Bluffton College scored on offense, defense and special teams and dominated the College of Mount St. Joseph in each of those departments en route to a 45-7 victory Saturday afternoon at Cincinnati Elder High School.
Both teams scored one touchdown in the first quarter, but Bluffton outscored the hosts 37-0 in the second and third quarters to cruise to their first Heartland Conference win of the season. The Beavers are now 2-3 overall and 1-1 in the HCAC, while the Mount falls to 0-6 overall and 0-2 in the HCAC.
Bluffton outgained MSJ 442-183 in total yardage and collected 22 first downs compared to just eight for the Lions. The Beavers held the football for nearly 40 minutes, while the Mount owned the ball for 20 minutes and threw three interceptions.
Jovan Johnson rushed for 152 yards and a touchdown to lead the BC rushing attack, which churned out 236 yards in the game.
Brad Moore completed 10 of 13 passes for 206 yards and three touchdowns, the first of which went to Jim Dwenger covering 13 yards on Bluffton's first possession and then six yards late in the second quarter. Moore hooked up with Jon Spradling on a 75-yard scoring strike early in the third quarter. Spradling ended the day with three catches for 125 yards.
Bluffton picked off three Lion passes in the game, the first of which came from Jon Richardson in the second quarter, which he returned 26 yards for a touchdown to put the Beavers up 24-7. Pat Craun and Dan Reyes added interceptions in the second half to halt MSJ drives.
Richardson led the defense with eight tackles, including two behind the line of scrimmage. Chris Sommers added seven tackles, including two for no gain.
The BC defense allowed just 26 yards rushing in the game and recovered a fumble.
Adam Burgess was perfect on all six PAT attempts and kicked a 26-yard field goal to give Bluffton a 10-7 lead early in the second quarter.
Bluffton will return to action next Saturday as Hanover College visits Salzman Stadium on Homecoming.
