By Ben Risinger, Sports Information Director
October 23, 2004

BLUFFTON, Ohio - The Bluffton University football team (4-3, 2-1 HCAC) were defeated by the Hanover Panthers (4-4, 3-1 HCAC) 37-20 on Saturday afternoon.

The Panthers started the scoring effort in the contest to go up 7-0, only for Bluffton to kick a 27-yard field goal six minutes later to put the game at 7-3. The Panthers scored twice more in the second quarter, but with 47 seconds left in the first half junior kicker Seth Burkholder (Pandora/Bluffton) connected on a 39-yard field goal to put the game at 21-6 in favor of the Panthers.

The third quarter wasn't the best for the Beavers as Hanover scored three more times to widen their lead to 37-6. Bluffton would not be stopped as they scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter, but could not make up the point deficit for the win. The first Beaver touchdown came in the middle of the fourth quarter when senior Mark Gable (Alvordton/Hilltop) found the 4-yard pass from quarterback Aaron Krieger (Temperance, Mich./Ida). Later in the fourth, Krieger found Gable again for an 11-yard touchdown pass. Even with the fourth quarter surge, the final score was 37-20 in favor of Hanover.

Bluffton saw action from two quarterbacks in the contest. Junior Tim Koontz (Goshen, Ind./Concord) completed eight passes for 108 yards. Aaron Krieger posted six completions for 63 yards and two touchdowns. Senior Ben Dodds (West Liberty/Bellefontaine) led the ground attack with 22 carries for 87 yards. Mark Gable led the receivers with seven catches for 108 yards and two touchdowns. Seth Burkholder was 2-for-2 in field goals for the contest with kicks of 27 and 39 yards. Defensively, freshman Sam McCullough (Bluffton/Bluffton) and senior Scott Steiner (Berne, Ind./South Adams) posted 12 tackles each to lead the defensive effort.

Both Hanover and Bluffton posted 14 first downs each in the contest. Hanover posted 402 total yards of offense (72 rushing, 330 passing) compared to the Beavers 298 total yards (121 rushing, 177 passing). Hanover held the ball for 31:44 minutes to Bluffton's 28:16.

Bluffton will be back on the road next Saturday when they travel to Mount St. Joseph for another Heartland Conference contest. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:30 p.m.