TIFFIN, Ohio – Under the lights in a faint drizzle of rain at Frost-Kalnow Stadium, Saturday night was Tiffin’s night as the Dragons clinched the Great Midwest Athletic Conference football championship title for the spring season.
Under head coach Cris Reisert, the Dragons (6-0, 5-0) completed another undefeated run through the conference schedule after defeating Findlay, 23-8. As time ran out, the Dragons celebrated in front of their home crowd by hoisting the conference championship trophy on the field.
As the final week of the regular season unfolded, the window of opportunity was certainly open for Findlay, which ultimately tied for second in the standings with Ohio Dominican. ODU was defeated by Hillsdale earlier in the day which gave the Tiffin/Findlay contest that much more meaning with the winner being outright conference champions (based on winning percentage).
Tiffin was the preseason favorite among the league’s coaches, but with the target on the program’s back, still had to prove it out on the field after finishing 2019 with a national championship appearance in Super Region 1.
Star quarterback Nick Watson threw for nearly 300 yards to go with a pair of touchdowns and Devin Butler hauled in eight catches for 148 touchdowns and was on the receiving end of both scoring strikes.
Workhorse RB Marcus Davis also gained over 100 yards on the ground and Watson added 28. As he has done all season, Watson kept the defense off balance with the play calling and the weather, with very little to no wind, was ideal for prime passing.
The Tiffin defense flexed its muscle with a first-half shutout to the tune of just 71 yards allowed and DB Tyler Richardson made the Oilers pay with an interception to stall a second-half drive. Four different players had at least five tackles and two-time conference special teams player of the week David Orlando converted three field goals.
Tiffin became the first program in Great Midwest history to not only be the first to win a pair of conference titles, but did it back-to-back fashion. Alderson Broaddus won the inaugural title in 2016, followed by Ohio Dominican in 2017 and Hillsdale had its turn at the top in 2018. After going 7-0 in 2019, Tiffin’s perfection is complete for two seasons and will carry 12-game league win streak into this upcoming fall.
The slick conditions were problematic at various points for Tiffin as Findlay DL Drew McLuckie pounced on a fumble and a high snap resulted in a safety that the Oilers capitalized on. Findlay’s defense was on the field quite a bit, but still did very well to prevent Tiffin from scoring touchdowns on several drives where it looked like the Dragons would not be stopped.
From the opening drive, Tiffin just had it going as Watson completed a very difficult pass falling off his back foot on a 3rd and 5 and finished the opening drive with a 35 completion to Butler in the corner of the end zone.
RB Garret Clark put Findlay on the board by finishing off a 12-play, 71 yard drive with a two yard scoring run. The Oilers the followed with the safety with 6:11 left in the third quarter, plenty of time while still within striking distance. But Tiffin forced a three and out off the ensuing standing punt and went work on the clock.