Northwood Defeats Saginaw Valley 35-28 In Axe Bowl

September 12th, 2026 4:00pm

OVERVIEW – SAGINAW VALLEY STATE

SCORE: Northwood Timberwolves 35, Saginaw Valley State Cardinals 28
RECORDS: Northwood 2-0, Saginaw Valley State 2-1
LOCATION: Hantz Stadium – Midland, Mich.
RECAP: Northwood football earns a hard-fought 35-28 win over rival Saginaw Valley in the Axe Bowl Saturday (September 12).

INSIDE THE GAME

Northwood opened the scoring at the 2:54 mark of the opening quarter. Marquan Braswell capped the 56-yard drive with a three-yard run to make the score 7-0.
A bad snap on a punt set the Cardinals up on the Northwood two-yard line early in the second quarter. SVSU scored on their second play of the drive to level the score 7-7.
The final two minutes of the opening half saw both offenses get rolling. NU took the lead back thanks to Braswell's second rushing touchdown of the game. His one-yard run finished off a seven play, 74-yard drive.
One play later, the Cardinals connected on a long pass, which resulted in an 82-yard touchdown to tie the game once again at 14-14.
Northwood came right back with a quick drive of their own, covering 59 yards in six plays. Ethan Hamby finished the drive with a nine-yard run to send the game to the break with NU on top 21-14.
The Cardinals picked up another long touchdown pass early in the third quarter. Their 65-yard scoring play tied the score at 21-21.
At the end of the third quarter, Northwood went back on top. Hamby found Case Boos for a 16-yard touchdown pass. That sent the game to the fourth quarter with NU on top 28-21.
For the fourth time in the game, SVSU came back to tie the game with 4:29 remaining. Their 34-yard TD pass made the score 28-28.
Northwood came through with the game-winning score at the 2:32 mark. Mitch Rivard caught a 56-yard touchdown pass from Hamby to go up 35-28.
On Saginaw Valley's final possession, the Cardinals got to the NU 39 yard line before the Timberwolves came up with the fourth-down stop, giving Northwood the win.