After taking down the only team to serve them a loss in the 2024 championship season in the Pittsburg State Gorillas, the Bulldogs travel to Painesville, Ohio, to face off against the Lake Erie Storm. The No. 1-ranked Bulldogs (1-0, 0-0 in GLIAC) take on the Storm (2-9, 1-8 in GMAC in 2024), which will be Lake Erie’s first game of the season.
The Bulldogs served up a 34-17 loss to the Gorillas last week, led by redshirt freshman quarterback Wyatt Bower, who went 11-18 with 112 passing yards and one touchdown, while running 25 times for 99 yards and two touchdowns in the first game of his career. While junior slot receiver Taarik Brett had a day himself, having seven rushes for 44 yards, averaging 6.3 yards per carry, while adding five receptions for 47 yards, catching a 24-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter.
Head coach Tony Annese spoke about what it meant to beat an opponent like Pittsburg State.
“You know they are a proud program and one of the best in the nation,” Annese said. “People celebrate these great contests in the first week of the year. It makes it hard, relaxing and knowing the last three weeks that we’ve been grinding and getting ready for a great opponent, and I was really proud of the way we played for the most part. Our defense bent but did not break, and you know, besides the 60-yard touchdown before halftime, our coverage was excellent, but they are such a proud program and we’re happy with the win.”
Ferris took down Lake Erie week 1 of last season, by a score of 56-3, led by quarterback Trinidad Chambliss, who went 16-22 for 246 yards and three touchdowns while adding two rushes for 23 yards and two touchdowns.
In prior matchups against the Storm, the Bulldogs have never lost; they are 8-0 against Lake Erie, outscoring the Storm 399 points to 184 in those matchups. With the closest game being in 2013 being a 56-49 victory, and the most points scored being in the 2015 season, where the Bulldogs won 70-19.
With an offensive legacy against the Storm, the Bulldogs look to keep their offense firing on all cylinders this coming week. Senior wide receiver Jeremiah Lee believes they can keep the momentum from last week.
“We are going to continue to keep getting better and growing each and every week,” Lee said. “That is just who we are as a team, we know what our expectations are, and we know exactly what it takes to reach them every week.”
While the offense showed out for the Bulldogs, the defense is what kept the Gorillas at bay last week; while they may have allowed 361 yards, the defense only allowed 17 points. Additionally, the defense showed out on third down, holding Pittsburg State to 2-14 on third down conversions in the game.
With the Bulldogs having not lost in over a year, the team looks to keep the momentum rolling, and Bowers believes that his team can do that.
“I know we can and will keep this momentum rolling,” Bowers said. “The momentum we have right now will continue next week and keep flowing throughout the rest of this season.
The star on defense was senior defensive back Jalen Jones, who had three total tackles on the game, with two tackles for loss, including a sack, three pass breakups and one interception. Other notable names include senior linebacker Isaiah Byars, who had nine total tackles, and junior linebacker Nolan Ziegler, who had five total tackles, 0.5 tackles for loss and two quarterback hits.
The Bulldogs will take on the Lake Erie Storm in a week one matchup on Saturday, Sept. 6 at 2 p.m.