SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio -- Notre Dame College held off Fairmont State in the second half to pick up a 19-14 victory in Saturday's battle of one-loss teams at Mueller Field in South Euclid.
 
The loss snaps Fairmont's four-game winning streak as the Falcons drop to 4-2 overall and 4-1 in the Mountain East Conference. NDC improves to 5-1 both overall and in the MEC, with its only loss of the season coming back in week one against third-ranked Shepherd on the road.
 
Despite being held more than 100 yards below its season average on the ground, Notre Dame's offense outgained Fairmont State 330-254 and held a 14-minute advantage in time of possession.
 
Notre Dame's offense also did not commit a turnover against Fairmont's defense that led NCAA Division II in forced turnovers coming into the week with 18.
 
After a low-scoring first quarter that featured just three points off a Tanner Harding 31-yard field goal, Notre Dame got a 10-yard touchdown pass from Malik Grove to Marvelle Ross and a 58-yard touchdown run by Nehemiah Brown in the second quarter to send the home standing Falcons to locker room with a 16-0 halftime advantage.
 
However, FSU gained some momentum on the first offense snap of the second half as JuJuan Young-Battle found Jeff Iweh for a 65-yard touchdown pass to make the score 16-7 with 14:42 left in the third.
 
On Fairmont's first possession of the fourth quarter, starting at its own 20-yard line, Terrell Charles to the handoff from Young-Battle and broke free down the left side of the field for a 65 yard run to the NDC 15. However, a 35-yard field goal attempt by Sam Keil missed wide left to keep the score at a 16-7 advantage for NDC.
 
Notre Dame added three more points following a 13-play, 64-yard drive on the ensuing possession to put the home-standing Falcons ahead by a 19-7 advantage.
 
Fairmont State got into the endzone on its next possession, a seven-play, 75-yard drive that ended with an eight-yard touchdown pass from Young-Battle to Laurence King.
 
However, NDC took over with 2:20 remaining and were able to run out the clock following a first down run by Grove – preserving Notre Dame's 19-14 win.
 
Young-Battle finished the day going 13-of- 25 for 165 yards and a pair of touchdowns for the FSU offense. Young-Battle also threw an interception and was sacked twice on the afternoon. Jeff Iweh was on the receiving end of four catches for 82 yards and a score to lead all receivers in the game.
 
Charles led the FSU ground attack with eight carries for 87 yards, 65 of which came on a single play.
 
Marcus Porter paced the FSU defense with nine stops in the game, including seven that were unassisted and a sack.
 
Grove turned in a solid performance on the afternoon, going 20-of-34 for 152 yards and a touchdown. Grove also added 79 yards on the ground.
 
Coming into the game, Notre Dame's rushing attack ranked fourth in the country, averaging 285.6 yards per game. On Saturday, NDC totaled 178 yards on the ground – led by Nehemiah Brown's 10 carries for 89 yards and a score. Like Charles, 58 of Brown's yards came on a single carry.
 
Notre Dame's Emmanuel Smith hauled in a game-high nine receptions for 48 yards to pace the Falcon passing attack in the victory.
 
FSU will now return home on a short week to host third-ranked Shepherd at Duvall-Rosier Field. Kickoff is set for 7:10 p.m. on Thursday evening and will be broadcasted live by WV MetroNews. Shepherd dominated West Liberty, 51-14, at Rams Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
 
Note: FSU punter Sam Tucker set a school record with a 77-yard punt late in the third quarter … Fairmont's previous school record of 75 yards by Nathan White was set back in 2001 in a game against WVU-Tech.