LYNDHURST, Ohio -- #Adam Howard# liked what he saw from Notre Dame's offense Sunday afternoon in Korb Field (Box):

“We really did a lot of things well when we had the ball. Our execution was there, we kept penalties to a minimum, blocked well and made big plays.”

What Howard and a Homecoming crowd of 779 witnessed was Notre Dame piling up 602 yards of total offense en route to scoring a season-high number of points in a 53-24 victory over Case Western Reserve's junior varsity. Running Back #Tim Donald# ran wild, burning up the Korb Field turf for 235 yards and three touchdowns. And quarterback #Kyle Shaffer#, making his first collegiate start, completed 15-of-21 passes for 214 yards and a pair of touchdowns passes. The high-flying Falcons (3-0), which are now averaging 47.7 points per game, had yet another big-play day. In what has become a familiar theme in the first month of the season, NDC scored four of it touchdowns on plays of 20 yards or more.

The game, which featured pregame and halftime festivities for the College's first Homecoming, got off to a 3-3 start in the opening minutes as kickers #Andrew Carr# and Daniel Vasil exchanged three-pointers in the first five minutes of action.

Notre Dame then engineered a nifty eight-play drive culminating with a one-yard #Ricky Stevens# leap into the end zone, up and over a well-blocked Spartan defensive front. That touchdown gave NDC a 10-7 lead. It was set-up by Stevens himself powering down the right side, weaving in between would-be tacklers until he was pushed out at the one. And even that run was in many ways set up by Shaffer's passing. Shaffer, a 5-foot-10 freshman from Painesville, Ohio, completed three straight passes to begin what ended up as a 79-yard drive.

That Stevens touchdown, at 6:50 in the first, jumpstarted the NDC offense, which went on to score three more touchdowns in the opening quarter. Shaffer hit #Steven Young# on a perfect strike to the left corner of the end zone at 5:20. That drive was started by placekicker #Andrew Carr# recovering his own onside kick in a play that surprised the Spartans.

After the Falcon defense forced a three-and-out, Tim Donald scored the first of his three touchdowns when he evaded the CWRU defense down the left sideline and across the goal line. Shaffer then hit #Marlon Gillis# up the middle on a post pattern with 30 seconds remaining in the first. That gave the Falcons 28 straight points in the game and a 31-3 lead after 15 minutes.

The Spartans' Cameron Boyd scored on a 12-yard run in the second. That touchdown marked the only score of the second quarter, and Notre Dame took a 31-10 into halftime.

In the third quarter, Tim Donald again put the Blue & White on the Korb Field scoreboard, this time on the team's longest play from scrimmage in three games. The freshman back from Coral Springs, Fla., bounced outside and then down the right sideline before cutting back and avoiding two Spartan defenders. Donald powered by two more Case players into the right corner of the endzone.

The two Cleveland-area squads split four touchdowns in the final frame, with NDC's #Derrick Paster# and Donald each scoring on running plays. For the game, NDC ran for a season-high 384 yards. The Falcons piled up those yards on just 35 attempts, for a rushing average of 11 yards per carry. Donald garnered the lions' share of that - his 235 came on 15 carries (15.7 average). #Rickey Stevens# added 136 yards. Donald and Stevens had a combined 28 carries with any plays resulting in a loss of yardage.

In the passing game, Shaffer and change-of-pace option Paster combined to connect with seven different receivers. They executed a game plan that stretched the field with an assortment of flat, medium, and long range passes. The receiving corps was led by Steve Yung (five catches, 54 yards) and Marlon Gillis (three catches, 55 yards).

“Several guys really executed,” said Howard. “This game was a big step forward for our offense. Defensively we learned some things we need to work on.”

The NDC defense held the Spartans to just 57 passing yards, but CWRU was able to rattle off several long runs. For the game, the Spartans tallied 355 yards on the ground. Case Western Reserve posted 412 total yards.

CWRU won the battle for time of possession - the Spartans held the ball for 36 minutes, to the Falcons' 24. Strong safety #John Hyde# had six tackles and a pass break-up to lead the defense. #Charlie Williams# and #Nick Koshiol# each had five tackles. Linebacker #Gary Briggs# added four tackes. Free safety #Derrick Smith# added four tackles as well, one-and-a-half of which were for a loss. 

Case Western Reserve was led by sophomore running back Cameron Boyd.  The Cincinnati product (Wyoming High School) rushed for 121 yards on 16 carries.  Quarterback Max Bohon added 78 yards on the ground; fellow quarterback Vincent Hokavar ran for 74 -they both escaped the pocket for a number of first down gains.

After their game against CWRU's JV, Notre Dame will now have just three short days of rest and preparation before their next game, which is slated for Thursday, Oct. 1.  Notre Dame will host that special Thursday 4 p.m. on-campus game against Union Christian.