Dragons edge Chargers 28-21 in home opener

It was a hot 86 degrees outside when kickoff occurred.It was also the home opener of the season for Tiffin University, as it had been on the road for the first four games of the season.The crowd was loud, the atmosphere electric, and it was time for the Dragons to continue winning through consistency, enthusiasm, effort and complimentary football.Tiffin battled and handed Hillsdale its second loss on the road this season, 28-21, in Great Midwest Athletic Conference play at Frost-Kalnow Stadium on Saturday."I'm really happy to get a win," Dragons coach Brett Ekkens said. "It was great to be back at home in front of our home crowd. We have a special group of fans that come out to support us, and a great community as well. It was great to come away with a win against a great team."TU (3-2, 2-1) had won the coin toss but chose to get the ball in the second half. Hillsdale (2-3, 1-2) got on the board first. After a back and forth of possessions, TU had the ball. On a third and-3 at the eight yard line, the Chargers saw an advantage.Jacob Vance intercepted the ball on a pick-6 and ran into the end zone for a touchdown. Jordan Westrich kicked the point after. "Going into that first half and being down seven, I had to remember what coach told us about that next-play mentality," TU junior wide receiver Ethan Holbrook said. At the start of the second quarter, the Chargers had possession of the ball. The ball was intercepted at the 18 yard line by Isaiah Funches-Foster and he ran it for 95 yards into the end zone.The touchdown was no good though. There was an illegal block called on TU."It was a critical takeaway that they had," said Ekkens of the first attempted touchdown by TU. "Unfortunate penalty, but again, it was a point of change in the game. I was really proud to see it. It was great to see the defense respond, not bend and break."It brought the ball back to the 45 yard line, and Alex Johnson got to work in the passing game. It wouldn't be the first penalty that TU got; unfortunately, on a second-and-5 at Hillsdale's 16 yard line, there was an illegal formation that pushed the Dragons back five yards.That didn't stop Johnson and Tyrese Banks-Dorn from rushing in three plays to the eight yard line. TU finally got on the board with 7:18 remaining in the first half when Johnson found Holbrook for the 7-yard touchdown pass, and Ben Rudolph's point after attempt was good.The teams were tied with seven minutes remaining in the first half, but not for long.On the kickoff return, Shea Ruddy caught the ball and ran it for 86 yards to the house and Westrich's kick was good.It was 14-7 Chargers.The Dragons got the ball back, after a short kickoff return and eating four minutes off the clock, TU got the ball down to the 20 yard line of the Chargers in a long nine-play drive. Johnson connected with Emari White for a touchdown. It tied the teams 14 each with 2:12 left in the first half.Hillsdale would score one last touchdown. It was on a threeyard pass from Colin McKernan to Andrew Konieczny. That was all that the Chargers had in them.The message at halftime to TU's team was a reminder of not only the next-ball mentality, but a reminder to do what they practice everyday."Being consistent and not hurting ourselves doing what we do," Ekkens said." We wanted to make sure we were playing in front of the sticks. Once we did that, and the momentum started rolling our way, the energy came and there was no stopping us."Holbrook added: "Who is going to out-physical each other in that second half? Coming out into the second half and knowing that we had the ball, we knew that we had to score."Hillsdale tried taking one more scoring attempt after an incomplete pass slid through tight end Joey Zalewski's hands and turned into a fumble. Westrich attempted a 38 yard field goal, but TU's defense knew what to do. The kick was blocked by Dennis Crawford."Blocking that field goal, again another critical play," Ekkens said. "There were some great plays that were made by our defense."With 10:50 left in the third quarter, TU acted quickly on that block. Johnson sailed the ball through the air for 69 yards to Holbrook for another six points, with Rudolph kicking the ball through the uprights."After the O-line extended out and Alex made that play, I was able to make a play off of Alex's throw" said Holbrook of the 69-yard touchdown pass.The Dragons then sealed the victory with one more.Johnson made one more long pass; this time it went into the hands of Javier Willis for an 87-yard touchdown and Rudolph's point after was good.Johnson was 19 of 27 passing for 291 yards. The top rusher for TU was Banks-Dorn, who rushed 16 times for 84 yards, and the top receiver for the Dragons was Holbrook, with six grabs for 77 yards, followed by White who had seven rushes for 62 yards. "Alex was lights out and made some critical throws," said Ekkens. "Alex's confidence is unwavering. Early on, we had a wideout slip and ended up throwing an interception. He was unfazed. Then he came out and played the rest of his game."Even though TU won, Ekkens had a message for the team after the game."Moving forward, it's about consistency," Ekkens said." Our culture is grind. Each of those letters stand for something and when we do all five of those things, we play really good football."TU will host Walsh at Frost-Kalnow Stadium on October 11th. Walsh fell to the University of Findlay 31-10."We have to make sure that we practice really well," Ekkens said. "Our focus is having a great day when we come back to watch film. Then, having great days on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursdays, our work days. Put it all together on Friday, and then play our game on Saturday. Honestly, I look for us to build on what we did."