GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — In one of the most dramatic endings in Davenport history, the Panthers drove 92 yards in 12 plays and quarterback Jason Whittaker called his own number on a 10-yard touchdown run with 11 seconds left on 4th-and-goal for a 24-21 win over Saginaw Valley State to remain undefeated at 8-0, 4-0 GLIAC.
Down 21-9 with 9:22 remaining, Davenport took over the ball after an interception by Chris Thompson which set up the offense at the SVSU 17-yard line. The Panthers converted a 4th-and-1 at the SVSU 8-yard line on a push up the middle by Whittaker. On third-and-goal from the seven-yard line, Whittaker found Demetrius Garrett in the back of the end zone for the touchdown with 7:52 to play to make it 21-16.
The Cardinals drove to the DU 34-yard line on their next drive, but quarterback and Caledonia native Mason McKenzie was stopped for no gain on 3rd-and-3 by Jeremiah Jackson. SVSU decided to punt the ball back to the Panthers and ultimately regretted not going for it on fourth down. The Panthers needed that one more chance and they capitalized on the winning drive. Whittaker completed a 24-yard pass to Preston Smith on 4th-and-7 at their own 11 to extend the drive. Then Garrett had two catches for 32 yards to get the ball into SVSU territory. Whittaker scrambled right on 2nd-and-10 and found Peyton Brown for 28 yards to the 10-yard line. After a spike to stop the clock and two incomplete passes, Whittaker improvised and ran the ball for 10 yards as he dove into the end zone for the winning score and was mobbed by teammates. Caleef Jenkins then had the two-point conversion run for the 24-21 lead. The Cardinals had one last chance but fumbled on a lateral at their own 33-yard line and Geemontae Peck recovered the fumble as time expired.
Whittaker finished 20-for-37 through the air with two touchdowns and 255 passing yards. He accounted for three touchdowns for the second straight week after one passing and two rushing touchdowns in last week's win at the University of Mary. Whittaker completed passes to eight different receivers with his first touchdown pass coming with 9:55 left in the second quarter to Mahki Matthews from seven yards. Garrett finished with career highs of six receptions and 65 receiving yards. Smith caught three passes for 63 yards. The Cardinals were stingy against the run as Davenport rushed for a season-low 74 yards on 31 carries. SVSU rushed for 188 yards as Terrance Brown led them with 84 yards on 13 carries including a 56-yard touchdown run in the third quarter. McKenzie, making his first collegiate start, finished 22-for-31 for 156 yards and was sacked twice. Xavier Marquez had one of those sacks and totaled nine tackles. Julius Wilkerson led the team with 11 tackles and a five-yard tackle for loss. It was his third double-digit tackle game of the season. Jackson had a strong game with eight tackles and also forced a fumble.
