After winning their 27th playoff game since head coach Tony Annese took over in 2012, the Ferris State Bulldogs look to take on the Minnesota State Mavericks in the DII quarterfinals.
The Bulldogs (13-0, 7-0 in GLIAC) welcome the Mavericks (10-3, 7-3 in NSIC) to Top Taggart Field for the second matchup in the history of these two programs.
Ferris is coming off a commanding victory last week over the Ashland Eagles, where the Bulldogs took them down by a score of 56-24. The Bulldogs were once again led on offense by sophomore quarterback Chase Carter, who went 9-17 passing for 130 yards and three touchdowns, while running 10 times for 91 yards and a touchdown.
Head coach Tony Annese spoke about the victory.
“Huge win for us today,” Annese said. “I want to give Ashland a lot of credit today. Coach Geiser has done a great job with that program, and I’m happy that we’re past them, because they do know us well. They’ve always been a challenge for us. I’m very pleased to move on and see who we face on Saturday.”
Minnesota State is coming off a hard-fought win, which saw the Mavericks take down the University of Indianapolis 35-27 with a late fourth-quarter touchdown.
The Mavericks are a run-first team, rushing for 2,790 yards and 36 touchdowns as a team, with their lead rusher being sophomore running back Sam Backer. Backer has run for 933 yards and 16 touchdowns on the season, with their second leading rusher being sophomore quarterback Mitchell Thompson, who has run for 662 yards and six touchdowns.
As a team, the Mavericks average 214.6 yards per game, while the Bulldogs allow 109 yards per game. Ferris is coming off a game where they allowed 300 yards and a touchdown on the ground, which is the most they have allowed this season.
The Bulldogs have a good rushing attack of their own, being third in the nation in yards per game with 303. With their leading rusher being Carter, who has run for 852 yards and 15 touchdowns. Another prominent rusher is junior slot receiver Taariik Brett, rushing for 515 yards and 16 touchdowns.
On the defensive side of things, the Mavericks are led by redshirt freshman linebacker Jefferson Mobry, who leads the team in total tackles with 64, while also intercepting four passes on the season. Another prominent name on the defense is junior defensive lineman Tanner Olson, who has 26 total tackles, eight tackles for loss and four sacks on the season.
On the defensive side for the Bulldogs, they have benefited from the return of senior defensive back Jalen Jones, who missed nine games during the regular season, but returned for the first playoff game against Northwoods. In his two playoff games so far, he has six total tackles and an interception in each game, while also returning one for a 15-yard touchdown against Northwoods.
Senior slot receiver Brady Rose is excited to keep playing at Top Taggart Field for the playoff games in front of the fans.
“We love playing home playoff games,” Rose said. “It’s very cold up here for the playoffs, and it’s hard for people to come up here and play in the cold.”
The Ferris State Bulldogs will face off against the Minnesota State Mavericks on Saturday, Dec. 6, at 12 p.m. at Top Taggart Field.