FSU Impressive In Big Home Win Over Panthers

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Big Rapids, Mich. - The Ferris State University football team put together its most complete performance of the year as the Bulldogs rolled past Ohio Dominican by a 35-13 score on Saturday (Sept. 17) night in Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) action at FSU's Top Taggart Field.

Freshman kicker Victor Bodrie (Northville) connected on a school-record tying five field goals in his collegiate debut and senior quarterback Tom Schneider (Jerome/Addison) threw for 306 yards passing in only three quarters of action as FSU spoiled the Panthers' first-ever visit to Top Taggart Field.

The Bulldogs opened up a 19-0 margin at halftime and eventually led 35-7 before a crowd of 2,513 fans on "Agriculture Day" in Big Rapids.

Overall, the Ferris State offense tallied 617 yards of total offense on 90 plays and the Bulldog defense forced a pair of ODU turnovers in the victory.

Ferris State took control early by forcing a fumble on the game's opening kickoff, but couldn't take advantage as a Schneider aerial was picked off in the endzone.  However, the Panthers fumbled on the ensuing possession and FSU quickly moved 42 yards in only six plays to take a 6-0 advantage on an 18-yard TD run from junior tailback Skyler Stoker (Jackson/Grass Lake) with 10:54 to play in the initial quarter.

The Bulldogs scored again with 13:16 to play in the opening half as Bodrie connected on his first collegiate field goal from 25-yards out to cap a 10-play, 80-yard Ferris scoring drive.

FSU would score twice more in the first half as sophomore tight end Jace Heneveld (Zeeland/East) hauled in a seven-yard scoring toss from Schneider to finish a 72-yard march with 2:19 to go in the period to make it 16-0 in favor of the Bulldogs.  Ferris State then forced a Panther punt and quickly moved 52 yards in 1:29 to score once more with less than a second to play in the half on a 20-yard field goal from Bodrie.

The freshman kicker tacked on two more field goals in the third period with both coming from 22 yards away to make it a 25-0 game with 2:52 to play in the quarter.  

Ohio Dominican finally got on the scoreboard with 1:01 to play in the third frame as quarterback Jeremy Fudge scored from five-yards out to finish a 70-yard drive in six plays.

The Bulldogs increased their edge to 28-7 by driving 52-yards in 10 plays with Bodrie connecting for the fifth and final time from 28-yards to open the fourth quarter.

Ferris State's final touchdown came on a end around from freshman receiver Jake Lampman (East Lansing/Haslett), who scored his first collegiate touchdown with 4:20 left in the contest after a 69-yard Bulldog drive engineered by redshirt freshman quarterback Taylor Masiewicz (Rockford), who took over for Schneider late in the third period and completed all five of his passes.

Finally, ODU closed out the scoring with a 15-yard TD toss from Fudge to Tyler Purcell with only 2:33 remaining in the game.

Stoker posted his second-straight 100-plus yard rushing performance in a home contest with 120 yards on 22 carries.  Redshirt freshman Levonte Brooks (Livonia/Clarenceville) totaled 40 yards in six tries in a relief role while Schneider had nine attempts for 36 yards.

Schneider completed 22-of-35 passes for 306 yards and one score.  Six of his passes went to Heneveld for 76 yards while senior receiver Damien Miller (Elsie/Ovid-Elsie) totaled five catches for 50 yards and senior receiver Mike Ryan (Howell) had four grabs for 54 yards.  Junior back Dwayne Williams (Saginaw/Heritage) caught four balls for 50 yards.

On the opposite side, the Bulldogs limited Fudge to 98 yards passing on 11-of-16 attempts.  Reigning GLIAC Offensive Player of the Week Mike Noffsinger had 123 yards rushing on 20 tries.  The FSU defense held him to only 26 yards in the first half. Purcell had a team-high three catches for 26 yards for Ohio Dominican.

The Bulldogs totaled 334 passing yards and 283 rushing yards on 50 attempts en route to 617 total offensive yards.  Meanwhile, Ohio Dominican had 274 yards with 176 on the ground and 98 in the air.  FSU held a 34-14 edge in first downs for the game.

Ferris State improved to 2-1 overall and 1-1 in the GLIAC with the victory while Ohio Dominican suffered its first loss of the campaign and dropped to 2-1 overall and 1-1 in conference action as well.

The Bulldogs will hit the road again next Saturday, Sept. 24, as they travel to Tiffin to face the Dragons in a 1:30 p.m. (ET) league tilt at Frost-Kalnow Stadium in Tiffin, Ohio.

Bulldog Bites: FSU's Tom Schneider claimed the Babb Ford Bulldog Player of the Game honor for his efforts .... Bodrie's five field goals tied the school record of five makes set by standout Doc Proctor against Northern Michigan in 1998 (10/3). Proctor is serving as the Bulldogs' kicking coach for the first time this fall ...... Ferris State forced ODU to punt six times and the Panthers were only two-of-nine on third down conversions ...... Nine different Bulldog players caught a pass in the game while nine also had at least one carry ....... Junior linebacker Tayo Moss (South Rockwood/Monore St. Mary's) led the Bulldogs in tackles for the third-straight game and it marked the third game in a row he's posted double-figure tackles as he had 12 in the contest ....... Ferris totaled three quarterback sacks and had four tackles for loss ....... The matchup was only the second-ever series' meeting and FSU improved to 2-0 all-time versus the Panthers .... FSU's 617 yards of total offense was its most since racking up 619 yards against Northwood in 2007 (11/3) ..... Schneider threw for at least 300 yards passing for the second consecutive game after a career-high 315 last week at Saginaw Valley State.