Dave Hiltzik breaks to lead to a Christian Mentzer try.
Down 17-7 at the break, Michigan tied the game at 17 before Michigan State finished the game with 17 unanswered points.
The Spartans struck early with a try in the fourth minute of play. Michigan had their chances to clear the ball but chose to run and gave the ball back to MSU who capitalized. The conversion tacked on another two points to give Michigan State a quick 7-0 lead, but Michigan tied it soon after with a sequence of nice passes by Dave Hiltzik, Sequoyah Burke-Combs, and Aiken Andutan before Christian Mentzer picked the ball from the ruck and pounded it in for the score. A conversion by Grady Bridges tied the score at seven.
Four minutes later, Michigan State responded with another try of its own, and a penalty kick with a few minutes to go in the half gave the Spartans a 17-7 lead. The Wolverines had a chance to cut into the deficit, but a long penalty kick through a heavy crosswind missed right.
But in the second half, Michigan made up ground, scoring 10 consecutive points to tie the game at 17. Just two minutes in, Matt Pilon offloaded the ball from contact right into the hands of Nick Lazurka who took it in for a try with a converted kick. Bridges added on a penalty kick soon after, but that proved to be the final tally for the Wolverines.
Michigan State answered with a try two minutes later, using hard forward runs. The U of M backs mishandled numerous opportunities to answer back which gave MSU even more possession. Two more Spartan tries and converted kicks added 14 points to seal the game.
The Wolverines’ performance was a significant improvement from the spring, where Michigan fell to Michigan State 71-5.
“I’m pleased with the improvement we have had since playing Michigan State in the spring,” said Michigan captain Michael LaCivita. “We stayed strong defensively for the most part and had several brilliant plays by individuals that put us on the board. That said, we should have won — our team has several significant areas of our game that we need to address. Focus and persistence are the watch words going into this week’s practice. We need to put in the work to see the reward on game day.”
The Wolverines will look for their first Big Ten win against Purdue at North Field (3100 Plymouth Rd.) this Saturday at 2:30pm.
1. Brennan Arnett
2. Evan Rourke (Melgren 79′)
3. Nic Bishar (Ulmer 25′)
4. Matt Pilon (Miller 77′)
5. Drew Vecchio
6. Dave Hiltzik
7. Kenny Andutan (Van Harn 70′)
8. Mike LaCivita
9. Ian Etheart
10. Grady Bridges
11. Sequoyah Burke-Combs
12. Christian Mentzer (Taylor 51′)
13. Jared Bosma (Stock 77′)
14. Nick Lazurka (Padmos 80′)
15. Joel Conzelmann
16. Pete Melgren
17. Jordan Ulmer
18. Will Miller
19. Nelson Worner
20. Cole Van Harn
21. Chris Padmos
22. Terence Taylor
23. CJ Stock
Tries: Mentzer 20′, Lazurka 44′
Cons: Bridges 20′, 44′
Pen: Bridges 55′
The second game saw 34 Michigan players take the field in a game split into three halves to accommodate the numbers. Evan Noon led at flyhalf while John Palladino and Nelson Worner added addition experience to the young side. Max Arevuo found scrumhalf to his liking and started the scoring with a long distance try. Stuart Starkweather scored from 40 meters out only 5 minutes later, also picking from the base of a ruck. Zack Burns added his second kick and chase try of the year at the 51 minute mark while Sean May converted his own try less than 10 minutes later. Beautiful passing out wide with Cole Van Harn gave John Palladino easy entrance to the try zone. Joe Poznanski capped the scoring with a try converted by Evan Noon.
Max Arevuo starts the second game with a great solo try.
Excellent rucking paved the way for the 38 points but the brightest spot in Michigan’s game was the 0 points conceded. Focused defensive alignment and great tackling gave many players a shutout in their first Michigan vs. Michigan State game.
1. Ben Shapiro
2. Cam Watson
3. Jackson Wagner
4. Mike Manzano
5. Stuart Starkweather
6. Will Miller
7. Spencer Scolnick
8. Nelson Worner
9. Max Arevuo
10. Evan Noon
11. Kevin Cheng
12. John Palladino
13. Joe Poznanski
14. Chris Padmos
15. CJ Stock
16. Troy Redmond
17. Kazem Alidoost
18. Chening Duker
19. Olly Gregerson
20. Brent Dreaver
21. Nick Fehrman
22. Jeff Smith
23. Vino Ravichadran
24. Jack Sligh
25. Kevin Linder
26. Sam Saunders
27. Sam Saravalatz
28. Zack Burns
29. Travis Sawyer
30. Sean May
31. Ben Clemens
32. Ryan McDonough
33. Jesse Hoskins
34. James Holper
Tries: Arevuo 7′, Starkweather 10′, Burns 51′, May 60′, Palladino 73′, Poznanski 86′
Cons: Noon 7′, 73′, 86′, May 60′
