By Allan King, Jr. SID intern
October 9, 2002
Bluffton College will open their Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference schedule at Anderson University this Saturday.
Anderson has opened the season with a 3-2 record overall including a 32-24 win last weekend over conference foe Defiance to start 1-0 in the league. The Ravens are 3-0 on the road but are 0-2 at home and have yet to win back to back games this season.
Bluffton brings a 2-2 record into their conference opener and are coming off a 31-14 win over NAIA Urbana University on homecoming last Saturday. Bluffton comes into the game with a 2-0 record at home but a 0-2 record on the road. The Beavers were only inches away from being 3-1 with a heartbreaking loss to Marietta 28-27 that included a missed extra point and three missed field goals and were ahead 6-0 at halftime against Thiel before quarterback Brad Moore left the game due to injury leading to Thiel putting 37 unanswered points on the board.
Bluffton leads the all time series 16-11 and had won ten in a row before Anderson defeated the Beavers last year 27-9 at Anderson. The Ravens finished last year with an 8-2 record and were HCAC co-champs.
The Beaver offense is led by explosive yet efficient senior quarterback Brad Moore and his 754 total yards and 139.82 quarterback efficiency rating. Moore also has a wealth of experience now in his third campaign as the starting QB for the Beavers. Also providing punch to the offense is junior running back Jovan Johnson who leads the conference in all purpose yards with 794 total yards, which is 217 yards more than anyone else.
The defense is led by senior co-captains Cam Staley and Brian Steiner. Staley is second in the league with three interceptions while Steiner has recorded 17 tackles from his defensive end position and has 1.5 tackles behind the line for a negative six yards. In 2001 Staley and Steiner were both recognized as Academic All-HCAC.
The Raven offense is led by junior quarterback Joel Steele who leads the league with 1,567 yards passing (319.6 Avg/game) and freshman running back Brenton Martin who has rushed for 357 yards (89.2 Yds/game) for a 5.2 average that is second in the Conference.
Saturday will be the second year in a row Bluffton will be at Anderson where the Beavers are 6-7 all time against the Ravens on the road since 1968.
Following the Anderson game, Bluffton will host Hanover College, who is currently 4-0, on October 19.