It certainly wasn't pretty, but in the end Tiffin University (6-2, 3-1 GMAC) did what it had to and beat Kentucky Wesleyan 34-28 in overtime.
With the win, the Dragons enter a four-way tie for first at the top of the GMAC standings with Findlay, Hillsdale, and Ohio Dominican.
Tiffin was forced to battle from behind throughout the day, falling behind 14-0 early, 21-7 at the half, and 28-21 late in the fourth quarter. They turned the ball over 5 times, while KWC also had 3 turnovers. The two teams also combined for 153 yards in penalties.
A fumble by the Dragons was returned 26 yards to put the Panthers on the board with 3:01 left in the first quarter up 7-0. KWC added another score on a 43 yard pass play to take a quick 14 point lead on TU.
Tiffin responded immediately after KWC's second score, as Nick Watson hit Jalen Thomas on a big 66 yard pass play leading to a 2-yard Darius Pinnix rush for a score that made it 14-7 with 11:39 left in the first half.
A Watson interception followed by a 47 yard return gave KWC a shot late in the first half to expand their lead. The Panthers punched it in from 2 yards out with just 53 seconds left in the half to take a 21-7 lead into the break.
Tiffin turned the momentum in the second half. A 3-yard TD pass from Watson to Conner Muldowney at 6:59 of the third quarter brought TU to within 21-14 and also gave Watson the TU career TD passing record with 89, one more than Antonio Pipkin's 88.
TU continued to mount drives throughout the second half but turnovers plaqued TU throughout the game and kept the Panthers on top. TU tied the game at 14:11 of the fourth quarter, using great field position after a strong defensive stand to score quickly when Anthony Lowe hauled in a sensational 20 yard TD strike from Watson in the corner of the end zone to tie the game 21-21.
Neither team could take the lead until the 4:35 mark when KWC connected on a 22 yard pass to go ahead 28-21.
TU needed an immediate response, and they provided one, as they drove 60 yards over the next 2:31 before Reggie Colson caught a 5 yard pass from Watson with 1:01 remaining to tie the game 28-28.
Heading to overtime, KWC got the ball first. The Panthers looked poised to put points on the board as they drove to the 7 yard line, but Kevin Hyde made another dramatic interception, tying a school record with his third of the game, stealing the ball away on the 4 yard line with a diving catch that kept KWC off the board and gave TU a chance for victory.
Facing a 2nd-and-17 at the 32 yard line, Watson connected with Colson on a clutch TD that ended the game and gave TU the victory.
Offensively TU had 25 first downs to KWC's 19 and outgained the Panthers 470-357.
Overall Watson hit on 22 of 45 passes with 3 interceptions and 4 touchdowns for 295 yards. Pinnix rumbled his way to 125 yards on 27 carries, while Thomas had 75 receiving yards on 2 catches.
Lowe had another big game, receiving 6 passes for 61 yards while adding 43 punt returns yards, Colson had 49 yards on 3 catches with 2 TDs, and Marcus Davis had 48 yards on 3 receptions.
Defensively Hyde had 5 tackles along with his 3 interceptions. Charlie Cleveland had 8 tackles with 1.5 sacks and 1.5 tackles for loss. Latrell Robinson led the team along with Jermaine Wimpye with 9 stops each, with Robinson adding 1.5 tackles for loss. Barry Brown had a half sack with 8 tackles, and Brandon Burks totaled 4 tackles with 1.5 tackles for loss.