When: Saturday, November 3, 2007, at 1 p.m.
Where: Bluffton, Ohio - Salzman Stadium
On the Radio: Listen live to Bluffton University football on WDOH 107.1 FM.
Bluffton University (0-8, 0-5 HCAC) welcomes the College of Mt. St. Joseph (7-1, 4-1 HCAC) for a Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference clash with the Lions.
Greg Brooks is currently in his fifth year as the head coach of the Bluffton University football team. The Beavers have put together a 13-35 mark during Brooks’ tenure at the helm. He previously served as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for Bluffton, leading the Beavers to their best offensive seasons in school history.
Rod Huber is finishing his eighth season as the Lions’ head coach. Huber led the program to a third straight HCAC championship last fall, as the Lions went 7-0 in conference play. The Mount became the first team in HCAC history to record three straight conference titles. Huber has 25 years of coaching at the high school and collegiate level and has been on the Mount football staff since the program’s inception in 1990. Prior to becoming the third head coach in Lions’ football history in 2000, Huber was a defensive position coach and spent four years as the Lions’ defensive coordinator.
Bluffton hosts Mt. St. Joseph in the 17th meeting between the Heartland Conference rivals. The Lions have won 10 of their 16 meetings with the Beavers, including the last five. MSJ posted a 17-0 shutout of Bluffton at Schueler Field a year ago.
The Hanover College football marched 80 yards on six plays in 31 seconds without the benefit of a timeout and found the end zone with only 19 seconds on the clock to deprive Bluffton University of its first victory of the season with a come-from-behind 24-21 win over the Beavers on Saturday, Oct. 27, 2007. Bluffton fell to 0-8 overall and 0-5 in the Heartland Conference while the Panthers improved to 2-6, with a 2-3 mark in the HCAC.
After starting at their own one-yard line following the opening kickoff, the Beavers moved the ball to the Bluffton 24-yard line, but a 31-yard punt and eight-yard return by Tyler Thiems gave Hanover the ball just past midfield with 11:32 to play in the first half. Hanover moved the chains three times before Matt Herron split the uprights with a 33-yard field goal for a 3-0 Panther lead.
Anthony Bryant's (Reynoldsburg/Reynoldsburg) 21-yard return on the ensuing kickoff gave Bluffton excellent field position at the 41-yard line. Two Cameron Campeau (Pfafftown, N.C.) first downs and a 32-yard strike from Kyle Coleman (Etna/Watkins Memorial) to Drew Lovelace (Trumansburg, NY/Charles U. Dickerson) on third-and-nine set up Campeau's 1-yard scoring plunge.
Midway through the second quarter, Hanover took over on the home 45 and picked up one first down before Josh Elbert connected with Noel Somarriba for a 34-yard touchdown on third down, making the score 10-7 in favor of the Panthers.
Hanover appeared ready to tack on another score when Eric Cook broke through the line and blocked Jonathan Thompson's (Carmel, Ind./Carmel) punt at the Bluffton 12-yard line with 25 seconds to play in the first half. On the first play from scrimmage following the change of possession, defensive end Kyle Rode (Delphos/Jefferson) picked off Elbert 's short pass to the flats and went 86 yards to the house, giving Bluffton a 14-10 lead at the break.
Still trailing by a 17-14 count with 12:19 to play in the game, the Beavers took over at their own three-yard line following an illegal block on a punt return. Freshman Greg Mason (Cleveland/Collinwood) moved the sticks twice and Kyle Coleman (Etna/Watkins Memorial) found Lovelace for a 21-yard pick-up to the Hanover 44-yard line. Three straight Campeau rushes moved the chains before Coleman hooked up with senior Mike Brown (North Wales, Penn./Calvary Christian Academy) for an 18-yard gain. Brown's 10-yard reception set up Ed Jackson's (Dayton/Northridge) second touchdown of the year, a one-yard rush to paydirt which put Bluffton on top 21-17 with just over five minutes to play.
