COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio Dominican football team concluded its 2021 spring season Saturday, April 24, falling at home to Hillsdale, 35-28.

The Panthers finish the shortened campaign 4-2 overall and in Great Midwest play. Hillsdale, who missed several games due to injuries and COVID-19, concludes the season 2-2 overall and 2-2 in the G-MAC.

BOX SCORE NOTES

• Ohio Dominican and Hillsdale combined for 713 yards on Saturday, with the Panthers holding a slight edge in total offense, 371-342.
• The 371 offensive yards marked a spring season high for the Black & Gold.
• Senior David Turner (Fort Wayne, Ohio) caught two touchdown passes, accumulating 11 total receptions for 77 yards.
• Redshirt junior James Morgan (Columbus, Ohio) and redshirt sophomore Austin Davis (Wooster, Ohio) caught six and four passes, respectively, for 75 and 53 yards. Davis also hauled in a fourth quarter touchdown pass.
• Completing 28-of-37 passes for a season-high 271 yards was redshirt junior Evan Ernst (Mason, Ohio). Ernst threw three touchdowns in the game.
• Freshman Travis Whittaker (Gahanna, Ohio) rushed 12 times for a team-high 76 yards and one touchdown.
• Both starting linebackers finished with double-digit tackles, led by senior Dauson Dales (Defiance, Ohio). Dales logged 15 stops, giving him 10-plus tackles in five of the six games played this spring.
• Tallying a career-high 14 tackles was redshirt freshman Michael Powers (West Mansfield, Ohio).
• Three additional Panther defenders made eight tackles, including senior Desdamon Lake (Youngstown, Ohio) and redshirt freshman Jayden Hill (Gahanna, Ohio), both of which also had a tackle for loss.
• Both turnovers were by the Panthers, resulting in 14 points for the Chargers.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• An exciting start to the game saw the two teams trade score on the first three possessions.
• Ohio Dominican received the ball first and an 11-yard touchdown pass from Ernst to Turner capped a five-play, 65-yard drive, covering less than two minutes.
• After a Hillsdale score, Ernst and Turner connected again, this time from 10 yards out. The Panthers led 14-7 with 3:12 to play in the first quarter.
• Outside of an interception by junior Ashton Gilkey (Westerville, Ohio), the second quarter belonged to the Chargers, who outscored ODU 14-0 in the quarter.
• Hillsdale led 21-14 at the break.
• On their second drive of the second half, the Chargers pushed their lead further, as a nine-yard touchdown run made the score 28-14 with 5:36 showing on the third period clock.
• ODU was able to close its gap to 28-21 on the first play of the fourth quarter. Whittaker rushed seven times on the drive for 51 yards, including a 10-yard dash into the end zone.
• The Panthers were able to get a stop on fourth down with HC driving, but five plays later turned the ball over on fumble on their own 27-yard line.
• Still the Black & Gold defense showed its resiliency, forcing a 47-yard field attempt. Lake blocked the try, but on the recovery, ODU was penalized for a personal foul, giving Hillsdale an automatic first down in the red zone.
• Hillsdale took advantage and four plays later was back in the end zone, pushing the lead to 14 points for the second time in the second half, 35-21, with 2:33 remaining.
• Ernst quickly engineered a scoring drive, completing six-of-seven passes, including a seven-yard strike to Davis in the left corner of the end zone.
• Ohio Dominican, trailing 35-28, with 1:04 to play, was unable to recover an onside kick for the second straight week, and the Chargers were able to run out the final minute on the scoreboard.

SEASON NOTES

• The Panthers finished 4-2 overall and in conference play.
• Depending on other conference results later in the day, ODU can share second place or finish third in the final G-MAC standings.
• Concluding the spring with a .667 win percentage, the Panthers secured their 10th consecutive winning season for the 2020-21 campaign.

Contact: Tyler Jester

jestert@ohiodominican.edu