SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio – All facets of the game were working for the Notre Dame College football team (3-1) in its 44-13 victory against Concord (1-3) during 2017's Homecoming weekend.
 
The Falcons offense gained 538 yards while the defense held the Mountain Lions to just 246 yards (both season-bests) and the special teams accounted for three field goals and a touchdown.
 
The game didn't start off as well as the final statistics show, however, as freshman quarterback Adam Fulton led his team to the first touchdown of the game with a 21-yard pass to Camari Murray. Fulton, who was not listed on the Concord depth chart, got the first start of his career, which came as a surprise to the Falcons.
 
Notre Dame went into the second quarter trailing 6-0 and started to work. Malik Grove did what Malik Grove does and scored once with his legs and once with his arm to put the Falcons up 14-6 at halftime. Grove hit an open Tay Johnson for a 52-yard score. Johnson finished with 129 yards, his second 100-yard performance this season.
 
The third quarter really got things going as the teams combined for 31 points, 24 coming from NDC.
 
Wasting no time in the second half, Grove hooked up with Emmanuel Smith, who evaded a tackler and made his way into the end zone for a 51-yard touchdown on the opening drive. Grove again ran the ball in for a touchdown, which was quickly followed by a 90-yard punt return from Marvelle Ross. The 24-point quarter was capped off by Tanner Harding making his first career field goal from 31 yards out.
 
Harding scored the final nine points of the game with two more field goals from 37 and 27 yards.
 
"He came in and was hitting the ball consistently," said head coach Mike Jacobs on Harding's day. "He did a nice job on kickoffs and can be a real weapon for us. Just like anyone, playing with confidence is a big deal. He did a great job for us today and I think he'll be on his way to a great career."
 
Offensively, the Falcons rushed for 307 yards behind Grove and DJ Greene who each passed the century mark. Grove also threw for 231 yards on 26 attempts and 16 completions. The offensive line only allowed one tackle for a loss on 81 plays.
 
"We have a lot of older guys in the unit that have played a lot of snaps so we have some experience and leadership," said starting center Justin Adamson. "With the guidance of [Offensive Line Coach Anthony Soto] that we have going into his second season, he's changed some of our footwork and responsibilities and it's been a major help with the run game especially."
 
Adamson said much of the success is do to the work of the scout team at practice and watching film. Using the up-tempo style of offense also exposed some weak points.
 
"Quite a bit was working," Jacobs said. "As we try to establish ourselves as a better team, we talk about establishing the line of scrimmage on both sides of the football. We felt like this was a very good defense. [Jeremiah Johnson] is one of the best defensive backs I've seen in this conference. We knew the heat would be a factor today and thought we were a little deeper than they were. Just lining up and running plays fast got things rolling for us."
 
Grove was able to use the ground game to his advantage as the two 50-plus-yard touchdown passes were opened up by the Falcons' ability to run according to Jacobs. The senior quarterback also found his own running lanes with the ability to pull the ball from the running backs when he sees a lane.
 
Adamson, who has been blocking for Grove during his three years as a starter, gave some insight to what it's like and how the offensive line stays in sync with their quarterback.
 
"We treat every play like it's going to be a give to the running back, but you can hear the crowd, see the linebackers shift their eyes and watch for defenders' body language to change," Adamson said. "Defensive lineman especially will start to flow. When you see all of that you just stay on your guy and when we find out Malik is running the ball, we try to get as many yards as we can."
 
Like their offensive counterparts, the defense had things rolling today, allowing just 72 yards of rushing on 32 attempts (2.3-yard average). Once again, that success started at the line of scrimmage and Derrick Brumfield, who finished the game with 2.5 tackles for a loss, knew stopping the run would be key.
 
"It's our main priority," Brumfield said. "That's the number one thing for us to help win a game. Coach gives us a sheet before each game and has us put down five things that will help us win; I always put down, 'dominate the run game.' If we dominate the line of scrimmage, we're going to have a great game."
 
Coach Jacobs agreed with sophomore defensive lineman.
 
"It's critical to stop the run," Jacobs said. "We thought our defensive line played great today and had an advantage going into the game. They were physical and violent and did a nice job establishing the line of scrimmage for us."
 
NDC improved to 2-0 at home and have averaged a point differential of +28 on Mueller Field.
 
"If we play our game, it's hard to compete with us," Brumfield said. "We can get away from our game plan sometimes, but when everything is clicking how it's supposed to then you see what happens."
 
Notre Dame will play a Thursday night game this week at West Liberty. The Falcons will travel to West Liberty, W.Va. for a 7 p.m. kickoff on September 28.