In last season's opening football game at Walsh, Tiffin University never got on track, falling 45-10 in a loss that didn't reflect the kind of Dragons' team that eventually finished 5-6 overall.
On Thursday night before 2650 fans at Frost Kalnow Stadium, the Dragons got a measure of revenge, running a strong, balanced offensive attack and a smothering defense in the second half en route to a 34-13 victory over the Cavaliers.
Walsh opened scoring on their initial drive, using a strong running game to drive 75 yards in 9 plays for a 7-0 lead, but the Dragons responded in kind, with Antonio Pipkin scampering 49 yards to cap a 75 yard drive in just 1:07 to tie the game 7-7 at the 9:32 mark.
Pipkin scored again on a 7 yard run at the 5:00 mark, finishing another 70 yard drive in 4 plays to lead 14-7. While Walsh continued to rush effectively between the 30 yard lines, TU managed to keep the Cavaliers off the board for the rest of the half with the exception of two field goals by Michael Dudics.
Tiffin answered with two field goals of their own by Tomislav Derezic, the first a 20 yarder and the second one a big 48 yard field goal as time expired in the first half. The boot gave TU a 20-13 lead at the break.
While Tiffin's offense clicked well throughout the first half, their defense wanted to tighten up against the rush, as Walsh's Aaron Male had 103 yards rushing in the first 30 minutes.
The defense responded in strong fashion, holding Walsh to just 72 yards of total offense in the second half, including just 1 yard on the ground. Male was shut down after halftime, as TU's defense held him to just 9 yards.
TU's offense, meanwhile, continued to fire on all cylinders. The Dragons totaled 490 yards of offense with 265 through the air and 225 on the ground. They averaged 6.6 yards per rush and 8.3 yards per offensive play.
Pipkin completed 20 of 25 passes for 265 yards, including a third-quarter strike to Jordan Nobles covering 11 yards at the 3:55 mark of the third quarter. He capped off the scoring with his 3rd TD run, dashing 28 yards at the 6:38 mark of the fourth quarter for the game's final score.
Overall Pipkin rushed for 155 yards on 12 carries (12.9 yards per rush) while Jerry Brown also had 81 yards rushing on 17 carries. Tony Shead had 110 yards receiving followed by Charles Holland with 69 yards.
Defensively, Stefan Willis had 9 tackles including 2.5 for 16 yards lost, while Johnny Joseph had 8 tackles. Willie Mays had 7 tackles with a sack while Derek Calderon also had 7 tackles. Justin Herrnstein and Morgan Loyd added 6 tackles apiece, while Shawn Scott had 4 tackles and an interception with a 22 yard return.
Overall TU posted 9 tackles for loss with 2 sacks.
