Tiffin University (4-2, 1-1 GMAC) put together 21 unanswered points in the second half to race past Lake Erie for their first GMAC win of the year 35-17.
TU's defense forced three turnovers while also recording a sack to lead the Dragons' attack. The squad also allowed just 100 rushing yards and made big plays to pull away from the Storm.
Things started on a positive note for the Dragons, as Jermaine Wimpye picked off a Lake Erie pass on their first possession. The Dragons responded with a 44 yard drive that saw 11 rushes in 13 plays and ending with a 4 yard TD run by Darius Pinnix to put TU up 7-0.
Lake Erie drove 87 yards for their first touchdown, tying the score 7-7 with 5:19 to play in the half on a 13 yard TD pass.
Tiffin immediately responded with a 75 yard drive that saw Nick Watson complete five passes before Marcus Davis scored on a 1-yard run with 31 seconds left to put TU up 14-7 at the half.
Lake Erie took advantage of a recovered TU fumble to eventually kick a 12 yard field goal to pull to within 14-10 at the start of the third quarter.
The Dragons' defense stepped up again two possessions later as Kevin Hyde stopped a driving Lake Erie offense with an interception in the end zone and a return of 20 yards. TU followed with an 80 yard drive that ended with a Reggie Colson 6 yard TD catch from Watson to put the Dragons ahead 21-10.
The defense again made a big play on the Storm's next possession, as Latrell Robinson sacked the Lake Erie quarterback and forced a fumble recovered by Marshawn Mankins at the Lake Erie 30 yard line.
Four plays later, Davis rushed in from 3 yards out to push TU's lead to 28-10.
Tiffin got its final score at 10:21 of the fourth quarter when it put together a 74 yard drive highlighted by a 29 yard catch by Vince Ringland and a 32 yard run by Watson. Jalen Thomas then ran in from 11 yards out to put the game away with a 35-10 lead.
Lake Erie did manage a final score on their next drive but ate up nearly 8:00 of clock time in doing so, giving the Storm no time to mount any type of comeback.
Overall TU had 23 first downs to Lake Erie's 19 and outgained the Storm 362-336. They outrushed Lake Erie 209-100.
Watson completed 14 of 22 passes for 153 yards, while Jalen Thomas had 84 yards rushing on 6 carries. Marcus Davis added 53 yards on the ground on 16 rushes.
Reggie Colson had 36 receiving yards, while Ringland had 52 yards receiving.
Defensively Wimpye had 6 tackles with an interception, Mankins had 6 stops with a fumble recovery, and Robinson had 5 tackles with a sack, 1.5 tackles for loss, and a forced fumble.
Tyler Richardson and Jacob Mertus also had 5 tackles each.