Football Wins Overtime Thriller 40-37 Over Tiffin

OVERVIEW – TIFFIN

SCORE: Northwood Timberwolves 40, Tiffin Dragons 37 (overtime)
RECORDS: Northwood 8-2, 6-2 G-MAC | Tiffin 6-4, 5-3 G-MAC
LOCATION: Hantz Stadium – Midland, Mich.
RECAP: Northwood football earns dramatic 40-37 overtime victory over Tiffin Saturday afternoon (November 8).

INSIDE THE GAME

• After receiving the opening kickoff, Northwood drove 77 yards in 11 plays. The drive was capped by an Ethan Hamby one-yard touchdown run to make the score 7-0.
• Tiffin came right back with a big play. An 81-yard touchdown pass tied the score at 7-7 with 9:30 remaining.
• The Timberwolves came back late in the quarter with a big play of their own. Hamby found freshman Gerry Hanson on 66-yard TD pass to put the score at 14-7.
• Early in the second quarter, NU's defense came through with a big play thanks to senior Cole Simpson. He picked off a pass and returned it 66-yards for a touchdown to give Northwood a 21-7 lead at the 14:41 mark.
• NU put together another long drive later in the quarter, going 73 yards in 11 plays. Drew Cady connected on a 24-yard field goal to put NU on top 24-7 with 5:12 remaining in the half.
• The rest of the second quarter and all of the third were controlled by Tiffin, however. The Dragons scored a pair of touchdowns in the final 4:58 of the second and one more midway through the third to go on top 27-24 heading to the fourth quarter.
• Hanson came through for Northwood early in the fourth to put the Timberwolves back on top. His seven-yard touchdown reception from Hamby put NU in the lead 31-27 with 14:55 to go.
• The Dragons went back on top with 3:21 remaining with a touchdown that made the score 34-31.
• Northwood got the ball back at their own 40 with 1:53 to go with no timeouts and drove all the way down to the Tiffin two-yard line. With eight seconds remaining, Drew Cady connected on a field goal from 20 yard away to send the game to overtime at 34-34.
• NU won the toss in overtime and went on defense and got a stop, holding the Dragons to a field goal.
• Northwood then earned the win in overtime on a Devin Brown six-yard touchdown run, giving the Timberwolves their eighth win of the season.

GAME STATS

• FIRST DOWNS: Northwood 20, Tiffin 25
• RUSHES-YARDS: Northwood 37-148, Tiffin 40-115
• PASSING YARDS: Northwood 270 (21-33, 2 TDs, 0 INTs), Tiffin 342 (25-33, 5 TDs, 1 INT)
• TOTAL OFFENSE, PLAYS-YARDS: Northwood 40-418, Tiffin 73-457
• TIME OF POSSESSION: Northwood 25:48, Tiffin 34:12

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS

• Hamby: 21-31, 270 yards, TD, 80 yards rushing, TD
• Hanson: Five catches, 114 yards, 2 TDs
• Case Boos: Nine catches, 72 yards
• Lake Boos: 44 yards receiving
• Joe Lathers: 14 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss
• Jalin Pitchford: 11 tackles
• Cole Simpson: Nine tackles, interception return for a touchdown, forced fumble, pass breakup, QB hurry

NORTHWOOD NOTES

• Northwood has now won eight games for the first time since 2006, when Northwood finished 8-3.
• This was NU's first overtime victory since October 21, 2017, when Northwood defeated Davenport 33-30.

UP NEXT

• Northwood will wrap up the regular season Saturday (November 15) at Walsh. Kickoff is scheduled for Noon.