Tiffin University (2-1) put together an offensive outburst between the third and fourth quarters to separate itself from Northwood, eventually winning 31-23.

The two teams engaged in a defensive battle until late in the third quarter. The Dragons put together a nearly 6:00 drive to open the game, with Ronald Blackman hauling in a 21-yard pass from Keegan Ray to put TU ahead 7-0 at the 8:58 mark of the first quarter.

Northwood answered immediately with a 26-yard TD pass of its own at the 5:45 mark to tie the game at 7-7.

Tiffin put together another long drive for its next score, posting a drive that ate up 8:05 on the clock and culminating ina 37-yard field goal by Ben Rudolph to make it 10-7 at halftime.

Northwood tied the game with 4:49 left in the third quarter on a 41-yard field goal.

TU responded quickly and exploded for 21 points over the next 12 minutes. A long 38-yard pass from Alex Johnson to Jalen Thomas took the Dragons down to the Northwood 41-yard line. They scored on the very next play as Johnson connected with Javier Wills for a 41-yard TD strike to put TU back on top 17-10.

On Tiffin's next possession, the Dragons struck with a 2:45 drive that ended when Blackman rushed it in from 4 yards out to make it 24-10 with 11:24 to play.

A three-and-out by the Dragons' defense gave TU the ball back on offense. Johnson had another long pass to a wide open Ethan Holbrook for 21 yards to give TU a 31-10 lead wth 5:52 to play.

Northwood tried a late rally, scoring in just 36 seconds on a 52-yard long pass play to pull to within 31-17. They also tacked on a score with just 20 seconds left to make the final score 31-23.

Overall TU racked up 424 yards of offense while allowing 367. They had 23 first downs to Northwood's 20 while holding the Timberwolves to just 113 yards rushing. Tiffin also played its first game of the year without any turnovers while intercepting two passes.

The Dragons' defense held Northwood in check for much of the game, posting 5 sacks with 2 interceptions. They also held Northwood to just 6 of 14 on third-down conversions.

Blackman continued his strong season, rushing for 118 yards on 24 carries. Johnson connected on 19 of 29 passes for 222 yarfds and 2 scores. Jalen Thomas led the receivers with 74 yards on 10 receptions, while Wills also had 10 catches for 67 yards. Holbrook tacked on 62 yards receiving.

Defensively Gio Albanese had 1.5 sacks, while Jalen Coles, Khris Walton, and Uzonna Nzekwe also had sacks. Kenneth Byrd had a half sack. Justin Wimpye picked off two passes in the secondary. Coles and Kris Artis led the team with 6 tackles while Malik Baker, Wimpye, Danny Mason, Byrd, and Walton all had 5 stops apiece.