COLUMBUS , Ohio – Playing the role of underdogs, the Trojans of Taylor University came calling to Panther Field on Saturday afternoon. Their constant defensive pressure hassled the Ohio Dominican offense all game long, but the hosts were able to utilize their own defensive presence to come away with a 24-6 victory in an MSFA Mideast League battle.
The Panther win gave Head Coach Dale Carlson his 100th career victory and 26th at Ohio Dominican. The former Taylor head coach earned 74 wins in his previous stops at Taylor, Tri-State (IN) University, and Lakeland (WI) College before coming to ODU to get the Panther football program off the ground in 2004.
Coming off a bye week and having lost three of their previous four games, the NAIA 24th ranked Panthers looked to put themselves back into position for a playoff berth. But the Trojan defensive game plan was nearly executed to perfection as the high-octane ODU offense sputtered early and often.
Taylor got on the scoreboard first as kicker Nick Davis connected on a 22-yard field goal on their second possession of the game. ODU answered right back with a nine-play, 72-yard drive that was capped by a one-yard touchdown run by freshman Mike Noffsinger (West Branch, MI), the first score of his collegiate career. Noffsinger would add a nine-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter to cap the scoring on his way to collecting 101 rushing yards on the game.
The Trojans answered right back to begin the second quarter with another field goal from Davis , this one from 20 yards out. But from there the Dominican defense put the clamps down on the Taylor offense and shut out their guests for the remainder of the game.
The Panthers would cushion their one-point lead late in the third with a 27-yard touchdown pass from senior Cris Reisert (Cincinnati, OH) to junior Justin Campbell (Laurel, MD) to cap the first half scoring at 14-6. Junior kicker Mitch Croy (Ottawa, OH) added a 32-yard field goal in the third quarter before Noffsinger added his second score in the fourth.
While the ODU offense had a tough time against the Trojans, the ODU defense looked astounding against the Taylor attack. The Panthers put up three defensive stands inside their own 10-yard line, two of those at their goal line.
The ODU defensive unit collected a blocked field goal, that by junior Fred Reeves (Cleveland, OH), two sacks, a fumble recovery, and three interceptions. Those three picks were each made by senior defensive back Michael Wright (Rockville, MD; pictured), a feat that established a new school record for interceptions in a game.
The win gives the Panthers some momentum as they travel to Canton , Ohio , to take on MSFA rival Walsh University on Saturday, November 1st. Kickoff against the Cavaliers is slated for 3 p.m. at Fawcett Stadium.
