INDIANAPOLIS – The championship picture is sharpening into focus for the spring season as Great Midwest Athletic Conference Football Players of the Week were swept by Tiffin as announced on Monday.
The Dragons are in the driver's seat to successfully replicate their 2019 title run following a 31-16 victory over Ohio Dominican. Tiffin remains unbeaten at 5-0 (non-conference win vs. Gannon). Tiffin's final test will come at home against Findlay, which put up 51 points against Lake Erie to improve to 4-1 in the conference standings.
Offensive Player of the Week
Nick Watson
Tiffin
Quarterback
RS Senior
Cincinnati, OH (LaSalle HS)
Watson's ability to hurt you on the ground and with his arm helped translate to his third consecutive player of the week honor on the offensive side of the ball. He is the first player in conference history to pull off the feat three weeks in a row.
The Dragons scored in all four quarters against a stingy Ohio Dominican defense as Watson had a direct hand in all four touchdowns. He was 18-of-35 passing for 169 yards and was 3 yards shy of rushing for 100 on 15 carries.
The senior quarterback passed for a pair of scores and ran for two more while eating up clock on some key time-consuming drives. The Tiffin offense was patient while scoring touchdowns off of 16 and 17-play drives, respectively.
Watson took it in himself from 1 yard out to open the game's scoring in the first quarter. That capped a 16 play, 90-yard drive down the field in nearly six minutes.
His first passing TD was actually a go-ahead score as the Panthers had taken a 9-7 lead in part due to a safety. He connected with Anthony Lowe on a 13-yard scoring play to finish off a drive right before halftime that elapsed eight minutes and change.
Watson then gave the Dragons a 21-9 lead as he found Lowe again in the red zone from 10 yards out. With 2:19 remaining, Watson showed off the wheels with a 40-yard scamper to put the game out of reach for ODU.
Defensive Player of the Week
Charlie Cleveland
Tiffin
Defensive Line
Redshirt Junior
East Chicago, IN (East Chicago Central HS)
The Dragons held Ohio Dominican to under 200 yards of total offense, a very impressive display as the Panthers ran a total of 46 plays to their own offense's 90.
Cleveland was a wrecking machine on the front line, as the reigning Great Midwest Defensive Lineman of the Year racked up six tackles, three sacks and had a total of 3.5 stops for a loss.
Cleveland's single-game sack total was the most in the conference this season as four other players have recorded 2 each, including an effort done twice by Kentucky Wesleyan's Jalen Humphrey.
Cleveland is the current league leader in sacks with 5 on the spring. He has also racked up eight tackles for a loss, a number that ranks second in the conference behind ODU's Dauson Dales.
Special Teams Player of the Week
David Orlando
Tiffin
Punter/Kicker
Junior
Avon, OH (Avon HS)
Orlando completed the Dragon weekly honors sweep with his second special teams nod of the 2021 spring season.
He helped pin the Ohio Dominican offense for less than favorable field position and accounted for points on the board with his leg.
Orlando averaged 42 yards per punt and placed two of those attempts inside the 20 and was responsible for seven points in the kicking game (FG, 4 PAT's).
Orlando now has 10 punts inside the opponent's 20 on the season and is averaging over 38 yards per punt net. It was his first field goal of the season and he has been a perfect 17-for-17 on PAT's.