COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio Dominican football will look to move one step closer to a Great Midwest title when the Panthers hosts Tiffin in a battle of unbeaten teams this weekend.

THE BASICS

• Ohio Dominican (4-0, 4-0 G-MAC) and Tiffin (4-0, 3-0 G-MAC) will kick-off at noon, Saturday, April 17.
• The Panthers will be playing the first of two straight games at home to conclude the spring season.
• A win for ODU would secure, at worst, a share of the 2021 spring G-MAC championship.

STADIUM POLICIES

• Each spectator must have a ticket to enter Panther Stadium for Saturday's football contest.
• Spectators are also required to show a matching ID with their printed or mobile ticket. 
• Masks are REQUIRED to be worn throughout the venue and social distancing is expected.
• FULL SPECTATOR POLICY - PANTHER STADIUM

LAST TIME OUT

• The top two defenses in the G-MAC showed out in a rain-infested game last Saturday in Findlay, as ODU weathered the conditions with a 14-10 win.
• The Panthers jumped out to a 14-0 lead at halftime and held the Oilers offense, who entered averaging over 40 points per game, scoreless for the first 56 minutes of play.
• Two quick scores by the Oilers and a defensive stop gave UF possession on ODU's half of the field in the final minutes.
• On fourth down, with just over one minute remaining, junior Godwin Joe (Cleveland, Ohio) had one of his three pass breakups to secure the win for the Black & Gold.
• The offense was led by redshirt junior Evan Ernst (Mason, Ohio), who completed 15-of-19 passes for 129 yards. Classmate James Morgan (Columbus, Ohio) hauled in seven receptions for 63 yards.
• Defensively, five Panthers posted seven-plus tackles, led by redshirt freshman Michael Powers (West Mansfield, Ohio) with a career-best 12 stops. Senior Desdamon Lake (Youngstown, Ohio) added a season-high 11 tackles.

G-MAC SELECTS JOE, QUACKENBUSH FOR WEEKLY AWARDS

• Godwin Joe and senior Jed Quackenbush (Newark, Ohio) were named G-MAC Defensive and Special Teams Players of the Week on Monday, April 12.
• With the awards, ODU has received weekly conference honors after all four games this spring, totaling six awards in 2021.
• Since joining the conference in 2017, the Panthers now have 28 weekly G-MAC awards.
• Joe picked up his first career weekly conference award, as he posted three pass breakups, including the game-winner, and a fumble recovery in the win.
• Quackenbush attempted seven punts, averaging 42.1 yards per attempt in the poor weather conditions. The senior had a season-long punt of 58 yards, placed three punts inside the UF 20-yard line and was 2-for-2 in point-after tries.

MILESTONE MOMENTS

• Evan Ernst and senior Frederick Pitts V (Huber Heights, Ohio) both reached career milestones during the contest at Findlay.
• Ernst became the fourth player in school history to reach 5,000 passing yards and currently sits fourth at 5,019 yards during his time with the Black & Gold.
• ODU's past three starting quarterbacks have all reached 5,000 career passing yards.
• Pitts is now the ninth player in program history to top 1,000 career rushing yards.
• The senior tailback enters the game against Tiffin with 1,006 yards and is just 10 yards from moving up to seventh on the team's all-time list.

CHASING HISTORY

• Senior wide receiver David Turner (Fort Wayne, Ind.) has 222 career receptions, which is just one shy of tying Jared Stace's record of 223, set from 2004-07.
• Turner already has the most catches of any Panther in the program's Division II era and is just over 100 yards away from moving into the top five of the program's all-time receiving yards list, currently with 2,334.
• The senior has already made history this spring, as his 1,775 career kick return yards top the program record books.
• Adding in his receiving numbers, Turner is fourth in school history in all-purpose yards, 4,167, and is less than 300 yards away from Brandon Schoen's record of 4,442 yards.

DEFENSE CONTINUES TO DOMINATE

• The Ohio Dominican defense has been stifling opponents all spring, allowing 10 points or fewer in all four outings.
• Dating back to last season, ODU has conceded 10 or fewer points in 10 of its last 12 games played.
• As a result, the Panthers lead the G-MAC in scoring defense, conceding 5.5 points per game.
• ODU is second in the conference in rush defense (74.5) and third in total defense (237.5).
• The Panthers have been even better in the red zone, allowing scores on just 50 percent of opponent's trips inside the 20-yard line. ODU has allowed just two touchdowns out of 10 red zone appearances by its opponents.

