SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio – Prior to the final home game of the season, Notre Dame College honored its seniors on the field. The Falcons then went to work, rushing for 294 yards and scoring three rushing touchdowns, along with a passing touchdown, in a 28-25 victory over Wheeling University.
 
The seniors honored before kickoff included Sam Lofton IV, Cadavius Gary, Dominic Buttazzoni, Cameron Shirkey, Josh Lange, Zachary Slapnicker and Antoine Holloway II.
 
"To the guys who walked today, it's a testament to their career. The success they've had on the field, off the field and what they've brought to Notre Dame College is second-to-none," said head coach Garrett Mack.
 
Notre Dame had plenty of efficient, sustained drives in the first half of the game, scoring at least 21 points in the opening two quarters for just the third time this season. On their second drive of the game, the Falcons went 35 yards down the field in 2:10 of game time to find the endzone. Following an 18-yard punt by Wheeling's Trey Brady, the Falcons turned to junior Idris Lawrence to pick up some important yards. He would run for five yards on third down to get the Falcons to fourth-and-one and then ran five yards, again, for a first down. On the next play, he ran around the left edge, cut inside and found the endzone for a 21-yard TD.
 
On the other side, the Wheeling defense was ready to play as Aaron Davis intercepted an NDC pass on the first drive of the game and then Justin McIlwain picked the ball off at Wheeling's 10-yard line, as the Falcons were driving for a third time.
 
However, off of those two early turnovers, WU scored just three points. Off the second interception, the Cardinals got to NDC's two-yard line, but were stopped short of the endzone on third down and decided to call upon kicker Joao Lima. With 13:56 remaining in the second quarter, Notre Dame led, 7-3.
 
Junior Krys Riley-Richardson did most of the damage on Notre Dame's first possession of the second quarter. He ran for 16 yards to start the drive and, two plays later, found a hole for three yards and a first down. On a pass play, junior quarterback Deshawn Evans was hit late and a roughing the passer penalty was called, giving NDC 15 yards. Lawrence then took off again. He got through the line of scrimmage and made a man miss in the second level to find open turf and score a 34-yard rushing touchdown.

Lawrence would finish the game with 184 rushing yards, averaging 7.4 yards per carry. Riley-Richardson had 71 yards over 12 carries.
 
Trailing, 14-3, Wheeling bounced right back with a 55-yard kickoff return by Tre Holloway. An unnecessary roughness call tacked on 15 additional yards and the Cardinals began the drive on NDC's 27. Landon Lutz connected with Holloway for a 30-yard passing touchdown to respond in less than a minute and close within four points.
 
NDC put distance between the two teams on the scoreboard and gained all the momentum back with splash plays on both offense and defense. Despite a mist falling the entire first half, Evans threw the ball five times on the next drive. He connected with junior Andre Allen Jr. and senior Napoleon Harris for eight yards, each. The Falcons went for it on fourth down and Riley-Richardson powered through for three yards and a first. NDC would end the first half 3-for-3 on fourth down conversions. On the next play, junior Jay Sharp took his first carry of the game all the way to the endzone for a 35-yard rushing touchdown. Notre Dame led, 21-10, with 6:14 to go before halftime.
 
Andre Allen led the team, and set a season-high, with 70 receiving yards by the end of the game.
 
Needing a response, Lutz loaded up to pass for Wheeling on third-and-nine, but under threw his intended receiver and junior Keon'te Huguely intercepted his first pass since the 2021 season.
 
The Falcons' offense was unable to take advantage of the takeaway and went into the halftime break with a 21-10 lead.
 
After receiving the second half kickoff, Wheeling moved the chains for one first down before the NDC defense clamped down and the Cardinals had to punt. That would lead to a nine-play, 67-yard drive by the Falcons. Using both Lawrence and Riley-Richardson, Notre Dame ran the ball six times for 50 yards. Riley-Richardson had two consecutive 16-yard runs. On Wheeling's seven-yard line, Evans sent a short pass to his left finding Riley-Richardson for the Falcons' first passing touchdown of the contest.
 
Wheeling trailed 28-10, with 8:29 on the third quarter clock, but called on Jamir Dismukes at quarterback. Dismukes ran the ball three times, but did not fool the NDC defense. He then missed a receiver on fourth down and WU gave the ball right back to the Falcons.
 
With the momentum and a large lead, Notre Dame drained the third quarter clock with a 12-play drive that lasted over six minutes. Evans began to settle in, completing a 22-yard pass to Sharp and an 11-yard pass to Harris. NDC had a 4th-and-13 situation, at Wheeling's 32 and senior Cameron Shirkey attempted a 49-yard field goal, into the wind. The kick was low and blocked by Wheeling's Rashard Jackson. The Cardinals picked the ball up and ran all the way to the other end for a touchdown as the clock hit zero on the quarter. A two-point conversion attempt was successful, making it a 10-point game.

"We didn't make it easy on ourselves," Mack said. "We had some big mishaps in special teams today and things that we have to clean up. I was really proud of our guys, when we needed to step up, we made the plays."
 
After another NDC punt, WU marched 60 yards down the field in just over two minutes. Lutz ran the ball to the endzone from 15 yards away and in nearly five minutes of gametime, Notre Dame's lead had been reduced to three, 28-25.
 
The Falcons' next two drives resulted in a turnover on downs on Wheeling's 20-yard line and a punt. The Cardinals punted the ball back to the Falcons, with five minutes to go, but would get the ball back with 1:35 on the clock.
 
With the final drive, WU moved down to Notre Dame's 34-yard line, setting up a 51-yard field goal attempt, into the wind. The kick was no good as the clock hit zero and NDC snuck by with the victory. On that final drive, Notre Dame was missing two starters on the defensive side, who went down with injuries.
 
"A situation like that, we've seen it all year, but it's about resiliency," Mack mentioned. Our guys stepped up when they needed to make plays. We had some freshmen out there, some redshirt-freshman in crucial moments and that's a heck of a job by those guys."
 
"It's always the 'next man up' mentality, no matter how deep on the depth chart you are" junior Isaiah Stephens said. "Late in the game, we're trying to keep the guy in-bounds, keep him away from first downs and away from field goal range."
 
Stephens had six tackles and two pass breakups. Freshman Justin Ested and junior Lavell Gibson each had 1.5 tackles for loss. Junior Jacalyn Morrison tied a career-high with eight tackles.

NDC's 294 rushing yards were second most in a game this season.
 
Notre Dame will wrap up the regular season with a trip to Concord University to take on the Mountain Lions, on Nov. 4, at 1 p.m.