UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. — The Davenport and Saginaw Valley State football teams had their fans on the edge of their seats in the only top 25 (AFCA) matchup this week in NCAA Division II. In the first top 25 matchup between Davenport and one of their opponents, the Panthers picked up their first program win against a nationally-ranked team with a 29-28 victory over the Cardinals. In the process, the dream season continued for the Panthers who are now 8-0 overall and 4-0 in the GLIAC with two games left in the regular season.
The Panthers took their first lead at 16-14 with 11:59 left in the third quarter and from there it was five lead changes in the second half as the teams traded punches. Davenport took the lead for good with 9:51 left in the game as Brenden Sherrod [dupanthers.com] caught a 27-yard touchdown pass from Jason Whittaker [dupanthers.com]. The score capped off a seven-play, 70-yard drive which lasted 2:08. DU forced a three-and-out on SVSU's next possession and never gave the ball back. The marched 12 plays and 75 yards using the final 8:01 and reached the SVSU one-yard line before taking a knee to end the contest. The stat of the game was that the Panthers held the ball for 39:57 of 60 minutes and used their ball-control offense to keep the Cardinals off the field. DU was also 11-of-20 on third down conversions to sustain drives.
SVSU took just two plays to open the scoring as Jairus Grissom sprinted 73 yards for a touchdown. The Cardinals were without starting quarterback Andrew Brito in this one but Grissom showed off his legs by rushing for 154 yards and three scores. Brandon Gielow [dupanthers.com] cut the deficit to 7-3 with a 38-yard field goal with 3:05 left in the first quarter. It was the first of three field goals by Gielow to tie the single-game school record for made field goals.
Grissom reached the end zone again from one yard with 13:04 left in the second quarter for a 14-3 lead by the Cardinals. Davenport answered on their next drive going 11 plays and 77 yards before Gielow kicked a 21-yard field goal for a 14-6 deficit with 7:24 left in the quarter. DU got a big touchdown just before halftime to trail 14-13 heading into the locker room. It was a 11-play, 72-yard drive culminated in a 22-yard touchdown pass from Whittaker to Roy Livingstone [dupanthers.com] with 12 seconds left until the break.
Davenport got the second half kickoff and went three-and-out, but on the punt return it was fumbled by Isaiah Malcome and recovered by Devin McGee [dupanthers.com] at the SVSU 10-yard line. DU settled for a 25-yard field goal by Gielow and their first lead at 16-14. Grissom had a three-yard touchdown run with 10:37 left in the third quarter to regain a 21-16 lead. Later in the quarter, Shaq Floyd [dupanthers.com] picked off Grissom at the SVSU 31-yard line and DU capitalized in five plays as Whittaker found Alonzell Henderson [dupanthers.com] on a 19-yard touchdown on 3rd-and-9 with 6:54 left in the quarter for a 23-21 lead.
The teams traded turnovers to end the third quarter. Davenport forced four miscues including three fumbles during the game. Gielow had a 25-yard field goal blocked at 12:53 of the fourth quarter, his first miss of the season (8-of-9). SVSU took advantage and moved 80 yards in just three plays with Malcome scoring on a 58-yard touchdown catch and run down the sidelines for a 28-23 lead. Davenport answered with the game-winning score in the aforementioned Sherrod from Whittaker connection and then the magnificent drive to close out the victory.
Davenport has won the last two meetings in University Center. The team ran 87 offensive plays to set the school record and gained 461 yards. Caleef Jenkins [dupanthers.com] ran for 102 yards and reached the 100-yard mark for the second time this season. Henderson set career-highs with nine receptions and 96 receiving yards. The offensive line was awesome as the Cardinals did not record a sack and just one tackle for loss in those 87 plays. Whittaker finished 21-of-45 for 307 yards and three scores with two interceptions. Jalen Robinson [dupanthers.com] led the defense with 10 tackles and forced a fumble. Payton Mitchell [dupanthers.com] had eight tackles. Floyd not only had the interception but four tackles including 2.5 tackles for loss and a forced fumble.
