Great Lakes Wire

Northern Michigan University (NMU) Football is set to travel to Kentucky for their first away game of the season, facing the Kentucky Wesleyan Panthers on Thursday night at Steele Stadium. The game will kick off at 7 p.m.

The Wildcats aim to recover from a 35-7 loss against No. 17 Minnesota Duluth in their season opener last Thursday. This upcoming match marks the season opener for the Panthers, who ended last year with a 4-7 record.

Updates on the game can be followed through NMU's official social media accounts. The match will also be available to watch and listen live.

Head Coach Shane Richardson emphasized increased intensity and speed in practice this week. "A great emphasis this week has been to be much more intense and get off the ball faster and quicker," Richardson said. "A lot of the young guys had to experience that first game to get the jitters out, get the fast action out, and understand what they need to do to do it better."

In their previous game, NMU's only score came from a fourth-quarter connection between Aidan Hoard and Michael Love. Mitch Larkin led both teams with 11 tackles, while Tim Shannon followed with nine tackles. Jhermari Mabry recorded 1.5 tackles for loss.

Junior linebacker Mitch Larkin, who led the conference in total tackles last season, will guide NMU's defense. Sophomore Jax Hertel is expected to make significant contributions after recording 65 tackles and two interceptions as a freshman.

Quarterback Aidan Hoard appeared in eight games last season due to an injury to starter Mariano Valenti, throwing for 1,059 yards and five touchdowns. Wide receivers Michael Love and Sam Peiffer combined for 680 receiving yards and five touchdowns last season.

The Wildcats' schedule includes games in three different states within their first three matches before returning home for eight consecutive games in Michigan. NMU boasts one of the youngest teams nationally, with underclassmen making up nearly 71% of the roster.

Kentucky Wesleyan finished last season averaging 22 points per game and was ranked eighth in their conference preseason poll. The team will have a new quarterback but returns experienced wide receivers Kam Sherrard, Khia Sherrard, and Gordon Anaple.

Defensively, Jaden Santos-Lopez, John Purdy, Gerald Palmer, and Najai Watson return for Kentucky Wesleyan. Watson recorded four interceptions last season while Palmer accounted for 56 total tackles.

Shane Richardson leads NMU’s coaching staff into their second season together, joined by Associate Head Coach Billy Lindquist and assistants Mike DuFrane, Michael Kaiser, DeAndre Riddick, Ezekiel Combs, Joe Gatz guiding the offensive line, and Kadalls Siner working with tight ends.