led 7-0.

Nicholas Gruesen missed a 38-yard field goal after Northern moved the ball about 35 yards on its next possession, and the Huskies turned around with another mix of short gains and runs of 19 and 22 yards that set up Larner with a 3-yard TD with 3:12 left in the first period to make it 14-0.

Northern put together another sustained drive, moving it to the MTU 11 before Gruesen made good on a 28-yard field goal to get the Wildcats on the board.

But another field goal drive at the end of their next possession turned into a Gruesen 26-yard miss that left NMU still down two scores.

Tech’s next possession resulted in a big-play TD this time, a 60-yard run by Larner to make it 21-3 at halftime.

Northern scored its first TD just past the midpoint of the third quarter after the Huskies’ Journey Solomon muffed a punt catch and Stewart recovered the ball at the MTU 9.

The Wildcats needed just two plays before Wood ran in from 5 yards out, and with Gruesen’s extra point, Northern had pulled within 28-10.

But Tech scored each of the next three times it touched the ball, the final one on Nora’s 60-yard punt return, that suddenly made it 49-10 just four minutes into the fourth.

NMU’s final points came with 39 seconds remaining when Theuerkauf connected with Engstrom on his 18-yard scoring aerial at the goal line.

The Wildcats have the unenviable task of trying to get back in the win column with a game in Big Rapids at No. 1 Ferris at 1 p.m. Saturday.

MTU 56, NMU 17

Saturday at Superior Dome

Score by quarters:

Michigan Tech 14 7 14 21 — 56

Northern Michigan 0 3 7 7 — 17

First quarter

MTU — Elliott

Larner 8 run (Avery Kucharski kick) 9:38

MTU — Larner 3 run (Kucharski kick) 3:12

Second quarter

NMU — Nicholas Gruesen 28 FG 9:23

MTU — Larner 60 run (Kucharski kick) 1:42

Third quarter

MTU — Jake Rueff 37 pass from Larner (Kucharski kick) 12:08

NMU — Jahi Wood 5 run (Gruesen kick) 6:18

MTU — Rueff 10 run (Kucharski kick). 5:14

Fourth quarter

MTU — Larner 20 run (Kucharski kick) 14:52

MTU — Nic Nora 60 punt return (Kucharski kick) 11:01

MTU — Brady Isaacson 59 fumble return (Kucharski kick) 3:02

NMU — Ian Engstrom 18 pass from Trevor Theuerkauf (Gruesen kick) 0:39

Game statistics

First downs — Michigan Tech 18, NMU 19

Total plays-net yards — Michigan Tech 52-468, NMU 73-345

Rushes-yards — Michigan Tech 33-269 (), NMU 54-270

Comp-Att-Int-Yards — Michigan Tech, 10-19-0 (Joe Hartlieb 6-9-0-99, Larner 3-6-0-92, Josh Byers 1-3-0-8); NMU, Theuerkauf 9-19-0-75

Top receivers — Michigan Tech, Nora 2-70, Bryce Kurncz 1-40, Rueff 1-37, Ethan Champney 3-33; NMU, Engstrom 4-36, Joe Mueller 2-23, Noah Dobert 2-10

Punts-average — Michigan Tech 2-43.5, NMU 6-39.3

Fumbles-lost — Michigan Tech 3-2, NMU 2-1

Penalties-yards — Michigan Tech 2-25, NMU 7-45

Time of possession — Michigan Tech 23:17, NMU 36:43

Story contents based on Northern Michigan University Sports Information press release reviewing the game. Journal Sports Editor Steve Brownlee’s email address is sbrownlee@miningjournal.net.