NORTH MANCHESTER, Ind. - The Bluffton University football team kept grinding on Saturday, Oct. 22, and when the dust settled after three overtimes, the Beavers handed Matt Nardo his first victory as a head coach! Bluffton moved to 1-6 and 1-3 in the Heartland Conference with a 46-44 triple-overtime thriller! Manchester fell to 1-6 and 0-4 in the conference.

After trading a pair of field goals in the opening stanza, a 10-yard scoring toss from Bobby Bourke (Commerce, MI/Walled Lake Central) to Joseph Taviano (Lima/Perry) evened the score at 10-10 with five minutes left in the second quarter.

Bluffton was trailing 17-10 late in the half when Marvus McWright (Westland, MI/Lee M Thurston) came up with a huge sack and forced fumble that Brady Welker (Delphos/Jefferson) scooped up. He rumbled all the way to the Manchester seven before tossing it to Keith Holmes Jr. (Toledo, Ohio/St. Francis DeSales) who finished the return and knotted the score at 17-17 heading to the break!

A pair of 4th quarter scoring runs by Kainan Stoner (Belle Center/Benjamin Logan) helped the Beavers knot the game and go ahead 30-23 with 3:08 to play. However, Manchester punched it in with just 28 ticks left, sending the contest to overtime.

Andre Price Jr. (Akron/Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy) and Ethan Beringer (Findlay/Carey) both hauled in TD passes from Bourke in the first two overtimes setting the stage for overtime number three when it goes to two-point conversion tries. Another Bourke to Beringer toss proved to be the difference when Manchester was unable to find the end zone in extra session number three!

Manchester finished with a 417-316 advantage in total offense, but Bluffton outgained the home team 197-165 on the ground. The Beavers struggled with just 6-of-15 third-down conversions, compared to 9-of-17 for the Spartans. Manchester moved the chains 31 times, while Bluffton finished with 20 first downs.

Bourke completed 13-of-23 passing attempts for 142 yards and three scores. Price had four grabs for 54 yards and a touchdown. Stoner powered the Beavers with 118 yards and two touchdowns on 23 carries.

Karl Foster (Detroit, Mich./Denby) and Mason Brandon (Louisville, Ky./Meade County) paced the defense with 11 tackles apiece. Welker added 10 stops and two fumble recoveries.

Bluffton will be back on the road next Saturday, Oct. 29, when they travel to HCAC-favorite Mount St. Joseph for a 1:30 p.m. start in Cincinnati.

-BEAVERS-