Bill Conley Interview | Mike Noffsinger Interview

TIFFIN, Ohio – Junior running back Mike Noffsinger (West Branch, Mich.) scored on touchdowns of 74, 62 and 56 yards and Ohio Dominican set a school record with 422 rushing yards as the football team defeated Tiffin 41-21 Saturday at Frost-Kalnow Stadium in GLIAC action.

Ohio Dominican moved to 2-5 (2-5 GLIAC), while Tiffin fell to 1-7 (0-7).

Noffsinger finished with 171 yards on just seven carries, all coming in the first half, averaging 24.4 yards per rush, while quarterback Jeremy Fudge (Eaton, Ohio) accounted for 174 yards on 22 carries. Fudge's total was the second-best individual effort in school history, while Noffsinger's ranks third.

The defense recorded five sacks and 12 tackles for loss, and Jason McCurdy (Columbus, Ohio) recorded two interceptions to help lead the way. Vincent Vasquez (Delray Beach, Fla.) had 12 tackles, Miguel Davis (Baltimore, Md.) had 10 and a sack, and Joe Richter (Fairfield, Ohio) had two sacks to lead the unit.

Additionally, Chris Vortkamp (Cincinnati, Ohio) became the school's all-time leader in field goal makes as he hit two to give him 14 for his career. His 44-yarder also matched the school-record long.

Overall, the Panthers totaled 569 yards of offense, their most since finishing with 601 yards against St. Joseph's (Ind.) on Oct. 10, 2009. The 41 points were also a season-high.

For the second straight week, the Panthers put a touchdown on the board on their opening possession, marching 80 yards in eight plays, with all but eight yards coming on the ground. Noffsinger had a 23-yard run on the first play, and Fudge accounted for 40 yards himself, including a 13-yard scramble down the far sideline that resulted in the touchdown.

After the defense forced a punt, the Panthers put their second score on the board. ODU picked up a third down conversion as Brandon Robinson (Eaton, Ohio) scampered 17 yards on a screen pass, and Noffsinger took the next handoff, made one cut and outraced the Dragon defense 56 yards to the end zone to make it 14-0 with 4:07 to play in the first.

ODU's defense forced a three and out on the next possession, and the offense was in motion again, covering 51 yards on 11 plays before sputtering out on the Tiffin 18. Vortkamp booted his first field goal of the day to make it 17-0 moments into the second quarter.

Later in the quarter, Noffsinger burst through a big hole in the middle of the offensive line and again was off to the races, this time for a 62-yard touchdown down the near sideline that put the Panthers in front 24-0 with 5:17 to play before half. As time expired in the quarter, Vortkamp drilled his second field goal of the day, this one from 44 yards out, to give ODU a 27-0 lead at intermission.

It took just one play into the second half for the offense to strike again. Fudge scrambled around in the backfield and waited for Noffsinger to leak out. The junior back caught the pass and again outran the Dragon defense, picking up some blocks downfield from his receivers down the far sideline for the 74 yard touchdown, ODU's second longest touchdown play of the season.

The Dragons put their first touchdown of the game on the board, but ODU's offense answered with an eight play, 84-yard touchdown drive. Fudge took a draw play up the middle, deked a defender at the 25, and raced for a 51-yard gain to the Tiffin 38. Ronnel Spates (Cleveland, Ohio) capped the drive with his first collegiate touchdown, fighting his way across the goal line on a 23-yard run with 3:10 left in the third quarter to finish the ODU scoring.

The Panthers square off against Lake Erie College at 1 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 30 in Painesville, Ohio.

Contact: Scott Miles
miless@ohiodominican.edu