NMU hosted Grand Valley on Saturday, falling 14 to 73. With only three games left in the season, the ‘Cats are looking for that first win of the season.
“[It is important] to get our young guys and inexperienced guys the understanding of being able to play against a top-ranked opponent and try to look past some of those external factors that are on the outside,” Head Coach Shane Richardson said. “You got to just keep coaching them in the mental process of that and making sure that they’re going into that game with a clear mind and being able to just be ready to play football.”
First-year quarterback Aidan Hoard threw 18/38 for 188 yards in this game as well as a 54-yard touchdown pass to third-year tight end Charlie Gerhard.
“I think Hoard was really a lot more comfortable and composed, and I think he really did a lot more things in the field that put our offense into better situations,” Richardson said. “Of course, there are still things we got to work on and there [are] definitely blunders that hurt us, and yet, I think he’s coming along …. For him, it’s monumental growth and development, every game that he continues to play, and I think that’ll continue to help our offense to continue to grow and thrive in that way.”
Fifth-year running back Brock Franklin had the other touchdown on Saturday, rushing for 63 yards total. First-year running back Noah Hofmann also got some field time during the game.
“[Franklin] runs hard … he’s really strong and a fit guy that just uses a little bit of brawn to his advantage and he actually sees the field really well too, so that’s a good thing. He’s not just only looking to run people over, but I think he is able to use his experience, he’s a senior, and he’s able to give us a little bit of a different running style in there that does help,” Richardson said. “Hoffman … does make some people miss and he’s quick and I think he really showed a lot of good things in this last game too.”
The ‘Cats are at the end of the season with only three games left. This weekend, the team is hosting Wayne State on Saturday, Oct. 28 at 1 p.m. The team will end their season at home with Senior Night on Saturday, Nov. 11 against Northern State.
“We need to be confident, we need to be aggressive, [we] need to be fast and we need to make sure our guys really understand a simple game plan,” Richardson said.
