By Ben Risinger, Sports Information Director
November 13, 2004
DEFIANCE, Ohio - The Bluffton University football team (5-5, 3-3 HCAC) finished the 2004 season in style as they shut out rival Defiance College (1-8, 1-5 HCAC) 30-0 on Saturday afternoon.
The Beavers five wins for the year are the most since 2001 when they finished the campaign at 5-5, 4-2 HCAC. The shutout victory is also the first for Bluffton since Sept. 14, 2002 when they defeated Hiram College 45-0 in Salzman Stadium.
The Beavers started the scoring at the 4:20 mark in the first quarter when Ben Dodds (West Liberty/Bellefontaine) caught the 37-yard touchdown pass from Tim Koontz (Goshen, Ind./Concord). After a Seth Burkholder PAT the Beavers led 7-0 until late in the third quarter.
With 5:32 left in the third quarter Bluffton scored three touchdowns in the next minute and a half of play. The Beavers would capitalize on two Defiance errors to take control of the game. The first touchdown occurred when Dodds found a gap and ran in a 10-yard touchdown. After the touchdown Bluffton would lead 14-0 as they prepared to kickoff to the Yellow Jackets. The kickoff went deep and touched a Defiance player to become a live ball in the end zone as freshman Aaron Whitlock (Grove City/Central Crossing) fell on the fumble for the touchdown (Burkholder PAT failed). Four plays later the Yellow Jackets quarterback threw an interception to senior Matt Chiles (Sidney/Sidney) who ran the ball back 43-yards for the third touchdown. After less than two minutes Bluffton led the game 27-0.
The final score of the game came from senior Seth Burkholder (Pandora/Bluffton) who booted in a 33-yard field goal with 12:28 left in the contest. The Bluffton defense denied Defiance for the remainder of the contest for the win, 30-0.
Both Tim Koontz and Aaron Krieger (Temperance, Mich./Ida) played quarterback for Bluffton in the game. Koontz finished with 3 passes for 41 yards and a touchdown with Krieger completing four passes for 43 yards. Ben Dodds led offensive scoring effort with 23 rushes for 124 yards on the ground and caught three passes for 35 yards. Dodds finished the day with two touchdowns. Seniors Scott Steiner (Berne, Ind./South Adams) and Matt Chiles led the defensive side. Steiner posted a team high 12 tackles (9 solo, 3 assist), two tackles for loss and one interception. Chiles finished with 11 tackles (6 solo, 5 assist), one forced fumble and one interception return for a touchdown.
Statistically, Bluffton and Defiance both posted 12 first downs on the day. The Beavers accumulated 279 total yards (195 rush, 84 pass) to Defiance's 164 total yards (92 rush, 72 pass). On the penalty board, Bluffton committed six penalties for 51 yards compared to Defiance with four penalties for 34 yards. The Beavers were also 2-for-2 in the red zone with Defiance going 0-for-1 deep in Bluffton territory.