September 22, 2025
Top-ranked Ferris State football team dominates overmatched Rio Grande 76-0
It’s tough for an established football team to come into a packed Top Taggart Field and face the top-ranked, defending national champion Ferris State Bulldogs.
But the University of Rio Grande, a program playing for the first time since 1949, probably knew it was in for a rough game when the Bulldogs’ Taariik Brett ran the opening kickoff into the end zone, the first of what scoring in what would become a 76-0 victory.
The Bulldogs, now 4-0, have won 18 consecutive games. Rio Grande has played three games in its return season. The team scored a touchdown in the first quarter of its first game and hasn’t scored since.
The Bulldogs, however, found the end zone in many ways, many times.
“It was, like, how do you want to score?” head coach Tony Annese said after the game. “A kick return score, a scoop and score from ‘Jay Pay’ (Justin Payoute), an interception score by Maurice Adams and Jeremiah Housey, a blocked field goal score.”
Quarterbacks Wyatt Bower, Chase Carter and LeeShaun Mumpfield all contributed to the scoring barrage. Carter threw a five-yard touchdown pass and added a 28-yard scoring run, while Mumpfield rushed for two scores. Freshman Kevin Simes broke loose for a 27-yard touchdown, and senior Brady Rose added an eight-yard rushing score along with two catches for 44 yards.
Annese said the team scored every time it had the ball.
“We never punted, so we scored on every possession,” he said. “No turnovers. A very clean game, proud of them for that. And on defense, obviously, a ‘goose egg,’ proud of the defense for that. We just need to keep on growing.”
The team was scoring so often that it never had long drives that typically lead to taking time off the clock and accumulating yards.
“The weird one was on time of possession,” Annese said. “We had the ball for 22 minutes, 15 seconds, which is drastically low, and this was the lowest offensive output of the year, I believe, only 404 yards, because we scored so many different ways. I guess you’re happy about it but when you analyze against the national statistics, maybe our opponents are thinking maybe our offense has fallen off. Obviously, we did everything we could on offense.”
With the Bulldogs up 42-0 at the half, Annese said Rio Grande coach Mark Thurston requested limiting the second- half quarters to 10 minutes each, a move used occasionally in lopsided games.
“The officials came over and inquired if I’d be in support of that and I said yes,” Annese said. “It has happened. In my opinion, they’re kind enough to come play us, and if that’s what they want, I’m going to be respectful to what they want.”
Annese said he enjoyed playing before a large Homecoming crowd, reflecting what he said is growing excitement around the university on the field and in the classrooms, an institutional effort driven by President Bill Pink.
“Great crowd,” he said. “Obviously having this kind of feeling about Ferris State, not just the football, but Ferris State University as a whole, is truly a great feeling knowing people love to come back. They love their university. That’s what we’re trying to build. That’s what I think Dr. Pink does even better than it’s been done in a long time. I love it! I love that there’s former Ferris football players from many former teams. But there are a lot of students that just love Ferris State.”
The Bulldogs have a bye next week before heading on the road to play Roosevelt University for the first Great Lakes Invitational Conference game on Oct. 4.