GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - The Davenport football team will look to rebound after a tough loss last week as they welcome Ashland University to Farmers Insurance Athletic Complex for the second straight year.

GAME INFORMATION
Live Video (The DAN with Rick Berkey and Bill Rohn)
Live Stats

LAST WEEK
Davenport squared off with #8 Grand Valley State in the second meeting between the teams and surprised many by taking the Lakers down to the wire in a 19-14 loss after falling 48-0 in Allendale in their first meeting in 2017. The start of the game was delayed roughly 53 minutes due to lightning in the area and then the game was stopped again with 1:29 left in the second quarter for 44 minutes. Grand Valley State scored the first 13 points off the game as J.J. McGrath connected on field goals of 33 and 28 yards in the first and third quarter. GVSU sandwiched a 22-yard Chawntez Moss touchdown run between the field goals also in the third quarter.
The Panthers capped off a seven-play, 75-yard drive with a 14-yard touchdown pass from Haiden Majewski to Keion Powers with 17 seconds left in the third quarter to cut it to 13-7. After a Laker fumble to start the fourth quarter, DU capitalized with a six-play, 42-yard drive culminating in a 13-yard touchdown from Majewski to Deondre Moore with 11:40 left in the game. Chris Ahmed booted through the extra point for a 14-13 lead. GVSU managed to mount a game-winning drive that covered 82 yards in eight plays capped off with backup quarterback Cole Kotopka finding Nick Dodson on a 53-yard touchdown with 1:36 remaining. The two-point conversion failed for a score of 19-14. The Panthers had one last drive and Majewski converted a 4th-and-15 run right to the yard marker at the GVSU 36-yard line and spiked the ball with six seconds left. The hail mary into the end zone on the final play was batted down by Tyree Horton and the Lakers escaped with the win.
Majewski finished with 182 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 63 more yards. Keion Powers caught seven passes for 100 yards, his second 100-yard receiving game of his career. Jamal Veazey led DU with 11 tackles. The defense also had 11 tackles for loss and three sacks.

ASHLAND SERIES
The Eagles won the only previous meeting coming last season on Sept. 30 at Farmers Insurance Athletic Complex by a final score of 38-0. Ashland entered the game ranked #20 in NCAA Division II and with the win improved to 4-1 overall and 3-0 in the GLIAC. The Eagles turned in a strong first half with 14 points in each of the first two quarters for a 28-0 lead at halftime. Andrew Vaughn had a 15-yard touchdown catch in the first quarter for a 7-0 lead and then rushed for a one-yard score in the second quarter to extend the lead to 21-0. Ashland scored 10 points in the third quarter on an interception return of 45 yards and a 33-yard field goal.
Travis Tarnowski completed 10-of-17 passes for 109 yards and two scores. Cody Long and William James each split time at quarterback for the Panthers. Long went 7-of-17 for 77 yards while James was 3-of-14 passing for 46 yards and one pick. Vaughn rushed for 103 yards and a score on 17 carries for Ashland. Michael Catching led DU with 60 rushing yards on 10 carries. James Prater Jr. recorded three tackles for a loss of 12 yards for the Eagles and had five total stops. Brian Williams led DU with eight tackles and two pass breakups.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
This week's matchup is practically a mirror image of one another between the Panthers and Eagles. Both teams have a top-notch defense ranked 1-2 in the GLIAC, holding opponents to under 300 yards of offense a game. DU is fourth nationally in total defense (229.9 ypg) while Ashland is ninth (257.4 ypg). Davenport also enters this week with the second-most takeaways in the GLIAC and 52nd nationally with 15. Ashland leads the conference with only five giveaways this season and have been intercepted just once in 200 pass attempts as a team.
Davenport checks in this week ranked tops in the GLIAC in fourth down defense allowing 35 percent. The Panthers are also tops in the conference and second in NCAA Division II in third down defense (24.1 percent). Ashland leads the league in third down conversions (48.5 percent) and is 14th nationally.

Complete Game Notes