TIFFIN, Ohio -- UMR's Ashton Gronewold put his name in the record books again Saturday, but even his exploits weren't enough to take the Miners to a victory Saturday afternoon.
Gronewold became the first player in Miner history to return two kickoffs for a touchdown in a game and broke both the UMR single game and career records for all-purpose yards along the way, but the Miner defense struggled to slow down Tiffin's offensive attack as the Dragons posted a 73-30 win over UMR.
The Dragons recorded 645 yards of total offense in the game and even as the Miners held two leads early in the contest, ran away from UMR in the first half by building a 56-23 lead by the intermission.
Tiffin jumped on top on its opening possession when quarterback Donnie Johnson capped a 67-yard drive with an eight-yard run. However, Dragon kicker Andrew Breen missed the extra point, then UMR got the lead moments later when Gronewold returned the ensuing kickoff 90 yards for a score. Tim Valencia's extra point gave UMR a 7-6 lead.
The Dragons answered Gronewold's score with one of their own when Dyshaun Edwards brought the next kick back 87 yards for a touchdown. UMR got the lead back a little under three minutes later when Matt Loula returned a fumble 21 yards for a score to give UMR a 14-13 lead with 8:38 left in the opening quarter.
But from there, Tiffin took control of the contest, scoring 21 unanswered points before Gronewold got his second kickoff return for a score as he went 94 yards early in the second quarter to make the score 35-20.
The Dragons got a short field moments later after a 16-yard punt and scored on a two-yard pass from Matt Root to Tom Fritsch. UMR got a 36-yard field goal from Tim Valencia on its next series, but that would be the Miners' last points until Steve Watson threw a 29-yard scoring pass to Nathan Binder late in the third quarter.
The Miners finished the game with 207 yards of total offense, getting 147 through the air as Watson was 15-of-31 in the game. Gronewold caught five passes for 64 yards, but broke records for kickoff return yards (295) and all-purpose yards (357) for one game. The 357 all-purpose yards also allowed him to establish a new single-season mark as he moved his total for the year to 2,088; he is currently ranked sixth in NCAA Division II for all-purpose yards.
Jerome Miller led the Miners with 46 yards on the ground.
UMR will close the 2007 season Nov. 10 at Kentucky Wesleyan.
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