Tiffin University (6-2, 5-1 G-MAC) got points from its offense, defense, and special teams, blasting past Lake Erie 63-10.
Tiffin's defense forced four turnovers (3 interceptions, fumble) while also posting 2 sacks, helping the offense as they outgained the Storm 430-171 including a whopping 274-90 on the ground. Tiffin scored on every red zone opportunity and held Lake Erie to just 5-for-18 on third down conversions and 12-of-32 through the air.
Tiffin got two scores in the first quarter.
Alex Johnson hit
Will Jackson-Linkhart on a 6-yard pass play at the 8:22 mark to get TU on the board and followed it up on their next defensive stand when
Jalen Coles picked off a Storm pass and streaked down the sideline 84 yards for a pick six to make it 14-0.
Tiffin blew the game wide open with 28 second-quarter points.
Jalen Thomas got the ball rolling with a 31-yard TD catch from Johnson at the 13:42 mark. After
Justin Wimpye picked off another Storm pass, the Dragons got more points when Johnson hit
Joey Zalewski on a 1-yard pass after
Ronald Blackman picked up 33 yards on four carries to make it 28-0.
After a three-and-out by the Lake Erie offense, Tiffin's special teams got in on the action as
Ethan Holbrook returned the subsequent punt 61 yards for another score.
Another three-and-out gave TU the ball in good field position, leading to a 21-yard TD run by Johnson with 6:07 left in the quarter to make it 42-0.
Lake Erie got its only points of the half on a 51-yard field goal, giving Tiffin a 42-3 halftime edge.
After Lake Erie scored on its first possession of the second half, the Dragons immediately responded when Blackman exploded right side for a 66 yard touchdown run that pushed TU's lead to 49-10.Â
Blackman added another score with 58 seconds left in the third quarter on a 34-yard run. Tiffin finished its scoring with 6:26 remaining when
Nick Johnson rushed up the middle for 6 yards.
Overall Blackman had his best game of the season, rushing for 214 yards on 19 carries (11.3 yards per rush) with 2 scores. Johnson was an efficient 15 of 18 for 127 yards and 3 scores while also rushing for 25 yards and another score.Â
Jalen Thomas had 63 receiving yards while
Javier Wills added 35 more. Holbrook had 131 all purpose yards with 105 yards in punt returns along with 26 receiving yards.
Isaiah Funches-Foster,
Khris Walton, and
Malik Baker led the team with 6 tackles apiece. Walton posted both sacks for TU along with forcing a fumble.
Kenneth Byrd also had 5 stops. Funches-Foster, Wimpye, and Coles all had interceptions.
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