SOUTH EUCLID, OH — Saturday will go down as a day to remember. The Notre Dame College Falcon football program defeated the University of Charleston Golden Eagles in the first-ever Mountain East Conference championship game to secure the program's third-straight conference title.
Notre Dame's offense hit the ground running on the first offensive series of the game, advancing 18 yards on two carries from Tabyus Taylor and one seven-yard scramble by quarterback Chris Brimm to get to Charleston's 42-yard line, but came to a halt when the quarterback committed his third intercepted pass of the season on the following play. The NDC defense was able to take momentum back, as Charleston began at their own 17-yard line, and ended up having to punt from the same position three plays later. The NDC offense took the field for the second time of the afternoon at their own 46-yard line, and put Tanner Harding in the position to strike first. Harding made good on a 25-yard field goal, giving the Falcons an early 3-0 lead and becoming the All-Time Leading Scorer in Falcon football history at the seven-minute mark. To hear what Tanner Harding had to say about being the program's All-Time scorer, click here. They scored again less than two minutes later on a 62-yard strike from Brimm to wide receiver Devanaire Conliffe, increasing the lead to 10 heading into the second quarter.
Charleston tied the Falcons with 3:33 left to play in the half after a successful 33-yard field goal attempt, and a 12-play drive for 80 yards resulted in a touchdown when UC quarterback Guy Myers ran into the end zone on a one-yard gain.
The Falcon offense came back out onto the field at their own 25-yard line, and Brimm was able to find Devanaire Conliffe again for back-to-back connections - the first for a two-yard gain. The second was a *pretty* 72-yard pass/catch to give the Falcons another seven-point advantage, and leaving 2:16 on the clock for the Golden Eagles before both teams had to regroup at the half.
A 27-yard kick return put UC at their own 47-yard line, but the combination of a two-yard gain in two rushing plays and a sack for a loss of seven-yards by defensive ends Rudy Ngougni and Saivon Davis forced the Golden Eagles to punt again. NDC got the ball back at their own 20-yard line after an 11-yard punt return by Bryce Sheppert, and were able to advance within the Charleston 20-yard line on a 23-yard gain by Tabyus Taylor, and two receptions by tight end Zaire Mitchell before the half ended.
In the third quarter, things escalated quickly with a combined 44-points scored in the quarter alone. Charleston struck first fifty seconds into the third quarter on a 62-yard connection from Myers to Marquis McCoy. NDC kick returner Andre Allen, Jr. answered with a 95-yard return on the following kickoff to take momentum back from UC yet again (NDC lead, 23-17). Charleston advanced 14-yards when they came back out and their place kicker, Tim McCutchen, kicked a 44-yard field goal. Then, a 21-yard connection from Chris Brimm to Zaire Mitchell started the following drive for the Falcons with 12:01 left in the third. Tabyus Taylor picked up six yards, and then Brimm found Conliffe in the end zone for the third time of the day, and the Falcons were up by ten again. UC wasn't done though. Myers completed six passes in a row to get to the NDC two-yard line (they started at the NDC 43), and Myers handed it off to running back Josh Brown for a two-yard scoring run to cut the Falcon lead to three with 6:57 left in the third quarter. The Falcon offense took the field again and handed the ball to Tabyus Taylor for a six-yard gain to get to their own 19-yard line, before Brimm completed four straight passes to advance to the 37-yard line. Tabyus Taylor then broke for a 63-yard touchdown run to put NDC up by 10, again (37-27). Charleston scored on a 3-yard touchdown pass to Marquis McCoy, and the score was 37-34 with the NDC offense coming back out onto the field with 1:13 left to play in the quarter.
A couple of costly penalties hurt the Falcon offense, advancing from their own 35-yard line to Charleston's 41-yard line, but ended up having to be called back to play from their own 46-yard line, and Charleston took over after the punt on their own 35-yard line. A holding penalty from the UC center, followed by a pair of tackles for a loss of seven yards forced the Golden Eagles to punt from their own 18-yard line on fourth down and twenty-seven to go, and the Falcon came back in a great spot at their own 45-yard line. Brimm handed the ball off six times, and then found Napoleon Harris in the end zone on a 10-yard connection, increasing their lead to ten, AGAIN (44-34) with 9:30 left to play.
Nobody would score again until Tabyus Taylor broke for his second touchdown run of the day with 3:03 left. Guy Myers tried to make something happen, but was picked off by Bryce Sheppert, which sealed the Spring 2021 MEC Championship for the Falcons.
As a team, the NDC offense combined for 591 total yards (287 through the air, and 304 on the ground), while the defense held Charleston to 110-yards rushing (345-yards total).
- Chris Brimm completed 16 of 24 passes with the one interception, and threw four touchdowns.
- His offense line protected him well, allowing neither a sack nor hurry. The line also opened up plenty of holes, with a gain of 310-yards out of the offensive backfield, and a loss of just six yards.
- Tabyus Taylor finished the game with 243-yards and two TDs on 30 carries, and averaged 8.1 yards-per-carry. Taylor was able to eclipse 1,000-yards in just five games with the Falcons.
- Conliffe caught six passes for 177-yards and scored three touchdowns.
- To hear what Chris Brimm and Devanaire Conliffe had to say after the game about finding a dominant connection, click here.
Defensively, the Falcons handed UC a loss of 26 total yards. Notably, Saivon Davis had 2.5 tackles for a loss of ten-yards, and Nathan Moore had double-figure total tackles, and one tackle for a loss of one-yard. Dylan Spaeth, Noah Harris-Lyles, and Rudy Ngougni also were credited with large losses on tackles. Bryce Sheppert had the interception to end the game for the second time this year, and also broke up two passes. Sheppert is always at the right place at the right time, and click here to find out why.
"That kid is a very talented athlete and he definitely made some plays", said head coach Mickey Mental when asked about how the defense prepared for the dual-threat challenge that Guy Myers presented. "Our guys did a good job. Our defensive coaching staff figured out a game plan for the second half and obviously tried to hold them in check". For the rest of the interview with Coach Mental, click here.
Coach Mental told Mark Podolski of the News Herald after the game, "Winning this year was awesome. All these kids are a part of my family, our family here, so there's even more of a connection and a relationship building before the season even started. It was very, very special to win (this year)."
The Mountain East will be awarding post-season honors for the 2021 Spring season in a couple weeks, and many a Falcon will have a solid argument to be included. Stay tuned, and #FlyAbove.
