Courtesy of Ferris State Athletics
PAINESVILLE, Ohio - The Ferris State University football team survived the
elements and a hard-fought performance from Lake Erie to win its fourth
consecutive contest of the season and remain unbeaten in Great Lakes
Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) action with a 22-12 triumph on
Saturday (Oct. 2) in Painesville, Ohio.
The Bulldogs battled back from a 9-7 halftime deficit against the
upset-minded Storm under rainy conditions at Jack Britt Memorial Stadium in
the first-ever meeting between the two schools.
With the victory, FSU improved to 4-1 overall and 4-0 in the GLIAC to
remain in a tie atop the league standings.
"We had our hands full today and we played a team with a lot of character,"
said FSU head coach Jeff Pierce. "They played well and we didn't execute
as well as we needed to early in the game.
"You feel good with the win, but we obviously still have things we need to
work on. But, we're moving in the right direction," he added.
FSU opened the contest by driving 54 yards in nine plays to strike first on
a 10-yard TD run from sophomore running back Skyler Stoker only 4:46 into
the contest.
Lake Erie answered with a 61-yard march of its own to pull within 7-3 on a
26-yard field goal by Sam Marcotte with 5:37 left in the first period.
The Storm took their only lead of the contest with 3:07 remaining in the
opening stanza on a Chris Brown one-yard scoring run to finish a
three-play, 44-yard drive.
Ferris regained the advantage at 13-9 with 5:19 to play in the third
quarter as Stoker found paydirt for the second time from five yards away to
cap an 80-yard drive in 11 plays.
LEC was able to pull back within a single point at 13-12 on Marcotte's
23-yard field goal only four seconds into the final period.
However, FSU responded after a long kickoff return to build the lead back
to four points as Catlin Porter connected from 29-yards away to give the
Bulldogs a 16-12 advantage with 12:41 left.
The final Bulldog score came with 9:35 to play as junior quarterback Tom
Schneider completed a 42-yard scoring pass to junior receiver Mike Ryan to
finish FSU's five-play, 64-yard drive.
The Bulldog defense also came up with a blocked field goal late in the
contest to help preserve the victory.
FSU tallied 17 first downs and 310 total yards offensively in comparison to
LEC's 19 first downs and 351 yards.
Sophomore running back Tyler Thomas paced FSU on the ground with 56 yards
on 10 attempts with senior fullback Leon Curry rambling for 52 yards on
nine tries.
Schneider was 15-of-22 in the air for 162 yards and a TD. Seven of his
completions went to Ryan for 98 yards while Thomas added three grabs for 24
yards and junior receiver Damien Miller netted three catches for 21 yards.
Brown paced Lake Erie on the ground with 10 carries for 83 yards while
quarterback Sean Bedevelsky was nine-of-17 in the air for 90 yards.
The Bulldog defense came up with an interception and a fumble recovery,
both by linebacker Alex Brajak, in notching the win. Senior linebacker
Matt Ryan tallied a game-high 15 tackles, including 11 unassisted stops,
for FSU.
Ferris State will put its four-game winning streak on the line as the
Bullogs return back to Big Rapids to host Findlay in the annual homecoming
contest next Saturday, Oct. 2, at FSU's Top Taggart Field. The game is
scheduled for a 2 p.m. (EDT) kickoff.