Tiffin University (1-0) used a relentless offensive attack to rack up 25 first half points and then held off Northwood over the course of the second half, beating the Timberwolves 40-27 in their season opener.
The Dragons wasted little time getting on the scoreboard, taking their opening drive 75 yards over 11 plays and capping it off with a 3 yard pass from Nick Watson to Tyler Denton to make it 7-0.
Tiffin continued its assault on its next possession, driving 65 yards in 9 plays. Kyle Brunson rushed it in from one yard out and Watson then raced around left end for the two-point conversion to make it 15-0 TU after two possessions.
After Northwood answered late in the first quarter with a touchdown to make it 15-6, the Dragons forced a fumble which was recovered by Ross Moore to give TU the ball on NU's 34 yard line. Joseph Metcalf shortly thereafter drilled a 32 yard field goal to make it 18-6 at the 7:04 mark of the second quarter.
A botched punt on Northwood's next drive gave TU the ball on downs at the Northwood 21 yard line. Victor Talley quickly made it 25-6 with a 7 yard touchdown catch from Watson to give TU a 19 points halftime advantage.
Neither team got very far in the third quarter, as Northwood finally put a touchdown on the board with 10 seconds left in the quarter to cap a 66 yard drive and bring the score to 25-13, Tiffin.
TU looked set to take control for good on its next possession, as Charles Holland took a pass from Watson and raced 75 yards down the sideline for the score. AJ Nickoli then ran in the two-point conversion to put TU ahead 33-13 with 14:18 to play.
Northwood, however, refused to fall, scoring consecutive TDs over the next 7 minutes to bring the score to 33-27 with 6:27 to play.
The Dragons kept their composure, however, putting together a 75 yard drive over the next 2:22 and capping it off with a big 41 yard touchdown run by Tylan Rice to jump ahead 40-27 with 4:13 to play.
After holding Northwood over their next four plays and forcing a turnover on downs, the Dragons then ran out the clock, collecting two key first downs rushing to run out the clock.
Overall TU outgained NU 449-365, including 317 yards through the air. Watson was efficient, connecting on 24 of 29 passes with no interceptions for 317 yards and 3 touchdowns.
Tiffin had no turnovers in the game while forcing two interceptions and a fumble defensively. They went 10 for 15 on third down conversions while holding Northwood to 4 of 11.
Charles Holland led a strong receiving corps with 111 yards on 9 receptions, while Talley had 92 yards on 8 catches. Tyler Denton also had 99 yards on 5 catches. Rice rushed for 64 yards on 9 carries (7.1 per rush), while Marquette Dixon also had 57 yards on the ground.
Defensively Avion Boyd led the way with 10 tackles, while Daijohn Isbell and Daigien Morgan had 8 apiece. Delan Wynn, Jacob Mertus, and Alex Melfe also had 5 stops each.