By Bill Hanefeld Jr., sports information director
November 12, 2005
BLUFFTON, Ohio -The Bluffton University football team (3-7, 2-4) dropped its third straight 2005 Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference contest to longtime rival Defiance College (6-4, 4-2) by a final score of 41-14.
The Yellow Jackets jumped out to a 7-0 advantage less than one minute into the game when freshman tailback Scooter Curtis found a gap and sprinted 65 yards for the score. Following a Bluffton punt, Defiance put together a seven minute 13-play drive that David Lamb capped with an eight-yard touchdown run. The Beavers cut the difference to seven when wide receiver Anthony Bryant (Reynoldsburg/Reynoldsburg) hauled in a 26-yard touchdown reception from senior quarterback Jared Owens (Van Wert/Crestview) early in the second quarter. Defiance took advantage of good field possession to end the first half with a two touchdown cushion when freshman quarterback Hans Vetter went into the end zone from ten yards out with 26 seconds to play.
The Beavers again trimmed the Defiance lead to seven when junior fullback Ben McCullough (Bluffton/Bluffton) bulled his way across the goal line from the one-yard line late in the third quarter to trail by a score of 21-14. On the first play of the fourth quarter, Vetter hit sophomore wideout Luke Dillon with a quick toss and the standout receiver and his blockers did the rest as he cut through the Beaver defense for a 59-yard touchdown to put the Yellow Jackets up 27-14. The Defiance defense continued to pressure the Beavers and it allowed the Yellow Jacket offense to tack on two more touchdowns late in the game as Bluffton ended the 2005 season with a 41-14 loss.
Senior tailback Ben Dodds (West Liberty/Bellefontaine) missed the final game of his Bluffton career with a foot injury that he suffered in last week's game at Franklin. He ends his career with 3,692 yards on the ground, including 1,082 this year, and 36 touchdowns. Owens completed eight passes for 110 yards and one touchdown to go over the 1,000 yard mark for the second time in his career. Sophomore tailback Terence Clayton (Napoleon/Napoleon) finished with 41 yards on 16 carries. Bryant caught three passes for 73 yards and one touchdown. Junior tight end Jeremy Haselman (Leipsic/Leipsic) picked up two receptions for 21 yards on the afternoon. Sophomore linebacker Sam McCullough (Bluffton/Bluffton) once again led the Beaver defense with 10 tackles (4 solos) while senior linebacker Tim Koontz (Goshen, Ind./Concord) contributed with eight tackles.
Bluffton ended the 2005 season by returning the vaunted 'Hammer' to the Yellow Jackets of Defiance.