Great Midwest Records (PDF)
Great Midwest Notes - Week 5 (PDF)
INDIANAPOLIS – Teams are jockeying for position in their lanes as the race continues to be wide open for championship status heading into Week 5 of the Great Midwest Athletic Conference football schedule.
Ohio Dominican was thought to have had the inside track to the finish line after the Panthers’ Week 3 victory vs. Findlay. But Tiffin had other thoughts with a thrilling Week 4 win over ODU as the Dragons established themselves as title contenders.
Two steps have non-conference matchups as Saint Anselm makes a long trip to Tiffin (3-1, 2-0) and Hillsdale (2-2, 2-0) faces Concord (WV) from the Mountain East Conference. Both games have Super Region 1 implications.
Hillsdale is also tied for the lead at the top of the conference standings in their bid to repeat as conference champs. HC's special teams came through in tough weather conditions as K Bryce Sealock had three FG's to tie the single-game league record.
The Chargers held Walsh off the scoreboard in a shutout effort. To their credit, the Cavaliers played to a scoreless draw in the first quarter and LB Leondre Crosby would end up setting the single game conference record for tackles for a loss (5.5).
Tiffin WR Stanley Jackson Jr. is ranked second in the country in total receiving yards as he and dual threat QB Nick Watson continue to find their rhythm. Jackson’s 12-catch effort for 150+ yards helped move the sticks for the Dragons against ODU.
Another league leader is lurking on offense as RB JaQuan Hardy ran wild for 220 yards; after reeling off a 94-yard score in Week 2, he has given TU’s offense a true home run threat. On the other side of the ball, Tiffin has the league’s top defense giving up just over 21 points per game.
Ohio Dominican will look to rebound (2-2, 1-1) on the road at Alderson Broaddus (0-4, 0-1). QB Evan Ernst is tied for the league lead in TD’s and his completion percentage of 70 percent is similar to his NCAA-leading total in 2018. One of his prized targets, WR Devanaire Conliffe, is averaging 10.5 points per game, thanks to 7 receiving TD’s.
The Battlers were able to move the ball at times on Findlay on Saturday in a tough environment, chewing up yardage on sustained drives produced by the bruising style of RB Nicholas Bishop.
Findlay’s high octane offense set a single-game scoring record with 75 points as three different back (Nate Slagel, Derek Lynch, Brenan Auer) all eclipsed the century mark on the ground in rushing. The Oilers set a slew of other records including the most rushing TD’s in a game (11) and Slagel ran for 4 TD’s for just the fifth time in league history.
Tasked with slowing down the Oilers is Kentucky Wesleyan (0-4, 0-1), which gave Lake Erie all it could handle in Week 4. The Panthers are gaining more confidence in the strong arm of QB Wiley Cain as he gets more comfortable in Craig Yeast’s system.
Lake Erie is riding the momentum of earning its first win for head coach Reilly Murphy in a close one vs. KWC. QB Javarian Smith accounted for a total of six TD’s as he piloted his team to victory. The Storm (1-3, 1-1) face Walsh as the two teams recently announced a new rivalry trophy is at stake in The Pride & Passion game.