KIRKSVILLE, Mo. – The fifth edition of the America's Crossroads Bowl, sponsored by the South Shore Convention and Visitors Authority, will be the first rematch in the game's short history. The Truman State Bulldogs will face the Tiffin (Ohio) Dragons in a sequel to the 2022 encounter at 1 p.m. on Saturday in Hobart, Indiana.
 
The Bulldogs have won six of their last seven games after starting the season 0-3. In their last three outings, the team has outscored their opponents 141-10. Truman State earned its bowl bid with a second-place finish in the Great Lakes Valley Conference and broke the tie-breaker with Upper Iowa by virtue of its win over the Peacocks 26-23 on the road on October 5^th.
 
Tiffin went 8-3 on the season and earned their spot in the bowl game by defeating Findlay (Ohio) 37-14 in the season finale. They finished second in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference with a 7-2 mark. The Dragons have won six of their last seven games and feature the GMACs top offense and defensive units. The Dragons are first in the GMAC in points scored at 34.7 and total offense at 422.5 per game and first in points allowed at 18.2 and yards allowed at 252.5.  The defensive yards allowed number is the 12^th best in the NCAA Division II.
 
Findlay and Wayne (Mich.) State are two common opponents between the two schools. Both Truman State and Tiffin defeated Wayne State in September with identical 31-17 scores while the games against Findlay were two different outcomes. Truman State played Findlay in the opener at home and lost 37-21 while Tiffin played the Oilers in the final game of the season and won at home 37-14.
 
Looking at each team's strength of schedule, Tiffin's schedule was ranked 68^th in the Division II rankings with a past opponent winning percentage of 50.9% (57-55) while Truman's was ranked 101 with a 49.1% past opponent's winning percentage.
 
It will be a rematch of the 2022 bowl game in which Truman State denied a two-point conversion with 46 seconds left to preserve a 28-27 win over the Dragons. The two schools played at each other's campus in 2021 and 2022 with both of those games coming down to the wire. 


In 2021 at Tiffin, the Bulldogs trailed 35-17 and 35-24 heading into the fourth quarter and pulled to within five with a touchdown with 3:29 left to play. Truman State recovered the on-side kick and Cody Schrader capped off the comeback with a three-yard touchdown run with 26 seconds left.


At Stokes in 2022 there were more dramatics. Grant Ross booted a 39-yard field goal with 50 seconds left to send the game into overtime tied at 10. After Tiffin scored a touchdown just two plays into the extra period, Shamar Griffith got the Bulldogs into the endzone on a six-yard run. Gambling for the two-point conversion, the first attempt saw a pass fall incomplete but the Dragons were flagged for holding. On the next try, Nolan Hair found Zach Zerwig at the near pylon for the 18-17 Bulldog win.
 
Truman State won the first three America's Crossroads Bowl games, 2019, 2021 and 2022. Ashland (Ohio) gave the GMAC their first bowl victory by holding off McKendree in last year's game 23-20. The game returns to Hobart High School after being played at Hammond High School in 2023.
 
All-Conference Honors:

Redshirt freshman Jackson Overton was voted the Great Lakes Valley Conference Freshman of the Year and joined 12 other Truman State Football players to earn all-league honors this season.
 
Overton caught 40 passes for 645 yards and 10 touchdowns in his first season on the field for the Bulldogs. His 10 TD catches was the second most in a single-season at Truman State, one off the school-record of 11 held by Larry Tisdale since 1985. In addition, Overton was named to the second team all-GLVC list.
 
Four Bulldogs earned first-team accolades. Offensive lineman Kody Klingensmith, tight end Christopher Kerr, defensive end Thomas Spaulding and linebacker Ulysses Ross. It was the first selection for Klingensmith and he was joined by fellow offensive linemen Houston Eagan (second team) and Wyatt Bonnett (honorable mention).
 
Kerr moved up from a second-team choice in 2023 and caught 31 passes for 363 yards and two scores. He went over 1,000 receiving yards in his career in the final game of the regular season.
 
Spaulding also moved up to first-team honors after a second-team selection. He finished with 36 tackles, seven tackles for loss, a quarterback sack, and a forced fumble and was credited with a team-high three quarterback hurries.
 
Ross picked up his fourth all-conference honor and second straight first-team designation. Ross made 46 tackles, 11 for loss 2.5 sacks, and finished second on the Bulldog career TFL list with 43.5 in 45 career games played. He was an honorable mention pick in 2021 and second-team in 2022.
 
In addition to Eagan and Overton on the second team. Denim Cook and Dylan Hair were second-team choices by league coaches. Cook led the Bulldogs in rushing with  970 yards on 172 attempts and 10 touchdowns. He also caught 13 passes for 109 yards and an additional score.
 
Hair was the final GLVC Offensive Player of the Week and led all league quarterbacks with 25 touchdown passes, which ties him for second on the school's single-season list. He completed 60% of his passes for 2,235 yards while also rushing for 516 yards and four touchdowns.
 
Honorable mentions went to Bonnett, Jake Closser, Robert LeMaster, Jack McCollum and Brock Jones. LeMaster was selected as a long snapper, Jones and McCollum finished the regular season as the top two tacklers for the Bulldogs with 63 and 53, respectively.
 
Closser was second in Division II in punt return average and set a new Truman State single-season mark with 22.1 yards per his 16 returns and two touchdowns. His final return in the regular season broke a school record and was set at 86 yards. Closser was a first-team utility player in 2002 and a second-team defensive back in 2023.
 
Peyton Carr was designated as Truman State's James Spalding Sportsmanship selection. Carr played in 47 career games and was the active leader in tackles with 247 with 20.5 for loss.