After securing the GLIAC championship in their second consecutive year, the Bulldogs look to finish the regular season against the Davenport Panthers.
The No.1-ranked Bulldogs (10-0, 6-0 in GLIAC) travel an hour south to Caledonia to take on the Panthers (5-4, 4-2 in GLIAC) in the second annual Calder-City Classic.
The Bulldogs are coming off a 51-45 double overtime victory against Saginaw Valley, in what was a hard-fought victory for the Bulldogs. This game saw the Bulldogs have six turnovers, with redshirt freshman Wyatt Bower struggling in this game, throwing three interceptions and fumbling twice.
Sophomore quarterback Chase Carter took over for the struggling Bower. Carter went 9-12 passing for 208 yards and four touchdowns, while rushing 19 times for 67 yards.
Thanks to a 12-yard touchdown run in double overtime from junior slot receiver Taariik Brett, the Bulldogs have secured the GLIAC championship in back-to-back seasons, and for the eighth time in program history.
Junior quarterback Carson Gulker gave his thoughts on the hard-fought win.
“Being able to overcome such serious adversity was awesome,” Gulker said. “Every team faces adversity at some point, so just to see how we responded and fought, and how we didn’t give up was very encouraging.”
For Davenport, they are coming off a tough-fought quadruple overtime 47-45 loss to Northern Michigan. The Panthers come into this game riding a nine-game losing streak against Ferris.
In the nine matchups between these two schools, Ferris has outscored Davenport 311 to 71, with the most points scored in a game for Davenport being in a 41-17 loss in 2018. The closest game was last season, where Ferris won by a score of 24-9.
The Panthers are led by junior Cepheus Harris. Harris has rushed for 911 yards through 10 games this season. He is good for 101.2 yards per game, with 18 touchdowns, which sets him third in the nation, while also adding 141 yards through the air.
For the Bulldogs, they will look to stifle Davenport’s rushing game, as in three of Davenport’s four losses, Harris was held to 55 yards and under.
Davenport also has a good passing game, led by graduate D’Wan Mathis, who has 1,328 yards, nine touchdowns and five interceptions while adding 350 yards and two touchdowns on the ground. Mathis’s top target is redshirt junior receiver Keonta Nixon, who has 508 yards and four touchdowns this season.
On defense, Davenport also takes the ball away at a high rate, sitting sixth in the nation in turnovers with 20. With the Bulldogs coming off a six-turnover game against Saginaw, this will be something the Panthers will look to take advantage of.
The Bulldogs get turnovers at a high rate as well, sitting at second in the nation with 25 turnovers, most of which come from junior defensive back Justin Payoute. Payoute has five interceptions on the season, which is second in the nation, one of which he has returned for a touchdown.
After securing the GLIAC championship, Carter is proud of what his team has been able to accomplish this season.
“Given what this program has accomplished, it’s easy to put the expectation of a national championship on this team,” Carter said. “In reality, this is a different team than past years and every week is a new journey. Our first goal was the GLIAC championship, and we have now accomplished that, and that’s something we’re very proud of.”
The Ferris State Bulldogs travel to the Farmers Insurance Athletic Complex for the final game of the regular season to take on the Davenport Panthers for the Calder City Classic on Saturday, Nov. 15, at 12 p.m.