UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. – Three second quarter touchdowns proved enough for Ohio Dominican's football team as the Panthers held off Saginaw Valley 24-17 Saturday night in GLIAC play.

The Cardinals scored a touchdown with 4:03 left to make it a one score game, but the Panthers were able to run out the clock from there, picking up three first downs the stretch to seal the victory.

With the win, ODU improved to 7-3 (6-3 GLIAC), while Saginaw Valley fell to 1-9 (1-8 GLIAC).

The Cardinals outgained ODU 332-312 on the evening, as 171 of the Panthers' yards came in the second quarter along with nine of their 18 first downs.

ODU punted on each of its first four drives, and the Cardinals struck first on a 30 yard touchdown pass on a fourth down play early in the second quarter.

The Panthers countered with a 12 play, 70 yard drive that chewed up nearly six and a half minutes. Facing fourth-and-one from the Cardinal 11, sophomore Darryl Johnson (Mason, Ohio) took a handoff around the left edge and raced untouched for a score to knot the game.

ODU's defense forced a three and out, and the offense went on another scoring march. Sophomore Grant Russell (Newark, Ohio) found senior Dez Stewart (Cincinnati, Ohio) on a 38 yard pass to the SVSU five, and three plays later the duo connected again on a back shoulder throw near the front pylon for a touchdown. That gave the Panthers a 14-7 lead with just under two minutes left in the half.

Senior Austin Osborne (Jackson, Ohio) intercepted a pass on SVSU's next drive, giving the Panthers the ball on the Cardinal 43 with over a minute left. ODU converted a pair of third downs, and Russell hooked up again with Stewart on a five yard pass to the back corner of the end zone for a 21-7 lead just 17 seconds before halftime.

The offense, though, struggled again in the third quarter, managing just 33 yards in 11 plays. SVSU hit a 26 yard field goal on its first drive of the half to cut it to 21-10, and the score remained that way heading into the fourth quarter.

ODU picked up some breathing room early in the fourth quarter as Russell found senior Casey Williams (Nashport, Ohio) for an 18 yard gain on a third down pass, setting up a 50 yard field goal by senior Brent Wahle (Pataskala, Ohio) to make it 24-10 with over 11 minutes left.

The Panthers could put no more points up, though, and a 77 yard SVSU scoring drive made it a seven point game with 4:03 left. Russell, though, had a 13 yard run, found sophomore JT McFarland (Zanesville, Ohio) on a short completion for another first down, and Johnson capped the game with a first down run as the Panthers ran out the clock.

Russell completed 22-of-30 throws for 171 yards and ran for a career high 73 yards. Stewart tallied 73 yards, surpassing 3,000 career receiving yards, and Johnson ran for 55 yards. Williams added 52 yards receiving as well.

Sophomore Cameron Kohl (Hilliard, Ohio) and junior O'Sha Jackson (Warren, Ohio) each made 10 tackles, while freshman Ross Thompson (Delphos, Ohio) tallied nine. Kohl, junior Paul Wesselhoeft (Logan, Ohio) and Demetrius Farmer (Dover, Ohio) each had two tackles for loss.

Ohio Dominican plays its regular season finale at 12:30 p.m. Saturday against Tiffin in Panther Stadium.

Contact: Scott Miles
miless@ohiodominican.edu