Archived Video BroadcastThe Malone University football team suffered a 59-21 defeat in its season opener against Ohio Dominican University on Thursday night at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium.
The Pioneers got off to a fast start in the early going. On the first play from scrimmage, redshirt senior quarterback
Will Szpor rolled out to his left and connected with true freshman wide receiver
Ashton Dulin on the fifth-longest pass completion in program history – an 82-yard TD strike that put the hosts on top just 16 seconds into the contest.
The Malone defense forced a three-and-out on the Panthers' ensuing possession, giving the ball back to the Pioneer offense. However, the momentum swung in the visitors' favor just two plays later when Panther cornerback Bill Eakins made a diving interception at the Malone 34-yard line. ODU, ranked eighth in the AFCA NCAA Division II Preseason National Poll, then quickly knotted the score at 7-7 after concluding a five-play drive with a four-yard touchdown run by tailback Brandon Schoen.
The Panthers tacked on another TD just over a minute later when wide receiver Dez Stewart ran back a punt 71 yards for a score, putting ODU in front 14-7 with 8:49 showing on the first-quarter clock.
With the help of a pair of fumble recoveries deep in Malone territory, the Panthers tacked on four more touchdowns over the remainder of the first half to take a 42-7 lead into the locker room at intermission.
Following an ODU field goal early in the third quarter, Malone engineered an 11-play, 80-yard drive that culminated with a four-yard touchdown run by running back
Matt Blasiole.
The Pioneers then cut the deficit to 45-21 near the end of the third quarter as defensive back
Jordan Johnson fielded a punt at his own 24-yard line and raced 76 yards to the end zone, setting a new Malone record for the longest punt return in team history.
The hosts were unable to pull any closer over the remainder of the contest, though, as ODU wrapped up the scoring with a pair of fourth-quarter touchdown drives.
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Pioneer Individual Highlights-Szpor completed 9 of 19 passes for 149 yards; 1 TD, 1 INT
-Dulin rushed for 50 yards on four carries in addition to the lengthy TD reception
-Blasiole finished with 47 rushing yards on 13 attempts; 1 TD
-WR
Eian Elsass posted a game-high six catches for 59 yards
-DB
Lucas Haupt posted a game-high 8 tackles; 1 TFL
-DB
Daniel Tepe & LB
Fred Baker Jr. each added 7 tackles
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Game Notes-ODU posted 433 total yards (184 passing, 249 rushing) compared to 298 yards for MU (181 passing, 117 rushing)
-The four longest passes in program history went for 94, 94, 90 & 85 yards; The 82-yard toss from Szpor to Dulin marked the fifth longest
-Szpor now owns two of the five longest passes in the Pioneer record book as he also tossed one of the 94-yarders, a 2011 TD throw to Justin McLean
-The previous record for the longest punt return belonged to Malone Athletic Hall of Famer Jeremy McClure, who notched a 68-yard run back against Westminster in 1995
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Up Next:  The Pioneers travel to Michigan Tech University for a 1:00 p.m. contest on September 12th. Listen to the game live at
www.malonepioneers.com/showcaseÂ