SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio – Notre Dame College football head coach Mike Jacobs repeatedly talks about the importance of all three phases of football (offense, defense and special teams) and on Saturday they came together to give the Falcons a 31-28 victory against UVa.-Wise.
 
Offensively, NDC scored four touchdowns, two in each half, while gaining just shy of 400 yards.
 
Highlighting the offensive performances were Darius Johnson and Vesean Davis who each accounted for two touchdowns.
 
Johnson started the game off strong with his two scores coming in the first quarter. His first touchdown snag was a 32-yard reception from a scrambling Malik Grove on what looked like a broken play, but is something the team practices due to Grove's ability to dodge tackles in the backfield.
 
"That's a scramble drill, when Malik breaks out of the pocket," Johnson said. I saw him leave the pocket so I came back down and made the play. Every week we practice the drill. A lot of our plays come off of that because Malik likes to run around a lot."
 
On the Cavaliers next drive, they scored on a 21-yard field goal to make the score 7-3. Seven plays and four minutes later, Johnson scored his second touchdown to give the Falcons a double-digit lead.
 
Johnson knew coming in that UVa.-Wise was going to play man coverage so he'd have to win the one-on-one battles throughout the day. On his second touchdown, a bobbled ball found Johnson in the end zone. He looked towards the referee to see what they would call, but he wasn't expecting to see the touchdown signal.
 
"I didn't realize where I was at first," Johnson said. "I didn't care about the touchdown per se; I was just making sure they knew I caught it. When they called it a touchdown that made it even better."
 
Johnson was one of several seniors who had standout performances on Senior Day and Jacobs broke down what led to those plays.
 
"That's just a senior doing his job with a great attention to detail," Jacobs said. "He's been really consistent for us. His effort is outstanding and he's one of our biggest vocal leaders. All that stuff creates positive energy, which builds into having good days. Those types of kids seem to make the big plays when you really need them."
 
Fellow senior and punter Anton Vrebac rushed for 39 yards on a punt fake to set up the 17-yard touchdown from Grove to Johnson. Vrebac landed three of his five punts inside the 20-yard, but his highlight was long run on fourth down that allowed NDC to continue its drive.
 
"They bailed everybody out of there," Jacobs said. "There wasn't a soul in front of him. What people don't realize is that Anton's a pretty good athlete and he read it right."
 
Joining Vrebac on special teams success was redshirt-freshman Tanner Harding. Harding made a 30-yard field goal with 19 seconds left in the first half to give the Falcons a 17-10 lead at halftime. It was Harding's second attempt of the day after his first 42-yard attempt hit the crossbar. Harding's ability to put the previous play behind him is a credit to his attitude as an athlete.
 
"I love that kid," Jacobs said. "It's great that he has the mindset where he can forget about the last kick, but it should be attributed to the fact that he doesn't have the typical kicker mentality that you think of. He likes to lift weights and likes to condition. He's just another one of the guys and you can see that."
 
In the second half, it was Davis who scored the points for NDC. The sophomore out of Gahanna, Ohio made the best of his five attempts with a one-yard and an 18-yard touchdown. Davis finished with 24 yards while Brian Walker, who had 99 yards on the ground, led the Falcons.
 
"We're a little spoiled at the running back position with DJ Greene, Brian Walker, Nehemiah Brown and Vesean Davis," Jacobs said. "That's a loaded group, especially at the Division II level. With DJ being out, I think B-Walk has picked up the load quite a bit. He's a guy that's really consistent. He'll be mad that he didn't get 100 yards today, but he had a heck of a game for us.
 
"Nehemiah is a slasher and B-Walk is a thumper, Vesean is kind of the in between. He does a little of both pretty well. He practices really well for us and it's nice to see him get in and show everybody that he's got a pretty good skill set."
 
Defensively, Notre Dame stepped up in big moments. Despite a 97-yard touchdown run from quarterback Jarome Johnson, Jacobs thought it was one of the best performances from that group this season.
 
"Apart from that long run, I thought our defense was lights out, especially our young corner, Tavon Hooks had a big game for us today," Jacobs said.
 
Hooks finished the game with five solo tackles, including one tackle for a loss. In coverage, he broke up four passes and intercepted a pass on the Cavaliers first drive of the second half.
 
Hooks is one of three freshman defensive backs who start for the Falcons and they have grown throughout the season to come up big when targeted.
 
"They're growing," Jacobs said. "They're starting to recognize route combinations with more consistency and react sooner. These players are 10 games in to a really competitive conference and I think they don't see themselves as freshman anymore. They're playing with that confidence. You have to have swagger and a short-term memory at defensive back and I think they're doing that. It certainly helps to have that core group of lineman and linebackers in front of them, but I am really excited about this group."
 
Making big plays for the Falcons up front were Shaun Jones Jr. who led the team with 12 tackles and Claudy Mathieu who finished with eight. Mathieu, along with Curtis Collins, Derrick Brumfield and Sha'haun Williams recorded multiple tackles for a loss.
 
"At first they were cutting us, trying to slow down our pass rush, but there wasn't much they could do to stop our front seven," Mathieu said.
 
Mathieu said playing his last home game on Senior Day hadn't really hit him yet, but he's happy with the result.
 
"It feels great," Mathieu said after the win. "I left everything out on the field for my teammates and coaches. I appreciate everything they do for me and all the support they've given me these past four year. I'm glad we could go out with a bang in front of our fans and families. I'm just grateful."
 
The group of seniors is a big part of what the NDC program has become since its inception in 2009. Coach Jacobs gave his insight on what makes this class special.
 
"I think there is a true care for one another," Jacobs said. "They like being around each other and that started with the dedication and commitment they made to be up here this summer to work out with our strength and conditioning staff. They do all the little things that go into building a tight team. What you see is a group that doesn't care who gets the credit. They go out and play. They're having a lot of success and a lot of fun."
 
Notre Dame will finish the regular season next week at No. 5 Indianapolis. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m.