Football Falls 27-26 To No. 6 Ferris State On Final Play Of The Game

OVERVIEW

SCORE: No. 6 Ferris State 27, Northwood 26
RECORDS: Northwood (0-3, 0-3 GLIAC), Ferris State (3-0, 3-0 GLIAC)
LOCATION: Hantz Stadium - Midland, Mich.
RECAP: Northwood drops tough one to No. 6 Ferris State, as the Bulldogs score as time expires to earn 27-26 win over the Timberwolves.

INSIDE THE GAME

• Northwood got on the board first in the contest, as Theron Wilson caught a 23-yard touchdown pass from Joe Garbarino  to put NU up 7-0.
• FSU then fumbled on the first play of the following possession, which led to a 44-yard field goal by Keegan Haggarty  which gave Northwood a 10-0 lead.
• After Ferris State cut the lead down to 10-7 with a TD early in the second quarter, Northwood got a big play from their defense to set up another score. Ayrn Curtis  intercepted a pass and gave Northwood the ball at the FS 29 yard line. Seven plays later, Haggarty connected from 32 yards to make the score 13-7.
• The Bulldogs found the end zone later to send the game to halftime with FSU leading 14-13
• Northwood got off to a strong start in the third quarter, putting together two long touchdown drives. NU went 79 yards in nine plays, capping the drive with a Garbarino one-yard run to put Northwood back on top 20-14.
• After getting a stop on defense, the Timberwolves went 80 yards in 10 plays. Vashon Nutt found the end zone from 29-yards out on third and five to extend the Timberwolves lead to 26-14.
• FSU got an interception of their own late in the third and turned it into a touchdown, sending the game to the fourth with Northwood leading 26-21.
• The Bulldogs were driving early in the fourth quarter, but Curtis picked off his second pass of the game in the end zone to cut short that drive.
• The score remained that way until the final drive of the contest. It appeared Northwood was going to earn the win, stopping Ferris State on 4^th and 9. But the Timberwolves were assessed a roughing-the-passer penalty, keeping the drive alive.
• As time expired, FSU scored on a five-yard touchdown pass to earn the win.

GAME STATS

• FIRST DOWNS: Ferris State 19, Northwood 16
• RUSHES-YARDS: Ferris State 37-196, Northwood 48-123
• PASSING YARDS: Ferris State 307, Northwood 159
• TOTAL OFFENSE, PLAYS-YARDS: Ferris State 76-403, Northwood 70-282
• TIME OF POSSESSION: Northwood 31:16, Ferris State 28:44
• TURNOVERS: Ferris State 3, Northwood 2

GAME NOTES

• Northwood has lost two games in a row on the final play of the contest.
• The roughing-the-passer penalty on the final drive against Northwood that kept Ferris State alive was NU's only penalty in the game.
• Curtis registered his third career two-interception game – he had two of them during the 2014 season (vs. Michigan Tech, vs. Findlay).

STAT LEADERS

• Garbarino: 10-22, 159 yards, 1 TD, 2 INTs
• Wilson: 4 receptions, 68 yards, 1 TD
• Michael Fisher (Rochester, Mich./Adams): 14 tackles, one TFL, one pass breakup
• Ayrn Curtis: Four tackles, two interceptions

UP NEXT

• The Timberwolves will travel to Northern Michigan Saturday (September 24). Game time is set for 4 p.m.