By Ben Risinger, SID
October 18, 2003

The Bluffton College football team (2-4, 0-2 HCAC) traveled to southern Indiana for their second Heartland conference game of the year and were defeated 52-10 by the Hanover Panthers (5-1, 3-0 HCAC)

The Beavers two scores of the day came early and late in the game. Matt Cooper posted the first points on the board for Bluffton with a 23-yard field goal with 12:59 left in the second quarter. With the field goal, Bluffton would put the score at 7-3, Hanover . Bluffton's next score would come early in the fourth quarter when Ben McCullough would post a 1-yard run (Cooper kick) to post the final BC points on the day.

Bluffton put up 372 total yards on the contest, compared to Hanover 's 635. The Beavers threw for 204 yards and had 168 yards on the ground. Bluffton held the ball for 36:35, nearly 13 more minutes compared to Hanover 's 23:25 .

Sophomore quarterback Jared Owens went 17-for-22 for 184 yards in the air. He also put up 10 rushes for 33 yards. Ben Dodds led the ground attack, however, with 18 carries for 89 yards. Dodds also posted six catches for 35 yards to lead the receivers. Chris Sommers led the defense with 8 tackles (4 solo), one TFL and one pass deflection on the afternoon.

Bluffton will be back in action this Saturday when they host HCAC foe Mount St. Joseph (5-1, 3-0 HCAC). Kickoff is scheduled for 1:30 p.m.