About 13 months ago, Gary Goff made his debut as Tiffin University's football coach at Fawcett Stadium in Canton against Malone.
The game didn't turn out how Goff - or his team - wanted, as the Dragons turned the ball over six times and lost in overtime, 40-34.
Today, Goff and his 1-3 Dragons return to Canton to face the Pioneers. The opponent is the same, but the circumstances are different.
When the Dragons played Malone in 2011, it was a non-league game. The teams meet today as members of the Great Lake Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. Malone's welcome to the GLIAC appears similar to the Dragons' welcome in 2008 - unkind.
Malone is 0-3 and has been outscored by a total of 64 points.
The Pioneers are averaging about 12 points a contest.
"They want to run the option out of the spread," Goff said. "They're playing some young guys too up front. On both sides of the ball, they're pretty young. They've played three really good opponents (Saginaw Valley State, Hillsdale, Wayne State) just like we have."
Some of that should sound very familiar to Dragons' fans.
"(Coach Eric Hehman is) trying to build his program over there, too," Goff said. "In some aspects they're very similar to us. They're trying to build their program from the ground up, and joining this conference, as they're learning now, it's a tough conference."
The Pioneers' quarterback is Will Szpor, who has thrown for 397 yards and three touchdowns. He has been intercepted twice. Steven Niewiedzial is averaging more than 44 yards a game on the ground for the Pioneers.
Last year against Malone, turnovers were, in the words of Goff "the issue." It was much the same last week, as three second half turnovers destroyed Tiffin's upset bid against Northwood.
Goff said TU needs to correct this.
"It's a combination of youth and some inexperience," Goff said. "We've had the scout team on defense trying to strip the ball all week long, we rewarded them for getting turnovers in practice. We just continue coaching that point and hammering it home: Two hands on the football, high and tight, and don't force any throws."
Kickoff is at 1 p.m.
