NORTH CANTON, OH: The Walsh Cavalier Football team battled the Tiffin Dragons on Saturday afternoon. Walsh held a 20-3 lead through three quarters but a 28 point fourth quarter from Tiffin handed the Maroon and Gold their third straight loss.
The Cavs started strong scoring 17 first quarter points thanks to big plays where
Hayden Wickard connected with
William Butler and
Brady Gooding on separate series to move the offense down the field.
Eddie Nichols also came up with an interception and retuned it 26 yards to set up
Ethan Lorenzana for a one yard rushing touchdown. The Cavs out gained the Dragons 98 to 44 in the opening period.
Starting the 2
nd quarter, the Dragons found their rhythm marching the ball down the field to make a field goal to get points on the board. That was all the action the fans saw as both teams traded the ball for the rest of the quarter. Tiffin threatened as the quarter winded down but the Walsh defense held strong getting a big stop on 4
th down to end the period. Walsh took a 17-3 lead into the halftime break.
There was not much action until the 1:50 mark of the 3
rd when
Brendan Zurbrugg connected with
Brady Carrigan for a 45 yard gain, giving the Cavs the ball on the Tiffin 8 yard line, the drive resulted in three points from
Brock Huggins, pushing the score to 20-3.
At the 11:20 mark of the 4th , Tiffin converted a 4
th and 1 at midfield to score their first touchdown of the day, cutting the Walsh lead to 20-10. After a quick series from the Maroon and Gold, Tiffin once again put together a nearly 70 yard drive to score their 2
nd touchdown of the quarter with 6:22 to play. An successful onside kick by the Green and Gold and a penalty by Walsh gave the Dragons the ball at the Walsh 16 yard line. Milking 4 minutes off the clock, Tiffin scored on a 4 yard touchdown pass giving them a 24-20 lead with 2:42 to play.
With
Hayden Wickard and the Cav offense getting the ball back, 2 big pass plays complete to
Braeden Springer and
William Butler, put the Walsh in striking distance. With 1:36 to go,
Jake Gill found the end zone on a 2 yard rushing touchdown.
On the next Tiffin possession, the Dragons marched up the field eventually having first and goal with 10 seconds to go. The following play, the Dragons converted a 10 yard touchdown pass to take the lead and secure the win, 31-27.
Next week, the Cavaliers will travel to the University of Findlay where they will face the 19
th ranked Oilers.
LOCATION: Larry Staudt Field
SCORE: TU 31 - WU 27
RECORDS: TU 5-2 (4-1), WU 4-3 (2-3)
FOR THE CAVS
