Box Score

The Malone University football team suffered a Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) road loss to Lake Erie College on Saturday afternoon by a final tally of 35-24.

The Pioneers had fought back from a 21-7 halftime deficit, scoring 17 unanswered points in the first 11 minutes of the third quarter to grab a 24-21 advantage.  However, the Storm offense, which had been held in check in the early stages of the second half, responded with a pair of lengthy touchdown drives to put Lake Erie back in front 35-24 midway through the fourth quarter.

The Storm defense would then put the game away, grabbing an interception and forcing a punt to halt Malone's final two possessions of the afternoon.

Lake Erie improved to 2-5 overall and 2-4 in the GLIAC following its second straight victory.  The Pioneers, meanwhile, slipped to 1-5 overall and 1-5 in the conference.

The Storm generated a total of 398 yards over the course of the game, with 293 yards on the ground and 105 yards through the air.  Running back Brandon Phenix led the way for Lake Erie, posting 145 rushing yards on 18 attempts with one touchdown.  Quarterback Brendan Gallagher, filling in for injured starter Patrick Nicely, also had a big day, throwing for two scores while also rushing for a pair of TDs.

The Pioneers ended the contest with 305 total yards, 101 rushing and 204 passing.  Like in last week's loss to Walsh, turnovers again proved costly for Malone as two first-half Pioneer giveaways (one fumble and one interception) gave the ball to Lake Erie deep in MU territory, leading to a pair of Storm touchdowns. 

Wide receiver Justin McLean helped to fuel Malone's third-quarter comeback, hauling in a 27-yard TD pass from quarterback Will Szpor to make the score 21-17.  In all, McLean finished the day with 189 all-purpose yards, notching four catches for 68 yards, two rushing attempts for 25 yards and three kickoff returns for 96 yards.

After stopping Malone on downs midway through the opening period, Lake Erie opened the day's scoring with a four-play, 64-yard drive that was capped off by a 36-yard touchdown pass from Gallagher to wing back Tyler Lindgren.

A fumble, the first of three Pioneer turnovers on the afternoon, then gave the ball right back to the Storm.  The hosts capitalized five plays later as Gallagher plunged into the endzone from a yard out to give Lake Erie a 14-0 advantage just under 13 minutes into the game.

Malone cut the deficit in half with 5:43 remaining in the first half as running back Malik Felton crossed the goal line on a two-yard run for his fifth rushing touchdown of the season.

Following a Lake Erie punt, the Pioneers began to move the ball down the field before a deflected Szpor pass was snagged out of the air by Storm defensive back Xavier Dowdell.  The interception gave Lake Erie a first-and-10 on the Malone 29-yard line with 52 seconds remaining on the second-quarter clock and the Storm managed to cash in on the Pioneer mistake just four plays later as Gallagher hit tight end Cole Gordon with a 10-yard TD pass, pushing the Lake Erie lead to 21-7 just before halftime.

The Pioneers managed to regroup at intermission and came roaring back to regain the lead in the third quarter.  The momentum shift began on the opening kickoff of the second half as Malone linebacker Brandon Commodore forced and then recovered a fumble on the Lake Erie 31-yard line.  Although the Storm held the Pioneers out of the endzone, Malone kicker Jake Hardy booted a 26-yard field goal through the uprights to trim the deficit to 21-10.

Back-to-back three-and-outs by the Pioneer defense coupled with two impressive touchdown drives by the Malone offense then put the visitors on top 24-21 with four and a half minutes remaining in the third period.  McLean provided two big plays on the first TD drive, breaking free for a 19-yard run before hauling in the 27-yard touchdown throw from Szpor.  Running back Steven Niewiedzial punctuated the second drive with a strong five-yard TD run up the middle, giving the Pioneers their first lead of the afternoon.

After posting just five total yards on its first two drives of the third quarter, the Lake Erie offense came alive on its next possession as a two-yard Gallagher touchdown run concluded a five-play, 70-yard march that put Lake Erie back in front 28-24. 

The Pioneer offense, which had been so effective on its previous two drives, was then unable to respond to the Storm's go-ahead score, failing to get a first down on MU's next possession.  Following a Malone punt on the first play of the fourth quarter, the hosts took the ball and methodically drove down the field, draining nearly seven minutes off the clock on a 13-play, 68-yard drive that ended with a one-yard TD run by Phenix. 

After thwarting the Malone offense on the visitors' next two possessions, the Storm then ran the final 4:03 off the clock to cement the victory. In all, Lake Erie held a 12:34 to 2:26 advantage in time of possession during the decisive fourth quarter.

On the afternoon, Szpor completed 15 of 32 passes for 204 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions.  Running back Reggie Terrell paced the Pioneer ground game with 57 rushing yards on 12 carries.  Wide receiver Tyler Billie posted five catches for 41 yards.  Wide receiver Josh McLaughlin also notched 41 yards on three receptions.

Safety Demarco Donaldson matched a season-high with 18 total tackles for the Malone defense.  Linebacker James Benedix added 11 stops with one sack.  Commodore recorded 10 tackles to go with his forced fumble and fumble recovery.  Defensive lineman Frank McCormick also made substantial contributions with nine tackles, including one sack.

For Lake Erie, Gallagher completed six of 14 passes for 105 yards and the two scores.  He also gained 43 rushing yards on 18 attempts.  Lindgren and wide receiver Tommy Jackson each posted two catches with Lindgren totaling 45 yards and Jackson registering 42 yards.  Safety Tanner Wells paced the Storm defense with nine tackles, a sack and an interception.

The Pioneers will return home next Saturday for a 7:00 p.m. contest against Ashland University (7-0 overall, 6-0 GLIAC), the squad ranked at No. 8 in the most recent AFCA Division II National Poll.  Fans can catch all of the action on the Malone Sports Network (radio broadcast on WNPQ 95.9 FM or streaming live audio on the internet at www.thelight959.com). Live video and statistics will also be provided on www.malonepioneers.com.