Ohio Dominican University

MOREHEAD, Ky. – In the Week 0 opener at Phil Simms Stadium, the Ohio Dominican Panthers (1-0) shocked the college football world with a 42-40 triple-overtime win over the FCS Morehead State Eagles (0-1) on Thursday (August 28) night.

BOX SCORE NOTES

• Carson Parker totaled 361 yards of total offense after going 23-of-48 passing for 277 yards and four touchdowns. He ran for 84 yards on the ground with a touchdown.
• Mekhi Jenkins led the rushing attack with 101 yards on 21 carries and a touchdown during his first game as a Panther. Roderick Love ran for 42 yards on his six carries.
• Luke Hess and Conner Campbell each had four catches and a touchdown catch. Hess accounted for 87 yards and Campbell had 47 yards. Joey Triplett had three catches for 60 yards.
• ODU totaled 506 yards of offense in the game with 229 yards rushing and 277 yards passing. Morehead State had the edge in total offense with 589 yards (463 passing/126 rushing).
• Taliq Black led with nine tackles, two pass break-ups and one forced fumble.
• Sean Westmoreland and Gabe Pence each had eight tackles. Westmoreland had two interceptions while Pence had 1.5 tackles for loss. Mason Welsch had seven tackles, two tackles for loss and one interception. Quinten Robinson notched an interception and a fumble recovery.
• ODU broke up 11 passes and caught four interceptions.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• After the Panthers defense held Morehead State to a three-and-out on the opening drive, the Panthers turned in a ten play, 95-yard drive to take an early lead. Parker connected with Stevens on a 17-yard touchdown with 9:14 left in the opening quarter.
• The defense held the Eagles to a 33-yard field goal on their second drive, cutting the ODU lead to 7-3 before the first quarter came to an end.
• On the first play of the second quarter, Westmoreland came through with his first interception of the game to end the Morehead State drive.
• With a shortened field, Jenkins found pay dirt on the fifth play of the drive on a 12-yard touchdown run. The Panthers opened the lead to 14-3 with 12:55 to go in the second quarter.
• Morehead State scored the final 11 points of the second quarter, trimming the lead to 14-12 at halftime. A four-yard touchdown run and a failed two-point conversation got the Eagles within 14-9. A missed field goal by the Panthers gave the Eagles life with less than 30 seconds left. A 35-yard field goal at the buzzer got the score to 14-12.
• After a couple of stalled drives, the Panthers added some big plays to expand the lead. Parker broke free on a 52-yard running play all the way to the end zone for a 21-12 lead. The Eagles could not answer as Parker connected with Hess on a 66-yard touchdown pass. After the big plays, it was 28-12 Panthers with 6:05 left in the 3^rd quarter.
• Welsch notched an interception to get the ball back to the Panthers with three minutes left in the third quarter. The Panthers had a touchdown negated on a penalty at the end of the quarter but the first play of the fourth was a score. Parker threw a 14-yard screen pass to Love, making the lead 22 points, 34-12.
• Morehead State rallied off 22 straight points over a 12 minute span, tying the game at 34 with 1:07 to go in the game.
• In overtime #1, the Panthers were unable to make a 31-yard field goal in their first attempt with the ball. The Eagles threw another interception to Westmoreland, sending the game to a second overtime.
• For the second overtime, Morehead State started with the ball and converted a 10-yard touchdown pass but failed on the two-point try. With the game on the line, Parker hit Campbell on a 27-yard touchdown pass on 4^th and 12. The game was tied once again at 40.
• With the third overtime coming, Parker scored on the two-point try. With one shot, Morehead State's two-point try was incomplete and ODU pulled the upset of the century, 42-40.

UP NEXT
The Panthers will head to Edinboro next Thursday (Sept. 3) for a 7:00 PM kickoff.