COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio Dominican's offense shook off its first half doldrums in a big way, scoring five touchdowns after intermission as the football team earned a 48-26 win over Lake Erie in a steady rain Saturday at Panther Stadium.

Deadlocked at 13 at the half, ODU scored on all but one of its second half possessions and generated 306 yards in the second half.

The defense, meanwhile, limited Lake Erie to just 69 yards and no points on its first four possessions of the second half as the Panthers built a 41-13 lead after the break.

Senior receiver Casey Williams (Nashport, Ohio) set a career high with 129 yards and two touchdowns, scoring on catches of 59 and 46 yards in the third quarter. Sophomore quarterback Grant Russell (Newark, Ohio) completed 13 of his last 18 throws and tallied 246 yards on the afternoon.

The defense was led by sophomore Tre McIntire (North Lewisburg, Ohio) led the defense with a career-high eight tackles and sophomore Nick Isaacs (Cincinnati, Ohio) set a career-best with seven stops (2.5 tackles for loss). Freshman Ross Thompson (Delphos, Ohio) notched a personal best seven tackles with a sack and 2.0 tackles and sophomore Demetrius Farmer (Dover, Ohio) also tallied a career-best seven tackles with a sack, a forced fumble and 1.5 tackles for loss.

The Panthers needed two plays after halftime to take the lead, as Russell found Williams all by himself down the right side for the 59 yard touchdown. After the defense forced a punt, the Panthers moved 80 yards in eight plays, with completions of 28 yards to senior Dez Stewart (Cincinnati, Ohio) and of 30 yards to freshman Dar Stanford (Zanesville, Ohio) to move inside the Storm red zone. Freshman Esaias Chapman (Waverly Hall, Ga.) scored on the next play from eight yards to bump the lead to 27-13 with 7:43 left in the quarter.

Later in the quarter, Russell hooked up with Williams again on the 46 yard strike to extend the lead to 34-13.

Overall, ODU racked up 214 yards in the quarter and held the Storm to just three total first downs. Lake Erie did not complete a pass in the quarter.

The Panthers put the game away early in the fourth quarter, as Farmer's sack of Storm quarterback John Banyasz led to a fumble that junior Paul Wesselhoeft (Logan, Ohio) recovered. ODU went on a 12 play, 58 yard scoring march in 6:30, capped off by a touchdown run of three yards by sophomore Aaron Everson (Bartlett, Ill.).

ODU finished its scoring late in the fourth as senior Justin Davis (Detroit, Mich.) scored on a 44 yard run.

The Panthers outgained Lake Erie 452-441, as ODU tallied 206 yards on the ground. Penalties were a big factor in the game, as the Storm was hit for 176 yards of penalties on 19 flags while ODU was penalized nine times for 103 yards.

Chapman led ODU with 76 yards on the ground. He scored on a 15 yard run in the first quarter to give ODU a 10-6 lead. Lake Erie scored with 1:06 left in the half to take a 13-10 lead, but ODU answered with a 27 yard field goal from senior Brent Wahle (Pataskala, Ohio) to tie the game at the break. Wahle hit from 46 yards earlier in the half as well.

Ohio Dominican hits the road for a 2:30 p.m. contest at Hillsdale next Saturday.

Contact: Scott Miles
miless@ohiodominican.edu