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COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Ohio Dominican's football team will take on its second ranked opponent in three weeks as the Panthers hit the road to take on No. 22 Hillsdale College at 2:30 p.m. Saturday in GLIAC South Division play.
The Panthers look to bounce back from a 35-13 defeat at home last week against Michigan Tech, which is receiving the most votes of any team outside the Top 25 in the latest AFCA poll, and ODU fell to now-No. 6 Wayne State a week earlier at home. Michigan Tech, helped by a pair of first half interceptions, jumped to a 28-0 halftime lead, holding ODU to just four first downs in the opening 30 minutes.
ODU came back with a pair of second half touchdowns, as Jeremy Fudge scored on a 10-yard run on the first possession of the third quarter and Mike Noffsinger added a 26-yard TD run for the Panthers, but it wasn't enough.
Noffsinger eclipsed the 2,000 career rushing yard mark as he finished with 64 yards on nine, and Fudge threw for 159 yards and ran for 45 more to pace the Panther offense. Tyler Purcell had a game-best five catches for 67 yards.
Defensively, Tyrone Patel led the Panthers with eight tackles, while Dominic Clegg, Joe Richter and Kevin Guthrie both had seven stops. Eisen Hardy had six tackles, an interception, and broke up two other passes.
Hillsdale enters with a 4-1 mark, with all five of its games decided by nine points or less, including three decided by a field goal. The Chargers defeated previously unbeaten Saginaw Valley 38-35 on Saturday, going on a 14-play, 80-yard drive and scoring the game-winning TD with 1:18 left. Joe Glendening had 373 all-purpose yards, including 240 rushing, in the win.
ALL OHIO DOMINICAN FOOTBALL GAMES LIVE ON THE RADIO AND INTERNET
Fans in Central Ohio can listen to Ohio Dominican football LIVE on the radio on 1580 AM (St. Gabriel Radio) and simulcast online everywhere at www.ohiodominicanpanthers.com. This week's broadcast starts at 2 p.m. with the Panther Countdown Pregame Show. Veteran broadcaster Todd Bell returns for his fourth year in the booth as the play-by-play announcer and is joined by former Buckeye A.J. Trapasso in the booth, while Dan Long handles the pregame and halftime shows. Live video is also provided FREE for all six home games this season.
THE SERIES
Hillsdale, ranked No. 9 at the time, took the first all-time meeting between the two teams in 2010, 35-10. ODU led 3-0 at the end of the first before Hillsdale scored three touchdowns in the second quarter. Jeremy Fudge hit Tyler Maddox with a 75-yard TD midway through the third to make it 21-10, but the Chargers tacked on two more scores for the final margin. Fudge ran for 144 yards while James Dews and Jeff White both had 12 tackles. Hillsdale QB Troy Weatherhead set a GLIAC record by completing 26-of-28 passes (92.9 percent).
DID YOU KNOW???
>> Ohio Dominican is 1-3 all-time in games played in the state of Michigan. ODU's victory came against Northwood in week two.
>> Jeff White's 171 career tackles rank tied for eighth-most in school history.
>> Brandon Robinson is four catches away from 150 for his career. Tyler Purcell surpassed 1,000 career receiving yards last week and now has 1,014.
>> Cleveland Browns general manager Tom Heckert is a Hillsdale alumnus, as is Bob Clark, who directed the movie A Christmas Story.
Contact: Scott Miles
miless@ohiodominican.edu
