BLOG 44: Pierce sees resilient group of Bulldogs on the field

By Sandy Gholston

Ferris State’s Paris Holloman (32) takes a pitch as Northern Michigan defender John Blessing (29) chases FSU quarterback Tom Schneider on the option on Saturday afternoon at Top Taggart Field in Big Rapids (Photo/Sandy Gholston)

BIG RAPIDS – Ferris is off to a 4-1 start this season on the gridiron, a mark that includes a 3-1 record in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, but the resiliency of the Bulldogs continues to impress head coach Jeff Pierce.

Pierce, whose team trailed 14-0 in the first half and could have trailed twice that with Northern Michigan squandering two additional opportunities, was pleased to see his Bulldogs respond on what clearly was not one of their better days.

“The one thing about this group is they don’t let things bother them,” said Pierce, whose team actually twice trailed by as many as 14 points. “We weren’t playing our ‘A’ game and they took advantage of a couple of things. The thing that I really liked is we did not lose our composure even when things were not going that great and even though we were down 14-0 early in the game. When you’re in a situation like that you have to keep working hard and keep fighting if you’re going to pull through it and, in the end, we did fight our way through it.”

Tim Hogue scored on a 25-yard touchdown run with 3:31 left in the first half to cut NMU’s lead in half to 14-7. Northern answered as Anthony Leandri built the Wildcats’ lead to 10 at 17-7 with a field goal at 7:55 in the third quarter. Ferris’ Jim Yates answered with a successful 27-yard field goal to make it 17-10. Northern’s Brandon Smith scored on a 3-yard run to make it 24-10 in NMU’s favor in the fourth with 9:28 to go. Receiver Mike Ryan hauled in a 38-yard pass from quarterback Tom Schneider to make it 24-17 in the fourth. Then, at 5:50, Hogue scored again on a 26-yard run to tie the scoreboard at 24-24.

Hogue’s score set the stage for the play of the game and, fittingly, it was the product of an effort by the defensive unit tested all afternoon by poor field position (in Northern’s favor). It came courtesy of junior strong safety Chad Wilson who returned an intercepted pass 75 yards for a touchdown with less than five seconds to go.

“We had an opportunity to make a big play back there in the end and we knew even if Chad was not able to get in the end zone we were going to be able to win it in overtime,” Pierce said. “The momentum had swung our way and we were feeling pretty good about the position we were in with the comeback we made.”

If you have any questions, ideas or comments feel free to contact Sandy Gholston at sgholston2@netzero.com