By: Jack Reed, sports information assistant
BLUFFTON, Ohio - The Bluffton University football team was back in action after an impressive 49-14 victory last Saturday, as they hosted Anderson on March 13 in the spring home opener. After 60 minutes of play and a hard-fought battle, the Beavers prevailed, 35-27, over the Ravens. Bluffton moved to 3-0 overall and 2-0 in the Heartland Conference, while Anderson fell to 0-2 on both accounts. It marks just the second time since 1999 that the Beavers have opened the season with a 3-0 mark, the other being in 2016 when Bluffton went 7-3 after that 3-0 start.
The Beavers came out firing on all cylinders as they marched down the field on their first possession. The drive was capped off by a one-yard score from senior Darian Greeley (Belleville, Mich./Chippewa Valley). On Anderson's ensuing offensive possession, freshman phenom Montez Archer Jr. (Detroit, Mich./Martin Luther King) picked off the Ravens for his first turnover of the game. After a Bluffton punt, sophomore Martez Nabors (Redford, Mich./Thurston) made it two turnovers on two drives for the Ravens with his pickoff at the Bluffton 23-yard line.
Later in the quarter, junior quarterback Zachary Nobis (Bryan) connected with former signal-caller Ryan Markoff (Centerville, Ohio/Archbishop Alter/Valparaiso University) for an 11-yard touchdown and a 14-0 advantage heading into the second quarter.
Midway through period number two, Nobis threw a deep ball to SaCari Reese (Southfield, Mich./Oak Park) for a 44-yard score. The Beaver defense stood tall on the next possession and then Archer did the rest as he took Anderson's punt 70 yards to the house for a 28-7 Bluffton advantage. On the last play of the half after the clock appeared to strike all zeros, Anderson was able to punch it in for six as the Ravens tightened the gap, 28-13, heading into half.
Coming out of the intermission, Anderson would control the entire third quarter as they showed how they scored 48 points on Franklin a week ago. They connected on their 2-point conversion following a 39-yard scoring strike from Tyson Harley to James Tucker, making the score 28-21. On the ensuing kickoff they blasted the ball off Bluffton just past the line of scrimmage and recovered the carom less than three minutes into the second half. Again they would take the ball right down the field and score. Quickly the Beavers lead was cut to just one as the extra point was blocked, keeping Anderson from knotting the game (28-27).
Anderson was knocking on the door early in the fourth when none other than Archer came up with a crucial interception on the 2-yard line. The Beavers moved the ball down the field and Greeley punched it in from 10 yards out. With the score 35-27, the Ravens had one last chance to tie it up. Anderson moved the chains three times and the Ravens were closing in on the red zone when Archer came up with the game-saving interception on a tipped pass with just a 1:38 to play! Bluffton put it in victory formation to run out the clock and stay undefeated as the scoreboard posted a 35-27 advantage for the home team.
Bluffton garnered 359 yards of total offense on just 50 plays (7.4 yards per play). The Beavers held Anderson to 440 total yards, 260 fewer than the 700 they put up a week ago against Franklin. The home team ran for 223 yards, compared to 136 for the Ravens. Bluffton saw just six third downs for game, converting half of them, while AU was 14-of-25 on third down and 5-of-7 on fourth down attempts. Both teams converted three red zone opportunities
Nobis went 12-of-19 passing for 126 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. Greeley led the ground game with 171 yards rushing on 19 attempts and two touchdowns of his own.
Archer Jr. and Brady Hauenstein (Findlay, Ohio/Columbus Grove) led the Beaver defense with nine solo tackles apiece. Nick Perry (Northwood, Ohio/Lake) was in on 13 total stops, while Nolan Childress (Cleveland/Ginn Academy) added 12 tackles for the Beavers.
For the second straight game, Archer Jr. equaled the school record with three interceptions. Last week he took a fumble to the house and he followed that up with a 70-yard punt return for a score against Anderson! His six pickoffs through three games are just two away from the school single-season record of eight held by Paul Hostettler (1967) and Steve Risley (1986)!
Bluffton will be back in action next Saturday, March 20, when they travel to take on pre-season favorite Hanover College while looking to stay unbeaten. Kickoff is slated for 1:30 p.m.
-BEAVERS-
