Box Score West Haven, Connecticut – The Ohio Dominican defense set the tone early while the Panthers ground game dominated the day, as ODU won for the 6th straight time, defeating NCAA Division-II New Haven, 42-13. The Panthers had a season high 249 yards on the ground and set a new school record for rushing touchdowns in a game with six, eclipsing the previous record of five set in 2007 versus Campbellsville University.
After the long journey to West Haven the Panthers offense got off to a sluggish start as they struggled to move the ball early in the first quarter. Neither team was able to do much against its counterpart as the ODU defense force four consecutive three and outs by New Haven (5-5) and held the Chargers to just 24 yards in the opening stanza.
Ohio Dominican finally got the offense going, but it was the uncharacteristic ground game that sparked the Panthers versus the first time opponent. ODU used a balance attack with five runs and six passes that led to their first score. Austin Wallace (So. /Reynoldsburg, OH; pictured) capped off the 11-play, 86-yard drive with a 5-yard run with 3:36 remaining in the first to give ODU the early lead. On the next Panther possession, Tyler Purcell (So. /Franklin, OH), scored his first of two touchdowns on the afternoon, on a 1-yard run, giving ODU a 14-0 lead.
The Charger offense would finally earn their initial first down of the game on their first possession of the second quarter. The drive stalled on a 4th down try in Panther territory, but an off sides call against Ohio Dominican gave New Haven a second try, and they took advantage. Quarterback Ryan Osiecki connected on a 29-yard pass to Demetrious Washington-Ellison for a touchdown, cutting the Panther lead in half. But that was as close as they would get, as ODU would score twice in the last 3:46 of the 2nd quarter on touchdown runs by Purcell and Mike Noffsinger (So. /West Branch, MI) to take control of the game with a 28-7 lead at intermission.
The second half saw the Panther ground attack chew up yards and time as 182 of Ohio Dominican's season high 249 rushing yards came after the break. Chris tian Haywood (Jr. /Hilliard, OH) scored on a 10-yard run with 5:07 remaining in the third quarter and quarterback Billy Griffin (Jr. /Columbus, OH) scored on a 1-yard sneak to extend the lead to 42-7. The only Chargers points of the second half came with 4:48 to go when Osiecki found Bernard Risco for a 43-yard pass. A failed extra-point closed out the scoring.
The Panthers offense racked up 556 yards of total offense. Mark Nichols (Fr. /Pataskala, OH) paced the rushing attack with 70-yards on 11 carries. Purcell added 57 yards on just six attempts. With six rushing touchdowns on the day, ODU is now just two touchdowns away from matching a school record of 27 for a season that was set in 13 games during the 2007 campaign. Griffin finished 28-of-42 for 307 yards. Kyle Reichelderfer (Sr. /Circleville, OH) caught six passes for 94 yards.
The defense held New Haven to just 12 first downs and 230 yards, 134 yards below the Chargers season average. Josh Werling (Jr. /Fort Recovery, OH) led ODU in tackles with five and Jason McCurdy (So. /Columbus, OH) intercepted his first pass of the season.
Next week the Panthers will close out their regular season with a trip to Dover, Delaware to take on Division- III Wesley College, who is ranked 3rd in the country. The Wolverines moved to 9-0 with a 28-13 win over Lake Erie on Saturday. Kick-off between the Panthers and Wolverines is set for 1 p.m.
