COLUMBUS, Ohio – Five second half turnovers were too much to overcome for Ohio Dominican's football team as the Panthers fell 27-24 to No. 20 Grand Valley State on Saturday in Panther Stadium.

The Lakers had taken their first lead of the second half with 3:32 to play after ODU fumbled on a kickoff, setting them up inside the Panther15 yard line. Five plays later, a 22 yard field goal gave GVSU the 27-24 lead.

ODU (No. 7 AFCA/No. 5 D2Football.com) marched inside Laker territory, converting a fourth down play with just over a minute left. However, a fumble two plays later was recovered by the visitors at the GVSU 28 yard line with 49 seconds left, ending the game.

The Panthers outgained Grand Valley 415-323 and held the Lakers to 3.6 yards per carry, but couldn't overcome the miscues in the final 30 minutes.

Sophomore quarterback Grant Russell (Newark, Ohio) set a career-best with 272 yards passing, hitting on 34-of-47 passes for three scores with two interceptions. He also ran for 52 yards.

Classmate JT McFarland (Zanesville, Ohio) caught a career-best nine passes for 53 yards and senior Dez Stewart (Cincinnati, Ohio) added 84 yards on eight grabs. Sophomores Darryl Johnson (Mason, Ohio) and Aaron Everson (Bartlett, Ill.) combined for 79 yards on the ground.

Senior linebackers Austin Osborne (Jackson, Ohio) and Cody Culbertson (Galloway, Ohio) led the Panthers with nine stops each, and Osborne totaled 3.0 tackles for loss. Senior Brad McCurdy (Columbus, Ohio) made eight tackles and junior defensive tackles Mason Sawicki (Dublin, Ohio) and Paul Wesselhoeft (Logan, Ohio) each had seven stops.

A second quarter interception by junior Marquise Tyus (Lakewood, Ohio) set the Panthers up on their own 45 yard line, and it took ODU seven plays to cap the drive with an acrobatic touchdown catch by McFarland from 16 yards out that gave the Panthers a 10-7 lead at the 8:57 mark.

GVSU countered with a touchdown, but later in the quarter a blocked punt by senior Da'Twane Harris (Cleveland, Ohio) set ODU up on the Laker 11 yard line. Three plays later, Russell found junior Fransohn Bickley (Akron, Ohio) in the back of the end zone for a six yard touchdown with 1:16 left, sending the Panthers to a 17-14 lead at the break.

Grand Valley tied the game at 17-17 midway through the third quarter, cashing in on an ODU interception, but the Panthers regained the lead at the end of the quarter. Russell found Casey Williams (Nashport, Ohio) for a nifty 15 yard grab, Everson ran for 33 yards, and Russell hooked up with Stewart for an over the shoulder touchdown pass in the far corner of the end zone for a 24-17 lead.

The Panthers missed a field goal at the start of the fourth quarter, and GVSU tied the game at 24-24 with 5:57 left. ODU then fumbled the ensuing kickoff, allowing GVSU to take the lead.

Ohio Dominican is on the road next week for a 7 p.m. kickoff at Ashland.

Contact: Scott Miles
miless@ohiodominican.edu