Jacob Mertus and Carrington Contee prepare to lead the Dragons defense at Lake Erie this weekend.
Posted: Oct 23, 2019
Tiffin University (6-1, 4-0 GMAC) head to Painesville to take on Lake Erie (3-4, 2-2) on Oct. 26.
TU and Lake Erie's last matchup came a season ago in Painesville on Oct. 27. The game was back-and-forth in the first half, tied at 14 heading into the break. Tiffin was able to put away the pesky Storm in the second half, though, outscoring Lake Erie 26-14 to take a 40-28 win. Kyle Brunson had a great game on the ground with 22 attempts, 111 yards, and two touchdowns to lead the Dragons.
The Dragons and Storm have faced off seven times in football, with TU holding a 4-3 advantage in the series. However, after losing three of the first four, Tiffin has emerged victorious in each of the last three seasons.
LAKE ERIE NOTES
- Lake Erie has really turned their program around after a winless 2018 campaign, coming into this weekend's matchup just under .500 at 3-4 on the year and even at 2-2 against GMAC competition.
- After starting 2019 with three losses, the Storm are 3-1 over their last four, picking up the three wins over Kentucky Wesleyan, Alderson Broaddus, and Taylor (Ind.) by an average of just over two touchdowns.
- Last week, the Storm visited nonconference opponent Taylor University and defeated the Trojans 42-20. Lake Erie jumped on Taylor early, scoring 21 unanswered points to open the game before taking a 28-3 halftime lead.
- Javarian Smith was 19-28 for 390 yards and three touchdowns while also running for a score. A pair of Storm players were over 1,000 yards receiving on the day, with Nate Dantley Jr. at 104 yards and a touchdown and Eric Zokouri at 100 yards and a score. Jayshon Bester, the GMAC Special Teams Athlete of the Week, also returned a kickoff 91 yards for a touchdown in the game.
LAKE ERIE OFFENSE
- Lake Erie is currently fifth in the GMAC at 21 points per game and fifth with 350.3 yards of total offense.
- Fifth-year senior Javarian Smith leads the offense from under center, going 123-217 (56.7%) on the year for 1,633 yards with 12 touchdowns and seven interceptions.
- Eric Zokouri is the most utilized running back by a good margin with 118 attempts on the season for 547 yards and a pair of scores. His 89.3 yards per game mark is fourth in the conference.
- For the wideouts, Nate Dantley Jr. leads the team and is third in the GMAC with 79.8 receiving yards per game. He has 507 yards and three touchdowns.
- Josh Hufstetler is the main red zone target for the Storm, tallying six touchdowns while amassing 376 receiving yards on 25 catches.
LAKE ERIE DEFENSE
- The Storm defense is also fifth in the conference with 25.2 yards allowed per game but one spot better at fourth with 374.7 yards allowed per contest.
- Justin Growel is far and away the tackles for loss leader in the conference with 16.5 on the year, a mark that is also second in the nation. He also has 5.5 sacks (second in GMAC), 48 tackles, four forced fumbles (first in GMAC and DII), and three pass breakups.
- Thomas Covington is next on the team with 44 total tackles along with a sack and eight tackles for loss.
- Elems Ukwu Jr. is tied for the team lead with two interceptions, tops with nine pass breakups, and tied for third with 42 tackles.
- Tareeq Welch is the other Lake Erie player with two interceptions, and also has six pass breakups and 23 tackles.
TIFFIN NOTES- Picked fourth by the conference coaches in the GMAC Preseason Poll, the Dragons continue to exceed expectations, holding down the top spot in the conference with an undefeated 4-0 mark.
- Dating back to when Tiffin joined the GMAC last year at the start of the 2018 season, Tiffin is 10-2 against conference competition.
- Since 2016, Tiffin is 29-11 (.725 winning percentage), the highest winning percentage of any GMAC school over that four-year stretch. Ohio Dominican is next at .703 (26-11) followed by Findlay (.690, 29-13) and Hillsdale (.634, 26-15).
- Last week, the Dragons overcame a somewhat slow start to earn another blowout victory, defeating Alderson Broaddus 45-7. After taking a 14-0 lead after the first quarter, the Battlers cut the deficit in half early in the second. That would be the only score of the day for AB, though, as Tiffin racked up 31 unanswered points to close the game.
- JaQuan Hardy led TU with 15 rushes for 138 yards and three touchdowns, while backfield mate Kyle Brunson also ran for over 100 yards with 120 on 15 attempts. The Dragons very nearly had three 100-yard rushers, as Nick Watson picked up 91 on the ground along with 246 through the air and two touchdown passes.
TIFFIN OFFENSE
- The Dragon offense has been a machine in 2019, leading the conference by wide margins in both points per game (42.0) and total yards per game (544.1). Those marks are also 12th and second in the nation, respectively.
- Tiffin does it both on the ground and through the air, ranking 12th nationally in passing offense at 300.4 yards per game and 17th in rushing offense at 243.7 yards per game.
- The Dragons lead Division II in offensive first downs, recording 184 on the year (26.3 per game).
- Nick Watson is the runaway candidate for top quarterback in the conference thus far, leading the GMAC with 145 completions, 2012 yards, 287.4 yards per game, 20 touchdowns, and a 158.8 rating. Nationally, he is fifth in passing touchdowns, eighth in passing yards and yards per game, 17th in completions per game, 16th in passing efficiency, and 20th in completion percentage.
- JaQuan Hardy ranks first in the GMAC at 126.0 rush yards per game and eight rushing touchdowns. Of running backs with at least 35 attempts, he leads the conference at 7.9 yards per carry. In Division II, he is third in yards per carry and sixth in total rushing yards.
- Kyle Brunson joins with Hardy to form Tiffin's potent ground attack. In four games this year, he has 56 attempts for 308 yards and a touchdown.
- Stanley Jackson Jr. leads the conference in receiving yards with 782, over 200 more than the next wideout. His average of 130.3 yards per game is second nationally, six touchdowns is 28th in DII, and 7.8 receptions per game is seventh in the country.
- Devin Butler is also in the top 10 in the conference in receiving, ranking seventh with 65.9 yards per game on 31 catches with three touchdowns. Gavin Woods is not too far behind, piling up 46.1 yards per game and five touchdowns.
TIFFIN DEFENSE
- Tiffin also leads the GMAC in scoring defense (14.9 points allowed per game) and total defense (287.7 yards allowed per game), marks that are 12th and 24th in the nation.
- TU is one of just three schools in Division II with both scoring offense and scoring defense ranking in the top 12 nationally.
- The Dragons are ninth in the country with a +1.29 turnover margin.
- TU leads the conference and is sixth nationally with 12 interceptions on the year.
- Carrington Contee has taken over the team lead with 47 tackles on the year, and also is tied for the team lead and ranks third in the GMAC with three interceptions.
- Ross Moore also has three picks while ranking sixth on the team with 30 tackles.
- Charlie Cleveland has 37 tackles and is second in the GMAC with 9.5 tackles for loss and five sacks.
- Jacob Mertus is second on the team with 41 tackles on the year. The senior also has 2.5 tackles for loss.
