The Malone University football team wrapped up the 2017 campaign on Saturday afternoon at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium with a 38-24 loss to rival Walsh on Senior Day. The two teams were tied 17-17 at halftime, but Walsh outscored Malone 21-7 in the final 30 minutes to claim the Bankert-Gallagher Trophy for the ninth consecutive season. The Pioneers finished the year 1-9 overall and 1-6 in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference. The Cavaliers, meanwhile, end the year 4-7 and 4-3 in the G-MAC.
Prior to Saturday's contest, Malone honored its 12 graduating seniors:
Josh Correll,
Eian Elsass,
Brenson Ennis,
John Iacucci,
Jordan Johnson,
Roy Johnson,
Obrempong Oppong,
Drew Shreve,
Daniel Tepe,
Joe Turner,
Ryan Weber, and
Jonathon Zimmerly. Malone junior slotback
Tyler Howell was also honored before kickoff as the 2017 recipient of the Dick Gallagher Memorial Scholarship.
Recap
The Cavaliers got on the scoreboard first midway through the opening quarter on a five-yard touchdown run by Koby Adu-Poku. The scoring plunge capped a 4-play, 14-yard drive that was set up by a Walsh interception and 30 yard return.
Malone responded right back with an 8-play, 61-yard touchdown drive that made it a 7-7 contest. On 3rd-and-6 from the Walsh 35, wide receiver
Ashton Dulin caught a pass from quarterback
Cam Ingram for the first of a career-high three touchdown receptions on the afternoon. Dulin outjumped a Walsh defender to make a catch on an out route just past the first-down markers, spun away from a would-be tackler, kept his feet and then outran the defense the rest of the way for the score.
Back-to-back scoring drives on the next two possessions made it a 14-14 contest early in the second quarter. Walsh answered Dulin's 35-yard touchdown, with a 38-yard touchdown reception by Quinn Thomas that finished off an 8-play, 75-yard scoring drive that made it 14-7.
Dulin's 37-yard return on the ensuing kickoff set up the Pioneers at their own 44. The Malone offense needed just seven plays to reach paydirt for a second time. On 3rd-and-8 from the 10, Ingram lofted up a pass to Dulin on a fade route in the right side of the endzone, Dulin managed to outjump a Walsh defender and haul in the pass before finding a way to land in bounds for the game-tying touchdown.
Just two offensive plays later, Malone got the ball back on an interception by
Christian Mathews on a shallow crossing route at the Walsh 44. Malone turned the turnover into three points as a
Marcus Moeller 29-yard field goal gave the Pioneers a 17-14 lead with 4:08 remaining in the second quarter. The Cavaliers tied it up at 17-17 on a 46-yard field goal from Kasey Tingler just before half.
Walsh came out of the intermission and went back in front on a 6-play, 36-yard scoring drive that was set up by a 30-yard return on a short kickoff. Adu-Poku's 2-yard touchdown carry made it 24-17.
After three straight three-and-outs, Walsh went up by two touchdowns on a 12-play, 72 yard drive that reached into the early seconds of the fourth quarter. Malone came up with a pair of tackles for loss on the drive and expected to get the ball back after setting Walsh up with 4th-and-14 from the Pioneers' 42, but Cavs punter Cole Krumpak shifted momentum on a fake punt as he followed a wall of blockers down the right sideline for a 28-yard run and a first down. Three plays later, Walsh went up 31-17 on a 2-yard touchdown plunge.
The Pioneers cut the deficit back to seven on the very next drive when Dulin scored from 23 yards out for his third touchdown grab of the game on another third-down reception. Facing one-on-one coverage, Dulin went up the left sideline and once again outjumped a Walsh defender as he pulled down a lob pass from
Zane Bunnell for his 10th touchdown of the season. Moeller's PAT split the uprights to make it a 31-24 contest.
A 67-yard return on the ensuing kickoff returned momentum back to the Cavaliers, who needed just two plays to score another touchdown and go back up by 14. Walsh all but sealed the victory by forcing a Malone fumble on the next possession. After taking the clock down to just three minutes left to play, a punt by quarterback Mitchell Ault to the Malone 3-yard line left the Pioneers in a nearly impossible comeback situation. Malone moved the ball to their own 30, but a failed fourth-down conversion effectively put a comeback bid to rest as the Cavs would hold on for the 38-24 victory.
Game Highlights
-Malone outgained Walsh 298-293 in total yards, but allowed 172 return yards to the Cavaliers.
-The Pioneers held a 184-85 advantage in passing yards, while Walsh outgained Malone 208-114 on the ground. Malone completed 20-of-29 pass attempts
-Malone converted 7-of-13 (53.8%) third down tries against a Walsh defense that came in as the worst third-down unit in the country.
-The Cavs finished 4-of-12 (33%) on third downs, but were 3-of-4 on fourth down tries.
-The Malone offensive line did not yield a sack for the first time this season and the first time in a game since 2014.
Malone Individual Highlights
-
Ashton Dulin caught nine passes for 127 yards and the three scores. He finished his outstanding junior year with 1,050 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns, becoming the third Pioneer to reach 1,000 yards and the fifth to have 10 receiving touchdowns in a single season. Dulin also gained 92 yards on kickoff returns Saturday and, on the year, totaled 1,712 all-purpose yards, the third most in Malone single season history.
-Senior middle linebacker
Ryan Weber wrapped up his fantastic career with 15 tackles in his final game. He finished the season with 118 tackles and led NCAA DII with 14.8 per game. In his career, Weber ended up with 348 tackles, the third-most in Malone history.
-Junior
Matt Ramsey tallied a career-high 10 tackles in the loss.
-In his first career start,
Cam Ingram completed 6-of-8 throws for 94 yards and his first two collegiate touchdown passes.
-Freshman slot
Dakota Hobbs collected 54 yards of total offense.
Walsh individual Highlights
-Senior tailback Kalvin Gordon had 95 yards rushing and a touchdown on 18 carries in his final collegiate game.
-Dylan Graver had a team-high nine tackles for the Cavaliers.
-Nick Sanchez finished with seven tackles and a forced fumble.
