A record-setting offensive night by Tiffin University came up short of the desired goal, as two key turnovers midway through the second half led to a 48-44 loss at Findlay. The Dragons fall to 2-1 overall, 2-1 in the GLIAC, with the loss.
Overall the Dragons set a new single game record with 704 yards of offense, shattering the old record of 645 set back in 2007. The offense was led by a phenomenal effort by quarterback Antonio Pipkin, who set a new single game total offense record by accounting for 578 yards of offense. He rushed for 234 yards, the most ever for a TU quarterback as well as the 10th best rushing performance by any TU rusher ever. He passed for 344 yards on 22 of 37 passing with 5 total touchdowns.
And yet the Dragons lost.
Leading 37-28 late in the third quarter, the Dragons were driving deep into Oilers territory and looked set to take a commanding lead. But a Pipkin scramble and fumble was recovered at midfield by the Oilers, who proceeded to cut the deficit to 37-35 with 38 seconds remaining in the third quarter after completing a 27 yard TD pass.
On TU's next possession, Pipkin tossed his lone interception of the game, but it was a costly one, as the Oilers turned it into another touchdown after a 26 yard run at the 13:46 mark of the final period.
Tiffin bounced back, though, driving 76 yards on 7 plays and scoring on a one yard run by Chris Watkins with 10:52 left to retake the lead 44-41. The Oilers continued their passing attack, which they exploited all night to the tune of 507 yards, scoring on a 39 yard pass with 9:06 remaining and jumping back in front 48-44.
The Dragons had two huge chances over the remaining time. They drove down to the Findlay 14 yard line but could not convert a fourth down play with 4:10 remaining. After the TU defense held strong, TU got the ball back with just over 2:00 remaining.
Once again, they drove down the field, this time reaching the Findlay 13 yard line. TU failed to convert a 4th-and-1 with 20 seconds remaining, and the game was lost.
The first half was largely controlled by the Dragons. Pipkin scored on TU's opening drive on a 23 yard run, and the Dragons stormed back after Findlay posted two quick scores to lead 14-7. The second quarter was all TU, as they outscored Findlay 27-14 in the quarter. Pedro Correa had TD catches covering 27 and 29 yards, while Charles Holland also had a TD grab of 49 yards. Pipkin tacked on another score on a sensational 62 yard run to give the Dragons a solid lead at the half.
Overall TU outgained Findlay 704-607, including a huge 360-100 yard edge on the ground. Pipkin had 21 rushes for 234 yards along with his 344 passing yards. Correa had 177 yards receiving on 9 catches, while Holland added 87 yards on 5 receptions. Jerry Brown rushed for 63 yards and Chris Watkins tacked on 58 more yards.
Defensively, Derek Calderon had 9 tackles, while Morgan Loyd had 8 tackles (4 TFL, sack) and Jalen Randolph had 8 tackles (2 TFL, 1.5 sack). Johnny Joseph also had 6 tackles.
