Tiffin University (3-0, 1-0 G-MAC) scored in the final quarter and then made defensive stands to win their conference opener 34-27 at Northwood.
The game started off in strong fashion for the Dragons as they opened up a 15-0 lead in the first quarter. A big 61-yard pass play from Kason Martin to Josh Lewis led to a 10-yard TD toss from Martin to Jalen Thomas at the 8:00 mark. James Dean's two-point conversion made it 8-0 Dragons.
TU drove 88 yards on its next drive, with Martin connecting on a 21-yard strike to Lewis with 4:08 on the clock to go ahead by 15 points.
Northwood, however, came right back on its next possession, driving 63 yards before punching it in on a 3-yard run to make it 15-7.
After TU pushed its lead to 18-7 on a 24-yard Grant Woodfin field goal, the Timberwolves started to find their rhythm, scoring three times in the second quarter to take the lead.
Northwood got the first of those scores in dramatic fashion, ending a TU drive with a 100-yard interception return for a touchdown off a Martin pass that brought NU to within 18-14.
After a three-and-out by the TU offense, Northwood drove down to the TU 9-yard line before settling for a 26-yard field goal that brought the Timberwolves to within 18-17.
Another Martin interception gave NU the ball again with 47 seconds remaining in the half. The Timberwolves made the most of it, kicking a 35-yard field goal as time expired to take a 20-18 lead into the break.
Northwood kept the momentum on its side early in the third quarter. NU put together an 80-yard drive highlighted by pass completions of 39 and 35 yards before a 6-yard TD run pushed the NU lead to 27-18 at the 10:00 mark.
TU started to turn it around on its next possession, as it scored the game's final 16 points in unanswered fashion. Martin completed five passes, and the rushing attack of Carson Gresock and Ronald Blackman pounded it the final 34 yards before Blackman rushed it in from 3 yards out to pull to within two points 27-25.
After a stand by TU's defense, Patrick Tueimeh returned the subsequent punt 42 yards to put the Dragons in excellent field position at the NU 34-yard line. Woodfin ultimately booted a 23-yard field goal to put TU back on top 28-27.
The Dragons got their final score with 8:40 left in the game, driving 75 yards over 12 plays before Blackman ran 4 yards for the score. A blocked PAT kept NU to within 7 points at 34-27 and put the game in the hands of TU's defense.
Northwood got the ball three more times over the final 8:40 but only got one first down in that stretch. The final two possessions were both three-and-out efforts by the TU defense, with Zach McMinn picking off Northwood on fourth down on its final possession to basically seal the victory.
Overall the Dragons' offense remained strong. They amassed 550 yards of total offense including 305 through the air and 245 on the ground. They also had 31 first downs to NU's 16.
TU's defense held NU to just 3 for 15 on third-down conversions and also allowed just 23:53 of possession time. TU held a 12:00 edge in TOP.
Martin finished with 22 of 40 passes for 305 yards with 2 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. Josh Lewis had 108 of those yards, while James Dean added 71 yards and Cole Schnieder had 61 yards.
Ronald Blackman rushed 17 times for 117 yards, while Devin Nelson also had 85 yards on the ground.
Defensively Robert Holtz had 7 tackles with 1.5 sacks and 2.5 tackles for loss, while Tueimeh also had 7 stops. Jesse Connell had 6 tackles, and Antonio O'Berry had a half sack.