September 18, 2004
Football
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SVSU Drills Oilers on the Road

FINDLAY, Ohio – The Saginaw Valley State Cardinals stepped up in the red zone on defense and special teams helped turn away the Findlay Oilers three times inside the 20-yard line in the first half as the Cardinals built a 28-3 halftime lead and finished with a 38-24 win over the host Oilers. The Cards took the opening kickoff and went three-and-out giving the Oilers the ball at their own 41-yard line. UF went 47 yards in 11 plays, but stalled and sophomore Damion DeRosia (Flint, Mich./EA Johnson) made the game’s first big play blocking a Jeff Pax 29-yard field goal attempt.
     After another SVSU punt and an interception on their third possession, the Oilers marched six plays in 20 yards before Pax missed wide right on a 31-yard field goal try. Senior Marcus Ewing (Lewiston, Mich./Johannesburg-Lewiston) got the Cards on the board with 28 seconds left in the first quarter on a three-yard TD run capping off an eight-play, 80-yard drive which lasted 2:41.
Roland Hamilton put Findlay within 7-3 on a 43-yard field goal at 12:33 of the second quarter. The Cards had a quick answer as sophomore Bob Awrey (Freeland, Mich.) took a three-yard pass from senior Mark Radlinski (Grand Rapids, Mich./Catholic Central) and turned it into a career-long 62-yard TD reception with 10:40 remaining in the first half.
     SVSU extended their lead to 21-3 on a grinding drive capped off by a Radlinski one-yard TD sneak. In the drive, Radlinski completed four passes and also rushed for 13 yards on two carries. The Oilers looked to take momentum into the locker room as Kevin Crooks found Brian Wolters on a 47-yard completion to the SVSU two-yard line late in the half. After a false start and three failed attempts to get into the end zone, junior Chad Steele (Riverview, Mich.) blocked another Oiler field goal try this time from 26 yards. The dagger came two plays later when Radlinski avoided a sack and threw a 35-yard TD to junior Stan Spencer (Mt. Pleasant, Mich.) for a 28-3 halftime advantage.
     Junior Justin Barcey (Flint, Mich./Powers Catholic) took a screen pass from Radlinski on the Cardinals first possession of the third quarter and raced 25 yards to give SVSU a 35-3 lead with 13:49 to play in the stanza. The final scoring drive for the Cardinals took place in the fourth quarter as Bobby Belmonte (East Grand Rapids, Mich./Catholic Central) kicked his first field goal of the season, a 26-yarder, with 9:38 to go in the game.
     The Cardinals rolled up 523 total yards, including 303 passing yards by Radlinski. He threw three TD passes and now has 52 in his career. Ewing tallied his first career 100-yard game on the ground with 19 carries for 133 yards and a score. Awrey and Spencer each had four grabs and accounted for a combined 139 yards and two scores. Findlay had 414 total yards, including 209 in the first half. Senior safety Nicholas Postma (Rudyard, Mich.) totaled a career-high 17 tackles for the Cardinals.

Contact: Ryan Thompson (989) 964-4053

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