INDIANAPOLIS - The #14 Indianapolis Greyhounds turned around a 14-0 halftime deficit with big play touchdowns in the second half to defeat #20 Truman State 28-14 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference Championship game.
It was a tale of two halves with Truman State dominating the first 30 minutes holding the Greyhounds on only 57 yards of total offense and nothing on the ground.
The Bulldogs struck first in their second possession of the game. Nolan Hair found the near pylon from three yards out to cap off an 11-play, 68-yard drive that consumed 5:26 of play.
The Truman defense forced UINDY to minus 3 yards in their first five possessions and the Bulldogs forced a fumble on a pass reception deep in the Greyhound end that was returned to the UINDY three. A few plays later, Hair with a carbon copy touchdown to put Truman up 14-0.
The Greyhounds stormed out of the locker room and quickly swept down the field going 75 yards in five plays with Jeremiah Lee scoring from a yard out.
Truman tried to flip the field with a punt by Taylor Cornish inside the UINDY 15 but again, the Greyhounds began marching and quarterback Christian Conkling completing a 29-yard touchdown pass to Alonzo Derrick with 7:12 to play in the third to pull even.
The game remained tied heading to the fourth. Truman had their deepest penetration of the half getting to the UINDY 24 but on fourth and one, Hair was stopped short to turn the ball over on downs.
Teams exchanged a pair of punts as the quarter clock clicked along.
The Bulldogs were backed up inside their 15 but were forced to punt with 7:07 left to play. On the first play from scrimmage, Conkling found Alonzo again for a 51-yard scoring strike and the lead.
Facing a third and long at the Greyhound 32, Hair was pressured off his left side and threw an interception to Kivonte Houston, who returned it 60 plus yards for the insurance score.
Truman was held to 209 yards of total offense with Hair completing 13-of-25 passes for 156 yards. Zach Zerwig and Matt Hall combine for nine catches each with Zerwig accounting for 58 yards and Hall 38.
The Bulldogs will find out their postseason fate tomorrow at 4:30 p.m. when the NCAA Division II selection show airs. Truman was sixth in the region with seven playoff selections available.
