Football Drops 40-27 Game At Tiffin To Open Season

OVERVIEW

SCORE: Tiffin Dragons 40, Northwood Timberwolves 27
RECORDS: Northwood (0-1), Tiffin (1-0)
LOCATION: Frost Kalnow Stadium – Tiffin, Ohio
RECAP: Northwood rallies in the second half but falls at Tiffin 40-27 Saturday night (September 1).

INSIDE THE GAME

• Tiffin took the opening kickoff and drove right down the field. The Dragons 75 yards in 11 plays to go up 7-0 5:14 into the game.
• The Dragons extended their lead later in the first. TU capped a 65-yard drive with a one-yard run. Tiffin added the two-point conversion to go up 15-0.
• Northwood got on the board later in the second. NU went 56 yards in just five plays, capping the drive with a Corey Burdgick 18-yard run. The PAT was missed, making the score 15-6.
• Tiffin took advantage of Northwood mistakes to add 10 more points to take a 25-6 lead at the break.
• The only touchdown of the third quarter was scored by Northwood late. Highlighted by a Joe Garbarino to Gary Landless 46-yard pass, NU went 66 yards in five plays. The drive was finished off by a Jalen Lewis six-yard touchdown run to make the score 25-13.
• Just as the Timberwolves were getting momentum, Tiffin got a big play to get the lead to 20 points. A 75-yard touchdown pass and two-point conversion made the score 33-13.
• Northwood wasted no time coming right back after the Dragons touchdown, going 75 yards in three plays. The drive took just 58 seconds and was finished by a Garbarino to Christian Martinez 14-yard touchdown. That made the score 33-20 with 13:20 remaining.
• After a stop on defense, Northwood made it three straight possessions with touchdown to make it a one score game. The Timberwolves went 62 yards in 10 plays over the span of 3:55. Grant Dunatchik finished the drive off with a six-yard touchdown run to make the score 33-27.
• On the following drive, NU had a chance to get off the field, forcing the Dragons into a third and nine from the Tiffin 36 yard line. But Tiffin gained 23 yards on third down and followed immediately with a 41-yard touchdown run to get the lead back up to 13 at 40-27.
• NU got the ball back one more time, but was unable to gain a first down. The Dragons then ran the clock out to earn the win.

GAME STATS

• FIRST DOWNS: Tiffin 24, Northwood 23
• RUSHES-YARDS: Northwood 41-172, Tiffin 38-132
• PASSING (COMPLETIONS-ATTEMPTS-YARDS-TDs-INTs: Tiffin 24-29-317-3-0, Northwood 15-24-193-1-2
• TOTAL OFFENSE, PLAYS-YARDS: Northwood 65-365, Tiffin 67-449
• TIME OF POSSESSION: Tiffin 30:26, Northwood 29:34

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS

• Garbarino: 174 yards passing, 102 yards rushing
• Burdgick: 48 yards rushing, touchdown
• Landless: 114 yards receiving
• Travis Wiljer: 13 tackles, TFL

GAME NOTES

• The game was a non-conference contest – Tiffin left the GLIAC at the conclusion of the 2017 season to join the G-MAC.

UP NEXT

• The Timberwolves will host its home opener Saturday (September 8) against Missouri S&T. Game time is set for 1 p.m.