Box Score


The Malone University football team fell at home to Notre Dame College on Saturday afternoon by a final score of 36-19.  The Pioneers held a 16-0 lead late in the second quarter of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) contest before the Falcons came storming back.  Notre Dame (2-7 overall, 1-7 GLIAC) got on the scoreboard with a 31-yard touchdown pass just before halftime and then out-scored Malone (1-7 overall, 1-7 GLIAC) by a 30-3 margin over the final two quarters.

The Pioneer defense kept the high-powered Falcon offense out of the end zone on the visitors' first six possessions of the game by recovering two fumbles, snagging two interceptions and forcing two punts.  Following a 15-yard chop block penalty, Notre Dame's seventh drive of the game appeared to be headed for the same fate as the first six possessions.  However, the Falcons overcame the 1st-and-25 situation with pass completions of 13 and 10 yards followed by a seven-yard run.  On the very next play from scrimmage, NDC quarterback Ray Russ connected with wide receiver Colton Wallace for the touchdown, trimming the deficit to 16-6 (two-point conversion attempt failed) and giving the Falcons some positive momentum heading into the locker room at halftime.

Russ and the rest of the Notre Dame offense then got on track over the final two quarters as the sophomore signal-caller tossed four more touchdown passes over the remainder of the game, including two additional TD tosses to Wallace in the third quarter.  Falcon running back Pedro Powell, who entered the game as the GLIAC's third-leading rusher, also made a big second-half impact, racking up 157 of his 245 total rushing yards in the third and fourth stanzas.

The Falcon defense, which had surrendered a total of 236 yards to the Pioneers in the first half, also managed to pick things up during the final two quarters as a 47-yard field goal by Malone kicker Jake Hardy marked the only second-half points the hosts could muster. 

The Pioneers opened the game on a strong note, recovering a fumble to stop Notre Dame's first possession and then putting together an eight-play, 68-yard scoring drive that ended on a quick two-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Will Szpor to wide receiver Josh McLaughlin.

Malone would make it 9-0 early in the second quarter as linebacker Alex Gilchrist broke through the line and blocked a Notre Dame punt deep in Falcon territory.  The swatted ball caromed off Glilchrist's hands, across the goal line and out of the back of the end zone for a safety.

Later in the quarter, an interception by Pioneer defensive back Lepear Smith gave the ball to the Malone offense near midfield.  The hosts then capitalized on the Falcon miscue just four plays later as Szpor hit wide receiver Justin McLean  on a 38-yard touchdown pass to push the Pioneer lead to 16-0 with a little over two minutes remaining before halftime. 

NDC added the late second-quarter TD to cut the deficit to 16-6 at the break and then took command of the game by scoring on five of its first six possessions during the second half. 

After opening the third quarter with the TD tosses of 34 and 31 yards to Wallace, Russ connected with running back Danny LaRosa on a five-yard touchdown pass just over four minutes into the fourth quarter to put the Falcons on top 26-16. 

Hardy's field goal pulled the Pioneers to within 26-19 minutes later, but Notre Dame would answer back with 10 more fourth-quarter points, including a 20-yard field by kicker Jordan Colson and a seven-yard touchdown pass from Russ to tight end Ray Brown.

On the afternoon, Szpor completed 13 of 26 passes for 154 yards and two TD's.  Running backs Reggie Terrell and Steven Niewiedzial each posted 66 rushing yards.  McLean caught four passes for 78 yards, including the second-quarter touchdown grab.  Tight end Drew Bond added four receptions for 53 yards.

Safety Demarco Donaldson and linebacker Antonio Scassa each posted 11 tackles to lead the way for the Malone defense.  Donaldson added a forced fumble while Scassa recorded a tackle for loss and a fumble recovery.  Safety Logan Francis ended the day with 10 tackles and an interception.   Smith notched seven tackles to go with his interception.  Linebacker James Benedix also made solid contributions with seven tackles, including 1.5 tackles for loss and 0.5 sacks. 

For NDC, Russ ended the day having completed 21 of 30 pass attempts for 265 yards with the five TD's and two interceptions.  Powell carried the ball 35 times en route to this 245-yard rushing total.  Wide receiver Mikhail Morgan tallied seven catches for 90 yards while Wallace registered six receptions for 112 and the three scores.  Linebacker Michael Lanigan paced the Falcon defense with 12 tackles, including one sack.

Malone's senior football players, cheerleaders, and band members were honored prior to the start of the game.  The Pioneer Homecoming Court was recognized at halftime.

Malone will be back in action next Saturday with a 12:00 p.m. road contest at the University of Findlay.  Fans can catch all of the action on the Malone Sports Network (radio broadcast on WNPQ 95.9 FM or streaming live audio on the internet at www.thelight959.com).