Tiffin University (4-3, 4-1 GMAC) took on the 6th-ranked Ashland Eagles and fell just short 28-20 in a pivotal conference matchup.
Tiffin played catchup throughout the game with Ashland cracking the scoreboard first at the 14:56 mark of the second quarter after a 13-play, 94-yard drive ending in a 6-yard TD run.
The Dragons responded next, using a big 38-yard Christian Carter run to drive down to the Ashland 9-yard line. The Dragons could not manage to get in the end zone, however, settling for a 20-yard Nick Basile field goal to make it 7-3.
Ashland scored again before halftime, completing a 5-play, 82-yard drive with a 17-yard touchdown pass to make it 14-3 at the break.
The Dragons regrouped and came out swinging in the third quarter, with Carter hitting Anthony Lowe on a huge 48-yard pass play leading to a Devin Nelson 1-yard TD run that made the score 14-10.
Tiffin threatened to take the lead on its next possession, driving down to the Eagles' 8-yard line, but once again the drive stalled as TU settled for a Basile 25-yard field goal that left TU behind 14-13 at the 7:09 mark of the third quarter.
Ashland started to take control late in the third quarter. A 9-yard TD run at the 2:24 mark pushed their lead to 21-13, and the Eagles followed that up with a 27-yard run at the 9:26 mark of the fourth quarter that capped off a 9-play, 91-yard drive and put them ahead 28-13.
The Dragons hit some big plays to get closer. A 42-yard pass to Josh Lewis preceded a 30-yard touchdown strike from Carter to Jack Stultz that made the score 28-20 with 4:12 left.
Tiffin had one drive remaining, taking over with 2:28 left, but could not manage a first down.
Ashland held a 20-14 edge in first downs and a 432-329 lead in total offense including a 215-120 edge in rushing.
Carter connected on 14 of 20 passes with one interception for 209 yards while also rushing for 46 yards. Nelson led the Dragons in rushing with 57 yards on 13 carries. Anthony Lowe also shad 69 yards receiving on 5 catches.
Defensively Sir Zion Dance led the way with 13 tackles followed by Patrick Tueimeh with 11, Charlie Cleveland with 8, and Jermaine Wimpye with 6 stops and an interception.