Top Dawg

Mitch Maloney and Jackson Dieterle

It’s been a while, Bulldogs. With so much happening in the world of Ferris sports over the past week, it was almost impossible to pick one Top Dawg. So, I didn’t! 

This week, the Top Dawg honors will land both on the gridiron and the ice. 

First up is senior forward Mitch “The Machine” Maloney for the Bulldog hockey team. The Bulldogs unfortunately have gone 1-3 over the past two weekends but Maloney has been nothing short of outstanding. 

In the Dawgs’ 3-2 overtime loss against the Michigan State Spartans Nov. 18, Maloney found the net on an unassisted goal that put his team on the board. 

Maloney’s real doozy of a game came Friday, Nov. 24, when the Bulldogs headed south to take on Alabama Huntsville in a Thanksgiving weekend showdown. Maloney may have had enough to eat the day before but he was still hungry for more. 

Maloney started his day by assisting on a Corey Mackin goal that put the Bulldogs up 3-2 in the second period. The third period is where he really went off, scoring three unanswered goals to record the hat trick and give his team a 6-2 victory. 

The Bulldogs may have lost their second matchup with the Chargers Saturday, Nov. 25, by a score of 5-3 but Maloney found the net again, bringing his goal total to four on the weekend and 12 on the year. 

The next Top Dawg recipient is a real kicker. 

The Ferris football team advanced to the NCAA Division II quarterfinals after taking down the undefeated Fort Hays State Tigers. In this game, one performance outshined the others and it came from an unlikely source: the punter. 

Yes, punters are people too and sophomore Jackson Dieterle proved that with four big plays that might just have been the key to the big 31-21 victory Saturday, Nov. 25. 

Dieterle had his fair share of punts in this game, as both teams remained scoreless through the first quarter. The stage wasn’t too big for him though, as he managed to average 45.3 yards on four punts, with every one of those balls pinning the Tigers inside their own 20-yard line. 

Both Bulldogs had big games and will look to continue their momentum this weekend.

Click here to read up on the previous Top Dawg recipient from the hockey team.