The Malone University football team lost its Great Lakes intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) contest to rival Walsh University on Saturday evening at Fawcett Stadium by a final score of 35-13.

The Cavaliers (2-5 overall, 2-5 GLIAC), the "home" team in this year's match-up, built a 28-0 advantage 15 seconds into the third quarter after scoring a pair of touchdowns within the final two minutes of the second quarter and then running back the second-half kickoff 100 yards for another TD.

The Pioneers (1-6 overall, 1-6 GLIAC) answered on their first play from scrimmage following Walsh's lengthy return as running back Ronnie Beers took the option pitch from quarterback Kaleb Scott and raced 72 yards to the end zone to pull Malone within 28-7.

Following a three-and-out for the Walsh offense, a 33-yard punt return by Pioneer defensive back Jordan Johnson gave MU the ball at midfield.  Moments later, kicker Marcus Moeller connected on the Pioneers' first made field goal of the season, a 36-yard attempt that cut the deficit to 28-10.

Moeller then came through again at the start of the fourth quarter, capping an 11-play, 41-yard drive with a 42-yard field goal that made the score 28-13.

After giving up 13 straight points, Walsh managed to end its scoring drought at the 8:21 mark of the fourth stanza on a two-yard touchdown run by running back Kalvin Gordon.  The six-play, 68-yard drive was sparked when Gordon broke off a big 44-yard run on second down.

Malone moved into Walsh territory on its final two possessions, but was unable to add any points as the Walsh defense came up with a fourth-down stop and an interception to seal the victory.

Overall, the Cavaliers enjoyed a 435 to 222 edge in total yards and a 24-11 advantage in first downs. 

Beers paced the Malone ground game with 83 yards on just six carries.  Scott completed five of 12 passes for 60 yards.  Wide receiver Josh McLaughlin posted three catches for 47 yards while fellow wide out Jordan Phillips made two grabs for 66 yards.

In addition to nailing the two field goals, Moeller also handled punting duties for injured starter Frank Dufour and executed a successful fake punt, extending a Pioneer drive with an eight-yard pass completion.

Carl Grady, Ryan Weber and Philip Fisher each tallied eight tackles to pace the Malone defense.  Linebacker Fred Baker Jr. added seven stops, including two tackles for loss. 

Safety Demarco Donaldson recorded seven tackles and became the Pioneers' all-time leader in forced fumbles during the game after ripping the ball away from the Cavaliers on two separate occasions.  Donaldson now has 15 career forced fumbles, moving past Malone Athletics Hall of Fame member Jason Wallick, who posted 13 during his four-year Pioneer career.

Defensive back Lloyd Phillips made six tackles and appeared to have tallied the Pioneers' first defensive touchdown of the season after scooping up a third-quarter fumble and racing to the end zone.  While the fumble recovery stood, the TD was waved off due to a chop block on the return, keeping the score 28-10 midway through the third quarter.

For Walsh, quarterback Paul Kempe completed 14 of 22 passes for 130 yards and a TD.  Wide receiver Jerald Robinson posted four catches for 87 yards with two TDs.  Robinson's second score of the night came on a trick play just before halftime as he was the final recipient of a double pass from Blake Williams.

Malone will be back in action next Saturday night at Fawcett Stadium as the squad hosts Lake Erie College in a 7:00 p.m. contest.  Fans can catch all the action live on the Malone Sports Network (radio broadcast on ESPN 990 AM or streaming live at www.espn990.com). 

Malone Notes: Beers' 72-yard TD run marked the longest offensive play of the season for Malone...It was also the longest run for a Pioneer since 2010 when Justin McLean registered an 82-yard rush (also against Walsh)...Donaldson posted five forced fumbles in both 2012 & 2013 and now has five this season...He is one forced fumble shy of tying Jason Wallick's Malone single-season record of six (set in 1995)...Although he did not record a fumble recovery on Saturday, Donaldson is also on the verge of several records in that stat category as well....He currently has eight career fumble recoveries, one shy of Sean James' career record of nine....Donaldson has four fumble recoveries this season, needing one more to set a new Pioneer single-season record...Donaldson is currently at 339 career tackles and needs two more to tie Jason Kennedy for second on the Malone all-time list (Sean James owns the career record with 413 tackles).