Hanover moved the ball to the Bluffton 20 on its ensuing drive, but Taylor Iceman (Lucas/Lucas) picked Elbert off in the end zone with only 2:27 left on the clock. Mason picked up a first down on third-and-seven, but Hanover limited him to six yards on his next three carries, forcing a Bluffton punt with just 50 seconds remaining.
Elbert misfired on his first two passing attempts before a 17-yard completion to Tyler Rump stopped the clock. On their next play from scrimmage, Elbert hit Thiems for a 58-yard gain to the Bluffton 5-yard line. Two plays later Hanover sealed the come-from-behind victory with a 5-yard Wes Barnes reception in the end zone.
Mason picked up 77 yards on 23 carries to lead Bluffton on the ground. Lovelace hauled in four catches for 71 yards while Brown picked up 39 yards on three receptions. Coleman completed 11 passes for 138 yards. Standout linebacker Sam McCullough (Bluffton/Bluffton) finished with a game-high 19 tackles, including two sacks. Iceman chipped in 14 stops and his fourth interception of the year.
Hanover put up 374 yards for the game, including 288 through the air. The Beavers gained 232 yards in the loss. Bluffton converted on 9-of-20 third down opportunities while Hanover made good on 10-of-19 attempts. For the game, the Beavers had a marked time-of-possession advantage, controlling the ball for nearly 40 minutes.
MSJ 10, Defiance 0
Kevin Koch (Cincinnati/Roger Bacon) booted a 37-yard field goal with 5:24 left to play for the first points in the game, and Jake Davis (Cincinnati/Anderson) added a late six-yard run after a turnover, to give the Mount a 10-0 home win today against Defiance College. The Lions are now 7-1 overall, 5-1 in the HCAC and trail Franklin College (5-0) by a half game for the conference lead.
Davis led the Mount with 80 yards rushing on 23 carries and added the six-yard TD score with 49 seconds remaining in the game. That score was set up by a fumbled punt return by Defiance's Scooter Curtis on the Defiance four-yard line. The fumble was recovered by Nick Moffitt (Mason/Kings). Vince Palmer (Cincinnati/Anderson) completed 20 passes in 33 attempts for 156 yards, with one interception. Tim Meiner (Hamilton/Talawanda) and Mike Zies (Cincinnati/Anderson) led all receivers with six receptions each. Kyle Prosser (Cincinnati/Oak Hills) had a game-high 11 tackles while Travis Blank (Dayton/Bellbrook) and Rocky Siegel (Cincinnati/Glen Este) had nine stops each.
Sophomore tailback Greg Mason leads the Bluffton rushing attack with 284 yards and two touchdowns. Cameron Campeau has picked up 227 yards on the ground with three scores. Junior quarterback Kyle Coleman has completed 65-of-145 passes for 722 yards and two touchdowns. Joel Sienicki (Goshen, Ind./Northridge) is pacing the Bluffton receivers with 24 receptions for 225 yards and one of the Beavers’ four receiving touchdowns. Drew Lovelace and Mike Brown have 17 and 16 catches for 238 and 223 yards, respectively, with two games to play. Lovelace has two touchdown receptions.
Two-time first team All-HCAC linebacker Sam McCullough has a conference-high 119 stops, including 52 solos, six sacks, two interceptions, a fumble recovery and a blocked punt. Senior safeties Taylor Iceman, who has four interceptions on the year, and Ryan Christy (Snellville, Ga./South Gwinnet) have chipped in with 65 and 39 tackles, respectively. Kyle Rode has anchored the defensive line with 36 tackles, including seven sacks for a loss of 52 yards, an 86-yard interception return for a touchdown at Hanover and a fumble recovery. Senor linebacker Gordon Hagen (Toledo/Libbey) has 42 tackles for the Beavers.
Bluffton wraps up its 2007 season when it travels to long-time rival Defiance College on Saturday, November 10. Kickoff at Justin F. Coressel Stadium is slated for 1 p.m. The Mount hosts Thomas More College in the Bridge Bowl on Saturday, Nov. 10. The contest is scheduled to start at 1:30 p.m. in Cincinnati.
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