BIG RAPIDS, Mich. - The Davenport football team had a tall test on Saturday as they traveled to No. 3 Ferris State (AFCA Poll) for the Bulldogs homecoming game. The Panthers held their own for the first 27 minutes in a 0-0 tie but eventually the Bulldogs made the necessary plays in a 38-0 win in a non-conference game. The Davenport defense made a couple of nice stands in the first half against a Ferris State offense that entered the game averaging 48.7 points per game. The Panthers took away the run game which was averaging 273.3 yards per game but the Bulldogs went to the air to loosen up the defense and broke through in the final 33 minutes to score five touchdowns and kick a field goal.

Mylik Mitchell got the start at quarterback for Ferris State for the first time this season. He entered the game having completed 7-of-14 passes for 106 yards and an interception. Mitchell could not lead his team into the end zone until late in the second quarter. FSU consumed 4:41 on a 12-play, 76-yard drive and Marvin Campbell's third rushing touchdown of the season from three yards, aided by a push from behind by the offensive line, made it 7-0 with 3:23 left until halftime. The next drive for Ferris State really shifted the game in their favor. They were able to score another touchdown with 15 seconds on the clock to take a 14-0 lead into the locker room. Evan Cummins came in at quarterback as a better passing option and had plenty of protection before finding Tyrese Hunt-Thompson on a 10-yard score in the middle of the field capping off a 14-play, 70-yard drive which lasted 1:35.

In the second half, DU's defense just simply was on the field too long and Ferris State wore them down finishing the game with 82 plays compared to 54 for the Panthers. Cummins completed another touchdown pass to Brandon Childress from 28 yards with 1:43 left in the third quarter for a 21-0 lead. Hunt-Thompson scored on a reverse play around left end from 25 yards with 13:44 left in the fourth quarter for a 28-0 lead. Jeremy Burrell caught his first touchdown of the season with 9:25 left in the quarter from Mitchell for a 35-0 lead. The scoring concluded with a 17-yard field goal by Jermaine Roemer with 5:14 to play.

The defense recorded four sacks for a loss of 27 yards. Brendan Boman and D.J. Turner each had two sacks. Liam Cavanaugh took over at middle linebacker for Elysee Mbem-Bosse who missed the game and was leading the team in tackles entering the day. Cavanaugh stepped up with a career-high 15 tackles including eight solo stops. Kaleb Elam also established a new career-high with 10 tackles. Blake Daniels got the start under center for Davenport and finished with 50 rushing yards and 56 passing yards. One main stat was third-down conversions as Ferris State was 8-of-16 while Davenport was 3-of-15. The Bulldogs also converted on 5-of-5 in the red zone while DU could not reach the red zone.

The Panthers (1-3) will begin GLIAC action next Saturday (Oct. 2) traveling to Michigan Tech (1-2) for a 1:00 PM kickoff in Houghton, Mich.