LYNDHURST, Ohio -- Notre Dame showed flashes of improved play but in the end fell to a ranked Walsh Cavalier squad, 34-14, on Saturday afternoon at Korb Field.  (Box Score)

The No. 10 Cavaliers (NAIA Coaches) took advantage of Falcon turnovers and a slew of penalties and rang up 34 points on the strength of 27 first downs and 388 total yards.

For NDC, the contest against Walsh marked a return to Korb Field after being on the road each of the last two weeks (Lindsey Wilson-Ky., Fairmont State-W. Va.). Saturday's game marked the second of five home games for Notre Dame this season. The afternoon tilt also represented the Falcons' only home game in a six-week period -- NDC will play five road games between Sept. 4 and Oct. 9. The Blue & White won't be at home again until Oct. 23, when NDC holds its first Homecoming Football Game (1 p.m. vs. Marian-Ind.).

The NAIA's leading rusher, Dominic Williams, got Walsh on the board first at 8:36 in the first quarter when he darted up the middle on a 25-yard breakaway. That run capped off an eight-play, 76-yard drive for the visitors. Williams came into the game with 348 rushing yards and three touchdowns. He would go on to lead all rushers in the game, with a 165-yard performance.

Notre Dame answered with a nice nine-play drive that saw the home squad notch its first touchdown in a home game. With the football at the Walsh 30, NDC pulled a bit of trickery and ran an option pass play with slotback #Matt Preston# throwing a rainbow that wide receiver #Derrick Paster# corralled in traffic at the back of the end zone.

After that score, Walsh then punched in two quick touchdowns in a span of just 1-minute-37 seconds, and both came off momentum-killing interceptions thrown by quarterback #Yan Cyr#.

Both of those scores came on rushing TDs -- one by Toba Olarewaju and one by Rashid Sharif. Walsh rambled for 113 yards on the ground in the first half, with Williams gaining 86 of those yards on 12 carries. WU went into halftime with a 24-7 lead and with much of that 17-point differential due to Notre Dame miscues (six penalties) and turnovers (two interceptions).

In the second half, Walsh went up, 31-7, with a 35-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Jim Shiplett to A.J. Blunton, who was left open in the shadow of the goal line on a blown defensive coverage. That toss came early in the third quarter and WU tacked another three points on an Eric Buchanan field goal early in the fourth. That put the Cavaliers up, 34-7.

Notre Dame would score last, when wide receiver #Travis Hernandez# broke three tackles on a medium-length pass from quarterback #James Flowers#. Hernandez zigzagged his way past the Walsh defense for what amounted to a game-high 67-yard play.

The Falcons finished the game with a season-high 324 yards of total offense. NDC had 108 yards on the ground and 216 through the air. Running back #Pedro Powell# became the first 100-yard rusher in program history -- he toted the ball 18 times for 106 yards.

The major negative for NDC was the amount of penalties committed on both sides of the ball -- the Falcons were flagged 12 times for 165 yards.