COLUMBUS, Ohio – Early turnovers and several big plays hurt Ohio Dominican's football team Saturday as the Panthers fell to visiting Michigan Tech 35-13 in GLIAC action at Panther Field.

With the setback, ODU dropped to 2-3 on the season (1-3 GLIAC), while the Huskies improved to 4-1 (3-1 GLIAC).

The Huskies had a 443-276 advantage in total yards, rushing for 226 yards and throwing for 217. The Panthers were limited to 12 first downs and held the ball for 24 minutes compared to 36 minutes for MTU.

ODU's defense forced a turnover on downs on Tech's opening possession. After the teams swapped punts, a pass by senior Jeremy Fudge (Eaton, Ohio) bounced off the hands of the intended receiver and into the hands of MTU's Jesse Vandenberg who returned it 35 yards untouched to the end zone to put the Huskies in front 7-0 with 4:50 to play in the first.

Michigan Tech then proceeded to score early in the second quarter to make it 14-0, then tacked on another score to build a 21-0 lead. ODU moved into Husky territory on its next drive, but another pass from Fudge hit off the hands of the intended receiver and into Michigan Tech's hands for an interception. Eight plays later, the Huskies scored again to take a 28-0 lead into the break.

The Panther offense took the opening kickoff of the second half and put together a crisp five play scoring drive. Freshman Abraham Johnson (Cincinnati, Ohio) returned the kickoff 37 yards to the ODU 48 yard line and Fudge hit four straight passes, connecting with senior Tyler Purcell (Franklin, Ohio) for 11 yards, senior Mike Noffinsger (West Branch, Mich.) for nine, senior Brandon Robinson (Eaton, Ohio) for eight yards and a deep sideline pass to freshman Casey Williams (Nashport, Ohio) for 24 yards to set up the Panthers first-and-goal at the 10. Fudge then called his own number and snuck into the end zone for the score to make it 28-7.

Michigan Tech answered with a touchdown to regain a 28-point lead and was threatening to score again when junior Eisen Hardy (Pickerington, Ohio) picked off a deflected pass in the end zone. The Panthers put together their longest drive, moving 80 yards in seven plays, with Fudge finding Purcell for 28 yards on a third-and-10 as Purcell managed to hold on to the ball in traffic. On the next play, Noffinsger scampered in to the end zone from 26 yards out to make it 35-13 and account for the final scoring.

Noffsinger had his streak of consecutive 100 yard rushing games snapped at four but did finish with 64 yards on just nine carries, averaging 7.1 yards per run. The school's all-time rushing leader now has 2,045 yards in his career. Fudge ran for 45 yards and tossed for 159 yards, while Purcell grabbed five passes for 67 yards.

Freshman Tyrone Patel (Cincinnati, Ohio) matched a season-high with eight tackles and junior Joe Richter (Fairfield, Ohio) had a career-high seven tackles to help lead the Panther defense. Hardy had six stops and broke up two passes as well.

Ohio Dominican returns to action at 2:30 p.m. Saturday as the Panthers hit the road to take on No. 24 Hillsdale.

Contact: Scott Miles
miless@ohiodominican.edu