SECONDARY IS SHINING

• All five starting members of ODU's secondary have played key roles in the defense's success this spring.
• At corner, Godwin Joe and junior Ashton Gilkey (Westerville, Ohio) have combined for three of the team's four interceptions and 10 pass breakups.
• Joe and Gilkey also rank No. 1 and 2 in the G-MAC in passes defended per game, 1.75 and 1.50, respectively.
• Redshirt freshman Jayden Hill (Gahanna, Ohio) is defending at least one pass per game as well to rank in the top five in the conference. Hill is fifth on the team with 10 tackles.
• Desdamon Lake is coming off his best statistical performance as a Panther, making 11 total stops at Findlay. As a result, Lake is now fourth on the team with 22 tackles this spring.
• Playing the STAR-hybrid position effectively has been redshirt freshman Daishaun Hill (Rocky River, Ohio). Hill has eight-plus stops in three of four games this year and is third on the team averaging 7.0 tackles per game.
• The trio of Lake and both Hill's have combined for nine pass breakups as well.

LB'S LEADING IN TACKLES

• Starting linebackers, senior Dauson Dales (Defiance, Ohio) and Micahel Powers, are the top two tacklers for ODU this spring.
• Dales leads the conference at 12.0 stops per game and is tied for the G-MAC lead with 6.5 tackles for loss.  
• Since the start of the 2019 season, Dales has 10-plus tackles in 8-of-14 games played.
• The senior enters this weekend with 223 career tackles, which is eight shy of being on the program's top 10 all-time list.
• Powers had his best tackling performance versus Findlay with a team and career high 12 stops.
• The redshirt freshman has six-plus tackles in every game this spring and is second on the team and top 10 in the G-MAC with 8.0 stops per game.

FORMIDIBLE DEFENSIVE FRONT

• Senior Eddie Miller-Garrett (Newark, NJ) and junior Jaylin Garner (Shaker Heights, Ohio) have led a formidable front four for the Panther defense this season.
• Miller-Garrett, who has appeared and started the past two outings, has 15 tackles, 3.5 for loss, two pass breakups and a quarterback hurry from a defensive end position.
• The senior is also one of ODU's six G-MAC weekly award winners this spring for his efforts against Kentucky Wesleyan.
• Garner has moved into the interior defensive line in recent weeks, but still has 14 total tackles with 3.5 coming for loss.
• Garner is fifth on the program's all-time sack list with 12.0, including an ODU single-season record of 9.0 sacks in 2019.

STEPPING UP ON OFFENSE

• James Morgan and freshman Travis Whittaker (Gahanna, Ohio) have filled vacant roles within the offense and have produced through four games this spring.
• Morgan is second on the team and third in the conference with 21 receptions.
• The redshirt junior has 148 receiving yards and one score this season.
• Whittaker is filling in as the complementary tailback so far, rushing 43 times for 182 yards. His 4.2 yards per rush are the second most of any G-MAC player with 40-plus attempts.
• The freshman has scored four touchdowns this season, which is third most in the conference.

QUACK ATTACK

• Jed Quackenbush has been the Panthers' top place kicker in recent years, but due to the departure of all-American Logen Neidhardt, he has also taken on punting responsibilities in 2021.
• Quackenbush is second in the conference with a punting average of 40.4 yards and he has placed 13 of his 22 total attempts inside the opponent's 20-yard line.
• The senior has been perfect in kicking attempts as well, 9-for-9 in point-after tries and 1-for-1 in field goal attempts.
• Quackenbush is the only two-time G-MAC Special Teams Player of the Week award winner this season.

TIFFIN SERIES HISTORY

• SERIES SUPERLATIVES
• Saturday's game will mark the 12th meeting all-time between Ohio Dominican and Tiffin, which will tie the Dragons with Lake Erie as the Panthers' most common opponent all-time.
• ODU leads the all-time series, 7-4, and is 6-2 in its Division II era against the Dragons.
• The Panthers though, have never defeated the Dragons as a member of the G-MAC, losing 41-31 in 2019 and 24-23 in 2018.
• Saturday will mark the first trip to Columbus for Tiffin since 2015 and will only be the second matchup at Panther Stadium between ODU and TU since 2012.
• Tiffin is the defending G-MAC champions after going unbeaten in conference play in 2019, handing ODU its only G-MAC loss of the season.
• Tiffin head coach Cris Reisert is in his second seaosn at the helm of the Dragons. Reisert holds several Ohio Dominican football passing records and was inducted into the athletic department's Hall of Fame in 2019. 

UP NEXT

• Ohio Dominican is scheduled to close out the 2021 spring season at home against Hillsdale on Saturday, April 24.
• Kick-off at Panther Stadium is slated for noon.

Contact: Tyler Jester

jestert@ohiodominican.edu