SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio – It did not take long for the offense of the Notre Dame College football team to find its groove in 2019. The Falcons were on the field for just 29 seconds before scoring. After two big plays from running back Jaleel McLaughlin and wide receiver Marvelle Ross, human highlight reels in 2018, NDC took its first lead of the season and did not look back.
 
Concord, Notre Dame's first opponent of the year, scored first in the contest as they drove 56 yards in five minutes, but ultimately settled for a field goal after a first-and-goal at the four-yard line. The Falcon's signature bend-don't-break defense held up the Mountain Lions in the red zone to give any new fans a taste of what they are capable of.
 
"We're built on trust so we know that if we do our jobs that the rest of the team will to and we'll make the plays to get stops," said Guam Lee who led the team with 10 tackles. "In the red zone we lock in and take pride in keeping people outside of the end zone. It's our goal to be one of the top defenses in the nation."
 
The Falcons trailed for less than 30 seconds. McLaughlin took off on a 44-yard run on the first snap of the game for NDC, and Ross caught a 32-yard touchdown pass to complete the two-play drive for seven points. Ross was able to break multiple tackles and bulldog his way across the goal line in an exciting play to start the season.
 
"It looked like we were shot out of a cannon on that first series," said head coach Mike Jacobs. "It was great."
 
It was all Notre Dame in the remainder of the first half as NDC took a 20-3 lead going into halftime. Tanner Harding made two field goals (32, 39) while McLaughlin scored on a 30-yard run to build the Falcons' lead.
 
In the second half the Mountain Lions were once again the first on the scoreboard after a wild play took Concord 69 yards into the end zone. Wide receiver Isaiah Bowman looked to be down after an attempted tackle, but was not. Bowman was able to slip past the rest of the defense after play seemingly stopped from most on the field. But that was the last time Concord would sniff a scoring opportunity as the Falcons closed things out the remainder of the game.
 
"At the end of the day they scored 10 points," Jacobs said. "Their first drive was kept alive by a penalty, which we need to clean up. And the second score was us not playing to the whistle. It was one of those weird plays where everyone in the stadium thought he was down, but the referee didn't blow the whistle. We need to finish on those plays. Other than that, I think our defense played lights out today."
 
Notre Dame held Concord to just 17 yards rushing on the day and 229 total offensive yards (105 yards fewer than the Falcons 2018 average total yards allowed per game).
 
Harding made two more field goals from 37 and 38 yards to carry the team through the third quarter and beginning of the fourth. His four total makes ties a program record for most in a single game.
 
Harding, who handled all kicking duties last season, including punts, was given relief this season as Dominic Buttazzoni took over as the team's punter. Buttazoni did well in his first outing as a redshirt freshman as two of his five punts were inside the 20-yard line.
 
"It's huge to have someone you trust kicking for you," Jacobs said. "Football teams need points, and I have all the confidence in the world when we send Tanner out there. He came up big time for us today."
 
"Consistency is everything for specialists," Harding said. "Taking off that burden of punting has really allowed me to focus on the snap, hold and kick. Being able to put points on the board definitely gives us momentum any way we get them."
 
Guam Lee echoed the importance of those field goals after the game saying the momentum they provide gives the defense a ton of energy.
 
Wrapping up the game offensively was another big play from Ross. This time, the wide receiver ran a reverse to rush the ball 52 yards for a touchdown. Ross put his team up 33-10 with less than five minutes to go to settle things down.
 
"My role is to block, catch the ball and line up to do my job," Ross said. "But I'm always happy when my number is called. I just go out and give it my best effort."
 
All three touchdowns for Notre Dame came from 30 or more yards out. And those big plays never get old.
 
"It's nothing you really get used to," said offensive lineman Jimmy Burchett. "You always get excited watching them run downfield."
 
Burchett, who is a captain for NDC as well as a returning All-American, led the offensive line as they blocked for 223 rushing yards, which included a game-high 166 from McLaughlin. The line was steady throughout the game as the running backs chipped away three, four, and five yard carries before ultimately busting out for big gains.
 
"Concord did a really good job throwing everything they had at us," Burchett said. "We saw a variety of different fronts from them throughout the game. But once we figured it out, we got rolling again. When we do our jobs and control the line of scrimmage then we know there is always a chance of someone breaking a long run. We have learned to never take a play off because with the special guys we have in our backfield anything's possible."
 
Play on the defensive end was consistently aggressive as NDC had 12 tackles for a loss, five sacks and two takeaways. Lee led the team with three tackles for a loss and was one of five players who recorded 1.0 sacks. Sha'haun Williams picked up where he left off last season, recording 2.0 tackles for a loss and 1.0 sacks. Williams recorded two assisted sacks, both with Derrick Brumfield.
 
Jeffrey Thomas did not miss a beat either as he broke up three passes. Last season, Thomas broke the school record in pass breakups.
 
A pair of underclassmen were responsible for the defensive takeaways as sophomore Rudy Ngougni force a fumble and true freshman Nik Cotton intercepted a pass.
 
Overall, Jacobs was happy to get a win against a Mountain East Conference opponent, but says there is work to do before next week's game.
 
"I think that we certainly have a lot to clean up going forward, but I'm proud of the way the team competed," he said. "I feel good. We won a good football game against a completive team today."
 
Notre Dame will have a short week as they travel to West Liberty on Thursday, September 12, for week two. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.