Dragons football squad opens 2020-21 season at Walsh

Nick Watson and the Dragons football team take on Walsh in their season opener.
Nick Watson and the Dragons football team take on Walsh in their season opener.
Posted: Mar 11, 2021

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Tiffin University will play its first-ever spring season football game on March 13, as they travel to Walsh to start their 2020-21 season.

The Dragons finished 2019 with a 9-2 mark to cap off a historic season. The Dragons won the 2019 GMAC Championship with a 7-0 conference record and made their first NCAA Championships appearance in program history. The team also posted back-to-back nine-win seasons for just the second time in program history (2006, 07). 

Walsh, meanwhile, finished 3-8. Tiffin University also opened GMAC play in 2019 against the Cavaliers and won in resounding fashion, posting its biggest win ever against Walsh 52-0 on the road on Sept. 21, 2019. Tiffin's 52 point margin of victory was the largest gap since 2015 when TU beat Concordia-Selma 68-13. It was the fourth-largest winning margin in school history. The game was under control from the outset when the Dragons scored 21 first-quarter points.

Tiffin is 6-8 overall against the Cavaliers but has won the last four consecutive meetings. They have outscored Walsh in that stretch 148-40. 

Walsh Notes

- The Cavaliers finished the 2019 season with a 3-8 record, losing its first four games then going 3-4 the rest of the season with wins over Lake Erie, Kentucky Wesleyan, and Missouri Baptist. 
- Walsh was chosen to finish fifth out of seven teams in the conference standings as they received 15 points. 
- The Cavaliers are led by John Fankhauser entering his third season as head football coach and 22nd year as a coach at Walsh University. 
 
Walsh Offense
 
- Walsh's offense averaged 15.5 points per game, 238.5 yards, 116.1 rushing yards, and 122.4 passing yards. 
- Jeremy Hodge will take over as the man under center for the Cavaliers. The redshirt senior came from New Mexico State College where he was a backup for three years.
- Koby Adu-Poku returns in 2021 as the teams' all-purpose yard leader. Last season he played in all 11 games, rushing 211 times for 736 yards, averaging 66.9 yards per game, scoring two rushing touchdowns, catching 25 passes for 393 yards, averaging 35.6 yards per game, and scoring four receiving touchdowns.  
- Antwand Wilson is also returning for Walsh. He played in all 11 games and had 26 rushes for 61 yards averaging 5.5 yards per game, and scored four touchdowns. 
- Logan Lindsay is back as the top wideout. Last season he played in all 11 games, caught 11 passes for 137 yards, and averaged 12.5 yards per game.  


Walsh Defense

- Last season Walsh's defense allowed 26.2 points per game, 387.8 yards, 141.4 rushing yards, and 246.5 passing yards. 
- Sal Sidebotham returns as the veteran linebacker with 80 total tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, three sacks, one interception, and two pass break-ups. 
- Myles Williams leads the secondary as he played in all 11 games last season, had 48 tackles, three tackles for loss, 0.5 sacks, one fumble recovery, two pass breakups, and three interceptions returned for 47 yards. 


Tiffin Notes

- The Dragons are coming off a historic 2019 season where they made their first NCAA Championships appearance after winning the GMAC Championship with a perfect 7-0 record. They finished the year ranked 23rd in the country with a 9-2 record, posting back-to-back nine-win seasons for just the second time in program history (2006-2007).
- Tiffin was selected first in the GMAC Coaches Poll with 34 total points along with four first-place votes. 
- The Dragons are led by Cris Reisert who is in his second year at the helm for the Dragons. Reisert led the Dragons to arguably the best season in program history finishing the regular season 9-1 in his first year and looks to build on that success in the upcoming season.


Tiffin Offense

- Tiffins' offense was among the best in the country, ranking fifth in the nation in total offense averaging 507.8 ypg, seventh in scoring at 43.2 ppg, the rushing attack was ranked 15th at 245.5 ypg, and the passing game was ranked 32nd with 262.3 ypg.
- The Dragons are returning several veterans on offense led by Nick Watson who started in all 11 games last season completing 210 passes for 2806 yards and 30 touchdowns with just nine interceptions. Nationally, he ranked 10th in passing touchdowns, 20th in passing yards per game, 22nd in completions per game, 19th in passing efficiency, and 30th in completion percentage. 
- Devin Butler is a returner as well for the Dragons. Last season, he started in all 11 games for Tiffin and ranked in the top six in the GMAC with 54 passes caught for 679 yards and six touchdowns while averaging 60.6 ypg. 
- With JaQuan Hardy opting out of this season, Tiffin's backfield will be led by two new faces, Marcus Davis and Devin Nelson.  


Tiffin Defense

- Tiffin's defense led the GMAC in total defense and was second in scoring defense, nationally ranked 17th in interceptions with 16 on the year, and boasted a top-25 turnover margin of +82.
- The Dragons' defense is led by Charlie Cleveland on the defensive line who last year posted 61 tackles, 18 tackles for loss, and 8.5 sacks, and a forced fumble. He also ranked second in the GMAC in tackles for loss and third in sacks. 
- The secondary is led Chrystian Watkins who started in all 11 games last year with 37 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, and one forced fumble, and Tyler Richardson who played in all 11 games, registered 30 tackles and one interception.