Ferris State is just one game away from yet another Division II national championship.
After blasting Newberry, 49-17, on Saturday, Dec. 13 in the Division II semifinal, the Bulldogs will play for a fourth national championship in five years under coach Tony Annese. Ferris State won the 2024 title as well as the 2021 and 2022 trophies; Saturday’s win gave it 29 straight victories.
The Bulldogs (15-0) made it look utterly easy on Saturday at Top Taggart Field in Big Rapids, jumping out to a 21-7 lead in the first quarter and rolling from there.
Ferris State racked up 511 yards of total offense compared to 394 from Newberry, but the reason it was such a blowout was the turnovers. On a freezing cold day with temperatures listed at just 11 degrees, Newberry quarterback Reed Charpia threw five interceptions to go along with three team fumbles, one of which Ferris recovered. Even though the Bulldogs lost two fumbles of their own, the sheer amount of interceptions were far too much for Newberry to overcome.
“It was tough out there with the weather and it was tough on both teams,” Annese said in a release. “Obviously, I give Newberry a lot of credit. I thought they did a lot of miraculous things and had a great year. They’ve been calling them then cardiac kids. All of a sudden we go up and then they come back and you’re like, ‘Oh my gosh, is this the real deal?’ We were able to get some key turnovers, interceptions and that helped us a lot.
“Those were the worst conditions I’ve ever been in,” he added. “You know, I’ve never coached in a game that was that cold. But all in all, it was a huge, huge win.”
In total, four different Ferris State players attempted passes, led by Wyatt Bower who went 4-for-7 for 94 yards. Fellow QB Carson Gulker led the way on the ground for Ferris, rushing 17 times for 115 yards, while running back Jake Price added three touchdowns on the ground.
Perhaps the most exciting moment of the game happened with Ferris up, 35-14, when QB Chase Carter faked a handoff, kept it himself and scored to make it 41-14, but well after he crossed the goal line, he was crushed by a Newberry defender.
That led to all kinds of shoving and eventually some punches being thrown and even a few ejections.
In the end, the story was Ferris State’s continued domination.
Annese took over the program in 2011 and brought the program to unparralled levels of success this decade. He led the Bulldogs to back-to-back Division II titles in 2021 and 2022, then won the championship again in 2024.
Can he do it again?
The Bulldogs will face Harding, which beat Kutztown, 49-21, in Saturday’s second semifinal game, next week in the D-II title game in McKinney, Texas, on Saturday, Dec. 20 (4 p.m., ESPNU). It’s a matchup of the past two national champs, as Harding won the 2023 title, winning a tournament in which Ferris State lost to rival Grand Valley State in the first round.
Next up: Bison
Matchup: No. 1 Ferris State (15-0) vs. No. 3 Harding (15-0), NCAA Division II championship game.
Kickoff: 4 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 20; McKinney ISD Stadium, McKinney, Texas.
TV: ESPNU.
