SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio – A three-yard touchdown rush from Jaleel McLaughlin put the Notre Dame College football team (3-0, 3-0 MEC) up 33-31 with just 60 seconds to play. The run, along with a defensive stand in the final minute, sealed a victory for the Falcons against West Virginia State University (1-2, 1-2 MEC).NDC took a 20-10 lead into halftime as the team looked to have their opponents number after two long touchdown drives and a blocked punt in the first two quarters. But the visiting Yellow Jackets would climb back in the second half to gain a 31-27 lead before the Falcons recovered with a 12-play, 75-yard drive to score the go-ahead touchdown.
Notre Dame was the first team on the board with a six-yard touchdown pass from Chris Brimm to McLaughlin. The Falcons scored on their first possession after both teams took their turns marching down the field in opposite directions; but where NDC was able to score, WVSU missed a 44-yard field goal on the opening drive.
Kicker Aaron Ball did not let the miss affect him on his next attempt as he made a 42-yard kick in the second quarter to cut NDC's lead in half (6-3) with 11:54 to play in the second quarter
The teams traded a pair of touchdown passes in the next two-and-a-half minutes with Marvelle Ross scoring with a 22-yard reception and AJ Barrette reaching pay dirt on a 79-yard catch and run.
With the score sitting at 10-13 and less than two minutes to play before halftime, West Virginia State lined up to punt the ball away. Shortly after the snap, two of Notre Dame's players were in the punter's face. D'Niyae Morris blocked the kick and Zaire Mitchell recovered it at the eight-yard line for the scoop and score to put his team up by 10 before the break.
After the game, when head coach Mike Jacobs was asked about players who made big impacts, Morris and Mitchell were two he named.
"On the first two touchdowns there was a huge block by Zaire," Jacobs said. "He's quietly had a really nice season for us. We put a lot on his plate in terms of blocking, but he had a really nice catch to move the chains today too.
"D'Niyae blocked the punt, but he also had several other big plays on special teams where he was in the right spot and doing it with forcefulness and aggression. He was really a big part of our victory today."
In the third quarter, the teams once again traded scores with WVSU quarterback Faustino Saucedo scoring on a QB keeper and Marvelle Ross scoring his second touchdown with a big 79-yard catch.
Ross recorded 231 yards and two touchdowns on 13 receptions to become just the third Falcon to total over 200 receiving yards in a game. The junior wide out also added 33 return yards on the day.
"Marvelle is one of the most talented players I've ever been around," Jacobs said. "He's a special athlete. Where he's gotten better, and where I'm most proud of him, is how he's carried himself off the field. You see it in how he approaches every week in practice, and those good practice habits are starting to show up more in every game. I
'm really proud of him."
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Jacobs isn't the only one to notice how much Ross does in practice. He's become one of Brimm's favorite targets this season, grabbing 25 catches so far this year from the redshirt-freshman quarterback. And their chemistry on weekdays have rolled over to Saturdays.
"I already know that no matter where I put it, Marvelle is going to go up and get it," Brimm said. "He's a good player and does it day in and day out during practice so I know in the games that he's going to be there."
Saucedo had a favorite target of his own in the game in Tyrell Henderson. Henderson tallied 173 yards and two touchdowns on 12 receptions to rival Ross's numbers.
Both of Henderson's touchdowns came in the fourth quarter as the Yellow Jackets scored the first 14 points in the final 15-minute block with 76- and 15-yard passes. The pair of receptions resulted in West Virginia State's first lead of the game, making it 31-27 with 5:15 left to play.
With the ball back, Notre Dame methodically charged down the field, running over four minutes off the clock before McLaughlin's three-yard go-ahead score.
After the kickoff return, WVSU had the ball at their own 26-yard line with 51 second to play. After two passes for 19 yards and an eight-yard rush by Saucedo, the Yellow Jackets found their way into Notre Dame territory. But on the first play inside NDC's half of the field, Derrick Brumfield sacked Saucedo for a seven-yard loss.
"The sack at the end of the game shows our depth on the defensive line," Jacobs said. "Those guys are fresh in the fourth quarter. It's shown up a couple different times this year."
The Yellow Jackets completed a final pass for 10 yards, but with a tackle from Cedric Lynch, they were unable to get out of bounds and time expired. Players in blue and white ran on to the field to celebrate as Notre Dame clinched its third victory of the season.
With a key offensive drive and a defensive stand to win the game, players on both sides of the ball came up big plays for NDC and neither of the units ever had uncertainty about their counterparts.
"Oh, for sure, we knew our offense would put together a big drive at the end of the game," defensive back Tre'von Slater said.
"The defense does a good job every time," Brimm said. "So we know they'll come up big for us."
Jacobs said seeing the support his team gives each other is something special.
"I've been around a lot of really good football teams and this team is one of the tighter teams I've been around," Jacobs said. "They care about one another; it's important to each of them that they do well for their teammates. It comes through in the way they play."
Like the players, Jacobs has complete faith in his team's ability on both sides of the ball, no matter the score.
"I would never doubt any of our players," the third-year head coach said. "I have an unshakeable confidence in them. People get all twisted up and concerned with yards, but at the end of the day, if we have one more point on the board than the other team, we've done our job."
McLaughlin was able to surpass the century mark for the third-straight week, averaging nearly five yards per carry, but there were times when the run game was not getting things done for NDC and for the first time this season, more pass plays were called than runs.
"In a perfect world, I'd love to go into every game and say we're going to be 50-50 run to pass," Jacobs said. "I always think it's important to establish the line of scrimmage, but today they were giving us some things in the pass game. I thought [Brimm] played really really well."
When asked about putting the ball in the young QB's hands, Jacobs revealed just how confident he was in throwing the football.
"Chris is just unwavering," Jacobs said. "He's consistent in how he practices every week and the game's not too big for him on game day. He doesn't get very easily rattled, and he goes out there and puts us in good positions while protecting the football. I'm happy to see him have a big day."
Brimm threw for 368 yards and three touchdowns to lead his team to a victory. This season, he has seven touchdowns and zero interceptions.
The Tallahassee, Fla. native said the team tightened up its passing game in practice in preparation for today's games. And when the game was on the line, he pointed to practice again saying the team practices every Wednesday for that exact situation. In a statement game, the freshman gave all credit to others.
"I know all my receivers were going to be there for me," Brimm said. "Our coaches were calling a good game and our offensive line was doing a great job up front, so I knew the pass game was going to be there."
With 10 tackles for a loss and two forced turnovers, the defensive unit had many athletes making plays for them.
Along with Brumfield, Sha'haun Williams and Vincent Ellis recorded sacks while Ellis led the team with 2.5 tackles for a loss. Joining Ellis with multiple stops in the backfield were Curtis Collins and RJ Goodwin who had 1.5 each.
Goodwin and Slater led the team with 12 tackles each while Jeffrey Thomas recorded 11. Collins and Brumfield both forced fumbles, with Collins recovering one and WVSU recovering the other.
One of the highlight plays of the game came in the NDC end zone as Guam Lee made a diving interception to stop a Yellow Jacket drive and get the ball back to his team. Lee now has three interceptions on the season. With the pick made inside the goal line and another red zone stop earlier in the game, the Falcons have now stopped teams from scoring on seven of 12 trips inside the 20-yard line.
Notre Dame heads back out on the road next week with a game at Concord on Saturday, September 22. The game is set to kickoff at 12 p.m.
NOTRE DAME COLLEGE FALCONS ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS
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