By George Kopf (@GeorgeKopf19)
McKINNEY, TX – When you throw a dog a bone, they will gnaw on the bone until there's nothing left. The Ferris State Bulldogs did precisely that on Saturday afternoon.
The Bulldogs scored early and often in the first half, propelling 41-14 over Colorado School of Mines to win the Division II National Championship a second straight time.
Once again the 'top dog,' Ferris State set the tone with a 2-yard touchdown run on their opening drive of the game. From there, the defense continued to stop the Orediggers at all costs. Harlon Hill Trophy winner quarterback John Matocha struggled offensively and completed only two passes in the first half. Mines punted five consecutive times in the opening 30 minutes and their final drive resulted in an interception returned 31 yards to the house by senior defensive back Sidney McCloud.
Leading 27-0, the mindset still remained the same for the Bulldogs.
"It was 0-0 all game," said senior running back Marcus Taylor. "We repeat that on a consistent basis, and all the guys would say the same thing."
That large deficit heading to the locker room meant Mines needed to find any sort of momentum to start the second half. A muffed punt inside the Ferris State 30 was a spark, but the Orediggers turned it over on downs. Matocha and the Mines offense finally found the endzone, a 10-yard score late in the third quarter as part of their best drive of the day.
Third-down conversions told the story pretty well on Saturday. Mines converted one first down, while Ferris State's was good on half of their attempts.
"We made a bunch of mistakes that really hurt us," said Mines head coach Brandon Moore. "Ferris State capitalized on every mistake that we made. We gave them a lot and they took advantage of those opportunities."
Ferris State's solid run game shined all game long. Taylor ran for over 100 yards and sophomore Carson Gulker finished three Bulldog drives with short-yardage touchdowns, including a fourth quarter score that put the final touch on the victory.
"Our guys are so gritty and fight so hard," Ferris State head coach Tony Annese said. "We were able to win the five playoff games being tough and gritty. It's a lesson to a lot of young people out there: be as gritty as these guys."
Sunshine and 40-degree temperatures drew 6,333 to McKinney ISD Stadium, the most to watch a national championship since 2016.
"This year was just amazing, just wow," Annese said. "I am just overwhelmed with great feelings with what we were able to achieve."
