Ashland holds off Dragons in OT

Tiffin University rallied from a 14-point deficit in the first quarter to take the lead late in the fourth. Unfortunately though, those efforts came up short in overtime as Ashland defeated the Dragons, 30-27."I'm disappointed in the outcome, but proud of the way we fought clear to the end," Tiffin coach Brett Ekkens said. "There was never a waver on our belief. We thought we were going to win."Ashland scored on the opening drive of the game. Eagle quarterback Cameron Blair threw a deep pass to D.J. Harvey for a 45-yard gain on the first play of the drive. Three plays later, on third-and-1, Blair kept the ball himself up the middle for a couple yards to get the first down.Ashland (7 -1, 6-0 Great Midwest Athletic Conference) scored three plays later on a one-yard rush by Willtrell Hartson. Manaki Watanabe's PAT was good. It was 7-0 Ashland with 10:46 left in the first quarter.Tiffin's Joseph Weiers' punt was blocked on their first drive—setting up the Eagles with field position at midfield to start their next possession.On the next play, Ashland's Blair tossed a bomb deep over the middle for receiver Jent Joseph. Joseph dove into the end zone to complete the catch for the 56-yard TD strike. Ashland was up 14-0 just six-and-a-half minutes into the game.After punting, the Dragons got the ball back when the Eagles' Joseph fumbled on an end around to give Tiffin (5-3, 4-2) the ball at their opponents' 30-yard line.Dragon QB Alex Johnson threw a short pass to Ronald Blackman for 10 yards to move the chains on the opening play of the drive. A seven-yard completion from Johnson to Blackman a couple plays later gave Tiffin the ball with a first-and-goal scenario. Johnson was sacked by Ashland's D.J. Butler and Michael Shimek for a 12-yard loss on third-and-goal to send out the special teams unit. The Dragons' Ben Rudolph nailed the 33-yard field goal to get the Dragons on the board, 14-3, with 1:36 remaining in the first quarter.In the second quarter, a 21-yard punt return by the Eagles' Riely Weiss gave his team possession at Tiffin's 28-yard line.An 11-yard keeper by Blair moved the Eagles into the red zone. The Dragon defense held though, and forced the special teams to head out onto the field for Ashland. The Eagles' faked the field goal attempt, but Clyde-native Jaden Cooks' pass fell incomplete for a turnover-on-downs.The stop by the Tiffin defense brought the offense to life as it went 92 yards in 11 plays to score. A 17-yard pass from Johnson to Ethan Holbrook moved the sticks. Two plays later, Johnson threw to Daniel Weems for seven yards and a first down. On third-and-5, Johnson found Emari White over the middle for a 47-yard pickup to get to the Ashland 8. Three plays later, Johnson hit Fremont-native Jaedyn McKinstry on a slant route for a five-yard TD reception. Rudolph's PAT was good: Ashland 14, Tiffin 10 with 2:19 to go in the first half.The Eagles' were able to muster a scoring drive right before the half highlighted by a 15-yard scramble by Blair. Watanabe put it through the uprights for a 44-yard field goal to go into halftime with a 17-10 lead for Ashland.The Dragons came out of the halftime break and scored on a seven-play, 71-yard touchdown drive. Johnson darted a pass to White for 13 yards to get to midfield on the opening play, Weems two-yard carry on third-and-1 kept the drive alive. Then, Johnson chucked a deep ball to Blackman for a 37-yard touchdown. Tiffin had completed the rally, 17-17 at the 11:34 mark in the third quarter.Ashland fumbled the ball away early in their next possession, and it was recovered by the Dragons' Uzonna Nzekwe at the Eagle 24. Tiffin's offense was stopped by the Eagles, Ben Rudolph's 42-yard field goal attempt was blocked by Ashland.The Eagles then moved into enemy territory when Blair threw a pass to Jonathan Merrimee—who fought off defenders for a 44-yard advance. Two plays later, Hartson rushed for 14 yards to get Ashland into the red zone. On first-and-goal from the two, Blair kept it up the middle for the touchdown. It was 24-17 in favor of the Eagles with a little under four minutes left in the third quarter.After trading punts, a pass interference penalty on Ashland moved Tiffin to midfield on their next drive. A 19-yard pass to White then an 18-yard pass to Will Linkhart by Johnson on back-to-back plays got the Dragons into the red zone. Tiffin had to settle for a 27-yard field goal from Rudolph. Ashland 24, Tiffin 20 with 8:48 to go in regulation.The Green & Gold forced the Eagles to punt, and got the ball back at their own 16. John threw a short pass to Joey Zalewski—who raced the rest of the way for a 37-yard pitch-and-catch. The next play Johnson threw to Holbrook who was wide open coming across the field. Holbrook took it to the house for a 47-yard touchdown. The Dragons had their first lead of the game, 27-24, with 4:55 left in the court quarter.Ashland's Blair threw right to Harvey for a nine-yard catch on third-and-short to get the first down. A personal foul on third-and-8 moved the Eagles into Tiffin territory. A pass interference call a few plays later, put the Eagles in the red zone. The Dragons defense was able to tighten up though. Ashland's Watanabe made a 30-yard field goal with 61 seconds to go in the fourth quarter.The game went to overtime at 27-all.Ashland got the ball first, and a holding penalty set them back. The Eagles' were forced settle for a 27-yard Watanabe field goal.On Tiffin's possession on third-and-8, Johnson threw a pass into the end zone that was intercepted by Marquise Scott to end the game.Johnson was 30-for-41 passing for 414 yards, three TDs, and one interception. White had five catches for 100 receiving yards. Jacob Tuiemeh had 10 tackles.Blair was 15-of-29 passing for 191 yards and a TD. Elisha Baldridge made 10 tackles, a TFL, and one sack, and Jack Talkington had 10 tackles and a 0.5 TFL.