COLUMBUS, Ohio – Senior David Turner (Fort Wayne, Ind.) set a new career program record for pass receptions as Ohio Dominican football hosted Tiffin in a battle of unbeaten teams Saturday afternoon at Panther Stadium.

Tiffin scored in all four quarters to win the Great Midwest matchup 31-16. With the loss, ODU falls to 4-1 overall and in G-MAC play. The Dragons improve to 5-0 overall, including a 4-0 conference mark.

IN THE RECORD BOOKS

• Turner hauled in two passes for 66 yards and touchdown.
• The senior now has 225 career receptions, breaking Jared Stace's previous mark of 224.
• Stace played at ODU along with current Tiffin head coach Cris Reisert, who still holds several passing records in Panther lore.
• Turner broke the record with a 62-yard touchdown catch and run in the fourth quarter against Tiffin.

BOX SCORE NOTES

• Ohio Dominican was nearly doubled up in offensive plays, as Tiffin enjoyed an 80-46 advantage.
• The play edge led to the Dragons accumulating 390 yards of offense to ODU's 185.
• Redshirt junior Evan Ernst (Mason, Ohio) completed 12-of-21 passes for 113 yards and the long score to Turner.
• Classmate James Morgan (Columbus, Ohio) led ODU with three receptions, totaling 21 yards.
• On the ground, freshman Travis Whittaker (Gahanna, Ohio) rushed nine times for a team-best 46 yards.
• The Panther defense was on the field for more than 37 minutes of play, and were led by senior Dauson Dales (Defiance, Ohio) with 16 tackles.
• Dales added 2.5 tackles for loss, as ODU made six total stops behind the line of scrimmage.
• Pitching in nine tackles each were senior Eddie Miller-Garrett (Newark, N.J.) and junior Jaylin Garner (Shaker Heights, Ohio). Garner also posted three quarterback hurries.
• Making a career-high eight tackles was redshirt freshman Jayden Hill (Gahanna, Ohio).
• Senior Desdamon Lake (Youngstown, Ohio) logged a team-best three pass breakups in coverage.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Both teams punted on their first possession before Tiffin capped a 16-play, 90-yard drive with a one-yard touchdown run.
• Ohio Dominican's only points of the first quarter came on a safety in the final minute. Dales hurried the Tiffin quarterback into a throw, which did not get out of the end zone, resulting in an intentional grounding and two points for the Panthers.
• After the Black & Gold defense got a quick stop, ODU's offense scored its first touchdown of the game, a five-yard Ernst rush with 8:38 to play in the opening half. The score gave ODU its only lead of the game, 9-7.
• The ensuing Tiffin possession took up almost the entire final 8:31 to play, as a 13-yard touchdown pass gave the Dragons a 14-9 advantage with less than 25 seconds to play in the second quarter.
• Over three possessions, the Panthers had just one first down in the third quarter, while the Dragons added another passing score to give them a 21-9 lead through 45 minutes of play.
• Neither offense could gain any momentum in the final quarter until a TU field goal with 2:29 to play put the Dragons in front 24-9.
• After a short kick-off, the first play from scrimmage for ODU saw Ernst and Turner connect on a 62-yard touchdown, which had Turner break tackles from the Dragons the final 10 yards.
• After a failed onside kick by ODU, Tiffin rushed in for a 40-yard score on third down with 1:21 to play.

UP NEXT

• Ohio Dominican is scheduled to close out he 2021 spring season at home against Hillsdale.
• Kick-off in the season finale is set for noon, Saturday, April 24.

Contact: Tyler Jester

jestert@ohiodominican.edu