Football 9/21/2013 11:14:00 PM Kevin White, Truman Athletics

Bulldogs Rally For Dramatic Victory

Box Score

KIRKSVILLE, Mo. – Garrett White's three-yard touchdown run with :49 seconds left capped off a furious 24-23 come from behind victory for the Bulldogs against #20 William Penn (Iowa) on Saturday night at Stokes Stadium.

The Statesmen (1-2) scored 23 straight points after the Bulldogs took an early 10-0 lead before the fourth quarter heroics.

Following an interception by Brady Schroeder and an illegal block on the Statemen during the return, quarterback Devonte Black threw his first career touchdown pass to White from 14 yards out to pull the Bulldogs to within six early in the fourth quarter.

William Penn then chewed up just over six minutes with 10 straight rushes to reach the Bulldogs eight yard line. However kicker Marcus Kerrigan pulled a 25-yard field goal left to keep it a one-possession game.

The Bulldogs (2-1) went out in three straight plays and punted the ball back with 5:41 left. Matthew Smith got a key tackle for loss on first down and Truman's defense held serve with their only three-and-out of the night.

Truman took over at their own 39 and faced a fourth and 12 in which Zach Tobin found Dallas Grier over the middle for 14 yards. It was Grier's second reception of the night.

Once again the Bulldogs stared down a fourth and 12 from midfield and Tobin found Grier for a 17-yard pickup down to the Statesmen 34.

A pass interference penalty on the next play pushed the ball to the 20 when Tobin connected with White on a screen pass. White fought down to the three yard line and on the next play went up the gut for the tying score. Derek Koon added the extra point for the lead.

The Statesmen's final drive reached the Bulldog 44 but Kerrigan's 61-yard field goal attempt was well short.

White had seven carries for 106 yards in the first half including an 80-yard touchdown run that put the Bulldogs up 10-0 in the first quarter. He finished with 161 all-purpose yards on the night with 109 on the ground and 52 through the air and accounted for all three Bulldog touchdowns.

Aaron Hartfield opened the game with a 68-yard kick return that Truman used to take a 3-0 lead following Koon's 29-yard field goal, his 42nd of his career.

After Truman raced out to the 10-0 lead, the Statesmen took control of the game by rushing for 408 yards on 63 attempts and chewed up over 35 minutes of possession time. Evan Ressler rumbled for 164 yards on 30 rushes and had one touchdown while quarterback Tyler Hafner added 113 yards on 14 carries.

William Penn got on the scoreboard with a seven yard run by Ressler in the first and a 15-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown just under two minutes later by Nick DiMarco.

The Statesmen threw just 11 times, completing five for 26 yards and a long of just eight. Kerrigan missed three of four field goal attempts with his only make coming from 36 yards out at the end of the first half to put the visitors up 17-10.

William Penn took the opening drive of the third quarter in for a touchdown to expand their lead to 23-10 with a botched snap on the extra point causing it to fail.

Tobin got his first collegiate start for Truman going 8-of-11 for 79 yards while Black played a chunk of the second half going 7-of-11 for 61 yards and a touchdown.

Truman returns home next Saturday to face long-time rival the University of Central Missouri at Stokes Stadium for a 7:00 p.m. kickoff. The Bulldogs and Mules will be meeting for the 97th time. It will be the final game in a 67 consecutive year streak dating back to 1945 with Truman joining the Great Lakes Valley Conference this season and the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association not having any non-conference openings in the near future.

Game Notes:
White's 80-yard touchdown run was the longest by a Bulldog since Karega Scott reeled off an 82-yard run against Central Missouri in 1995.

William Penn dominated the time of possession with 35:25. The Statesmen had the ball for over 11 minutes in the second half to take a 17-10 lead.

Both teams were a perfect 3-for-3 on fourth down conversions. They were the Bulldogs first fourth down attempts this season.

The Statesmen had five quarterback sacks totaling 27 yards and 10 tackles for loss for a total of 52 yards.

Jeramey Dockery led Truman with 14 stops and Austin Zoda added 10. Five Bulldogs apiece had a tackle for loss totaling 14 yards.

Brady Schroeder and Chris Stanton each notched their first career interceptions for Truman.

The win was the 540th for the Truman program dating back to 1900.

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