Courtesy of Ferris State Athletics
COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Ferris State University football team secured its first road victory in nearly two years with a hard-fought 34-28 Great Lakes
Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) triumph over league newcomer
Ohio Dominican on Saturday afternoon at Panther Field.
The Bulldogs built a 28-6 third quarter lead in the first-ever series'
meeting between the two schools, but were forced to stop the Panthers twice
in the final four minutes to pull out the win.
ODU scored on its first possession of the game as the Panthers drove 67
yards and Mike Noffsinger found the endzone from 19 yards out only three
minutes into the contest.
However, Ferris answered and took a one-point edge with 1:18 to play in the
opening frame on a 65-yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback Tom
Schneider to junior receiver Mike Ryan.
FSU increased its lead to 14-6 as Mike Elias scooped up a blocked field
goal attempts and rambled 75 yards for a score with 8:29 left in the first
half. The lead then grew to 21-6 at the break as Ferris marched 76 yards
and Dwayne Williams plunged in from two yards away with only 30 seconds
left until halftime.
The Bulldog lead grew to 28-6 on Damien Miller's 17-yard TD catch from
Schneider with 9:58 to play in the third period before things the Panthers
battled back.
Ohio Dominican cut the lead to 28-14 on Tyler Purcell's 16-yard scoring
pass from Billy Griffin midway thru the third period. Then, with 6:15 left
in the third quarter, the Panthers blocked a FSU punt and Ronnel Spates ran
it back five yards for a score to make it 28-21.
Ferris answered with a 71-yard drive to take a 34-21 edge with 8:40
remaining on Aaron Olman's four-yard touchdown blast.
Finally, ODU drove 70 yards on 12 plays and Mark Nichols reached the
endzone with 4:15 left to account for the final margin.
The Bulldogs stopped the Panthers on four downs from inside the FSU 25-yard
line late in the game. After getting the ball back at midfield, the
Bulldogs finally secured the win when sophomore cornerback Antwian Windmon
picked off a fourth down pass with less than two minutes to go.
Schneider paced the Bulldogs offensively by completing 19 of 28 passes for
208 yards and two scores. Williams led FSU in rushing with 60 yards on
nine carries while Schneider contributed 38 yards on nine attempts. Miller
caught a team-high three balls for 29 yards.
Meanwhile, Griffin completed 23 of 46 passes for 193 yards, but was sacked
three times and intercepted twice by the Bulldog defense. Tyler Maddox
made six catches for 67 yards and Noffsinger carried the ball 13 times for
50 yards.
Matt Ryan totaled 13 tackles and a sack in leading the FSU defense.
The road win was FSU's first since a 31-24 league victory at Indianapolis
two seasons ago (Oct. 11, 2008).
FSU improves to 2-1 overall with the win and remains unbeaten in conference
play at 2-0 after Saturday's triumph. ODU fell to 0-2 overall and in
conference action.
The Bulldogs return home to host the Tiffin Dragons on Saturday, Sept. 25,
with the league "kids Night" kickoff set for 7 p.m. (EDT) at FSU's Top
Taggart Field in Big Rapids.