SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio – In week nine of the 2021 season, Notre Dame College put together possibly their most complete game of the season in a 45-0 victory over Fairmont State University. NDC had 437 yards of total offense, going 4-for-4 in the red zone with five passing touchdowns and a rushing score. The defense held Fairmont State scoreless and allowed just 142 yards, recording four sacks and four takeaways.

On NDC's first drive of the game, they started off by running the ball three times with Tyris Dickerson before Chris Brimm completed a 15-yard pass to Devanaire Conliffe and then a seven-yard strike to Davis Patterson. The Falcons looked like they would throw the ball on third down with four yards to go, with an empty backfield around Brimm. However, Brimm took the snap and ran up the middle for 16 yards, on a hole provided by the offensive line. Coming up clutch on third downs would be a theme throughout the contest, as the Falcons converted on nine of their 13 third down attempts.

Three plays later, Brimm found Conliffe for a 25-yard touchdown pass to cap an eight play, 71-yard drive, putting Notre Dame up 7-0.

On their second drive, Fairmont State was forced to punt, again. Brimm was perfect on the Falcons' second drive, going 3-for-3 for 55 yards, while Idris Lawrence took the field and ran three times for 20 yards. The balanced attack led to a 35-yard touchdown from Brimm to Patterson.

After the game, Brimm spoke about the smooth offense throughout much of the first half.

"Once we came out of that first drive, we just kept the momentum going," Brimm said. "We tried not to get into a lull early."

The Fairmont State Falcons' Myles Miree started their next drive with a 22-yard rush. The NDC defense was hungry to get the ball back and, on the next play, Miree took the handoff and was quickly stopped. Nathan Moore hit the FSU running back and stole the ball from his arms.

"I read my keys, read the inside zone," Moore said. "He saw me there and tried to cut back outside, so all I did was wrapped him up and spun myself around and ended up with the ball in my hands."

Five of the six Fairmont State first half drives resulted in punts, as the NDC defense dominated.

With 6:23 remaining in the second quarter, NDC had gotten down to the Fairmont State 11-yard line but a nice pass rush by Fairmont State forced a rushed, incomplete pass by Brimm on third down and Tanner Harding converted on a 29-yard field goal to put NDC ahead 17-0.

The NDC Falcons got the ball back with 4:43 remaining in the first half and looked to drain the clock and score. They put together a drive that accomplished exactly what they were looking to do. Going 60 yards down the field, in 10 plays, the drive took 4:19 off the clock. The highlights of the drive were a 16-yard completion to Conliffe and a 15-yard reception by Jeremy Hamilton. Lawrence ran in from two yards away to put NDC ahead 24-0 before the halftime break.

The Falcons wasted no time after receiving the second half kickoff. Bryce Sheppert returned the ball 16 yards and the offense went to work. Brimm threw to Conliffe for a 14-yard completion on 3rd and 7, and two plays later, Conliffe caught a ball and ran 47 yards, shaking off defenders for six more points. Brimm was, once again, perfect on the drive, completing all four of his passes.

"Anytime you can play team football, that's what you want to accomplish," said head coach Mickey Mental. "I think we were really solid on special teams, throughout the day. And when you can pitch a shutout, that makes the offense's job easy. Time of possession and, I harp on it every week, but if you go 9-for-13 on third down, that's the game right there. Quarterback-wise, we were at 80-percent throwing the ball. So just being efficient and taking the most of our opportunities throughout the day."

Fairmont State's next drive was cut short after Bryce Sheppert sprinted into the backfield, unblocked, and landed a massive hit on FSU's quarterback Connor Neal. Neal fumbled the ball and Jack Kosko picked it up.

Starting on the FSU Falcons' 27-yard line, Conliffe caught two passes for 21 yards. He had a seven-yard catch in the endzone for his third of the game. NDC jumped ahead 38-0.

"First of all, we did a great job up front blocking and giving Chris [Brimm] time," Conliffe said. "We established the run early. On my second or third touchdown, I caught a glance that the safety came down because we were running the ball so successfully and Chris Brimm put the ball where it needed to be, like he always does, and I was able to make a good play."

For the second time this season, and third time as a Falcon, Conliffe caught three touchdown passes. He had 151 receiving yards on a season-high eight catches.

Fairmont State started to put together longer drives, beginning with their drive to end the third quarter. They took possession with 6:26 on the clock and held possession for over six-and-a-half minutes. Before the end of the quarter, the FSU Falcons ran the ball for positive yards, five times, and completed two passes. They were also pushed up the field by a couple NDC penalties. The road team had all of the momentum and at the end of the third quarter, were standing on NDC's 8-yard line.

However, the rain began to fall during the quarter break and on the first play of the final stanza, Neal went back to pass, rolled to his left while under pressure from the Notre Dame defense and the ball slipped out of his hands. Once again, Jack Kosko picked the ball up and returned it nine yards. Neal was given a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty and the NDC Falcons were near midfield.

Hamilton caught two passes for 32 yards and later in the drive, Brimm found Zaven Boland for Boland's first career touchdown catch. The NDC Falcons led 45-0 early in the fourth quarter.

Brimm would finish the game 23-for-29, for 305 yards, and five touchdowns. It is the second time this season, and fourth time in his career, that he has thrown five TDs in a game. His 23 completions are a season-high and the most since Sept. 15, 2018, when he had 25.

He moves into second place in NDC history for career passing touchdowns (79) and touchdowns responsible for (87).

"When [Brimm] came here, we knew it was a process," Mental said. "We talk about that everyday, never too high, never too low. Always trying to be consistent and efficient at that position. I think he's really grown in front of our eyes going into his fourth year, fifth with the program. He just takes it day by day and I appreciate everything he does. He's the calming force of that side of the ball. But, job's not done and you have to continue to grow and take that next step, each and every week."

The NDC defense was still hungry for a shutout and they had to make one more stand. Fairmont State's final drive took nearly six minutes as they put together 79 yards over 12 plays. Taking the ball with 6:39 remaining, they ran the ball four times for 13 yards. But Neal led the charge, going 7-for-8 through the air, for 66 yards. He did all he could to get his team into the endzone, but on the final play of the drive, Javon Hayes caught a pass at the one-yard line but was unable to reach over the goal line. Jacalyn Morrison punched the ball out and Christian Taylor jumped on it to recover the fumble and secure the shutout.

"[Getting the shutout] is always huge," said defensive coordinator Jake Chestnut. "Whenever you have adverse situations, you have to respond. The guys did it in a positive manner, that's something that you always look for. It was encouraging to see. [There are] some things that we can clean up to not put ourselves in those situations, but good to see us respond."

Moore led the team with 11 tackles, along with 2.5 tackles for loss and a fumble recovery. Guam Lee had nine tackles and tied his season-high, and career-high, with four tackles for loss. After going without a sack last week, NDC had four in this game.

Harding made all six of his extra points on the day.

"They're going to hear me say it again, you have to reset the standard each and every day," Mental said. "Doesn't matter if you play well, don't play well, After the win, you enjoy it, because these are not easy to come by, but on Sunday, we're on to Pembroke. We have to still focus on us and our journey. We have to stay dialed in and understand that this is a process and we haven't met every one of our goals yet, and I think that's what is exciting."

Notre Dame will take their longest road trip of the season next week, when they face UNC Pembroke on Nov. 6. Kickoff is scheduled for 12 p.m.