By Ben Risinger, Sports Information Director
September 11, 2004
BLUFFTON, OHIO - The Bluffton University football team defeated Hiram College 24-6 on Saturday afternoon at Salzman Stadium. The Beavers now stand at 2-0 for the season. It is the first time Bluffton has been 2-0 since the 1999 campaign when they defeated Bethany 35-14 and Hiram 47-26 on the road.
Bluffton came into the game without starting quarterback Jared Owens, who was injured during practice last week. Junior backup Aaron Krieger (Temperance, Mich./Ida) stepped up to the helm and knocked off those first game jitters quickly as he led his team to their second victory of the year. Krieger threw for 116 yards and one aerial touchdown (17 att.-9 comp.-2 int.) in his first varsity start at quarterback.
Ben Dodds started off the Beavers scoring effort in the first quarter when he broke loose at the 8:11 mark to score his first touchdown of the day, off a 25-yard run. Not even six minutes later Dodds found a huge opening to sprint 67 yards for his second and final touchdown. Kicker Seth Burkholder (Pandora/Bluffton) knocked in both point after attempts to give the Beavers a 14-0 lead. The second quarter would find both teams charging the field, but not connecting with the end zone as both would go scoreless.
The Terriers scored first in the third quarter at 5:15 mark, but found their momentum quickly snuffed when Scott Steiner knocked down the point after attempt and tried unsuccessfully to run the ball down the field for a touchdown. The next Bluffton score came a little over a minute later (4:09) when Leon Payne connected with Aaron Krieger's pass for the 63-yard touchdown. It was Krieger's first career touchdown at quarterback. Late in the game with only eight seconds left, kicker Seth Burkholder knocked in a 23-yard field goal for the Beavers final score of 24-6.
Junior Ben Dodds (West Liberty/Bellefontaine) led the Beaver rushing attack once again as he posted 21 carries for 165 yards and two touchdowns. Freshman running back Terence Clayton (Napoleon/Napoleon) ran the ball 22 times for 82 yards on the ground. Freshman Leon Payne (Springfield/Springfield South) continued to find the ball this week as he led the receivers with four catches for 84 yards and one touchdown. Defensively, senior linebacker Scott Steiner (Berne, Ind./South Adams) posted 16 tackles (3 solo, 13 assisted) and blocked one point after attempt to lead the Beavers.
The Beavers posted 19 first downs compared to Hiram's 12. Bluffton had 425 yards of total offense (309 rushing, 116 passing) to the Terriers 220 total yards (103 rushing, 117 passing). Bluffton also led in time of possession as they controlled the ball for 36:59 minutes compared to Hiram's 23:01. Hurting the Beavers were penalties in the second week as they committed five for 56 yards to Hiram's three for 15 yards.
Bluffton University will be on the road for the first time of 2004 next Saturday as they travel to Thiel College (Greenville, PA). Kickoff is scheduled for 1:30 p.m.