TIFFIN, Ohio – The Tiffin University football team would mount a second half comeback effort but came up just short on Saturday afternoon, falling 26-21 to Ohio Dominican in a G-MAC contest at Frost-Kalnow Stadium. The loss drops the Dragons to 6-4 overall and 5-3 in conference play.
The Panthers capitalized on an early special teams miscue to grab the first lead of the afternoon. After recovering a muffed punt at the Tiffin seven-yard line, Carson Parker connected with Luke Hess on a seven-yard touchdown pass just 13 seconds later to put the visitors ahead 7-0.
Tiffin answered late in the opening quarter with an efficient 53-yard drive. Consecutive first downs from
Cane Mack and
Johntu Reed moved the Dragons inside the red zone before
Ronald Blackman powered in from six yards out to tie the game at 7-7 with 29 seconds remaining in the opening period.
Ohio Dominican seized control in the second quarter. A personal foul helped set up a 31-yard touchdown strike from Parker to Hess, and after a Panther defense forced a Tiffin fumble deep in Dragon territory, Parker scored on a three-yard touchdown run to extend the lead to 20-7.
The Dragons came out of halftime with momentum, needing just five plays to find the end zone. Blackman ripped off a 24-yard run before Mack found
Jordan Edwards for a 17-yard touchdown reception that trimmed the deficit to 20-14.
The Panthers, however, responded with lengthy drives on consecutive possessions. Although the Dragon defense kept Ohio Dominican out of the end zone both times, Ryan Elliot converted field goals from 26 and 21 yards to push the lead back to 12 at 26-14 entering the fourth quarter.
Tiffin refused to go away. Following an interception by
Clarence Brown, the Dragons marched 47 yards in 10 plays as
Johntu Reed punched in a one-yard scoring run with 7:00 remaining, making it a one-score game at 26-21.
The Dragon defense delivered another stop and gave the offense one final opportunity in the closing minutes. Tiffin drove deep into Panther territory and reached the Ohio Dominican 14-yard line with under a minute to play. After a sack and an incompletion, the Panthers sealed the game with an interception in the end zone on the final drive.
Despite the loss, Tiffin outgained Ohio Dominican 313-252 and rushed for 147 yards while recording five sacks defensively. The difference proved to be turnovers, as the Panthers turned two Dragon giveaways into 14 points.
Blackman led the rushing attack with 46 yards and a touchdown while adding four catches for 40 yards. Mack finished 18-of-35 passing for 166 yards and a touchdown, while Edwards paced the receiving corps with four catches for 61 yards and a score.
Joey Zalewski hauled in five receptions, and
Josiah Raber added five catches for 45 yards. Defensively,
Frank Bertram recorded 2.5 sacks as Tiffin totaled five sacks and 11 tackles for loss.
On the other side, Parker threw for 210 yards and two touchdowns while Hess finished with seven receptions for 89 yards and two scores to lead the Panthers.
The Dragons will turn their attention to the Battle of 224 trophy as they will welcome No. 10 ranked University of Findlay to Frost-Kalnow Stadium next Saturday at 12 p.m., which will close out the 2026 regular season.
