BLUFFTON, Ohio - The Bluffton University football team received a dominant performance from its defense en route to a 45-7 victory at Anderson on Saturday, Oct. 28, 2023. Bluffton improved to 3-5 overall and 2-3 in the Heartland Conference, while Anderson stayed winless at 0-8 and 0-5 in the HCAC.
A safety and nine-yard scoring run by Todd King Jr. (Springfield) 31 seconds later put Bluffton up 9-0 late in the opening quarter. The visitors pushed it to 29-0 at the half thanks to a pair of Drew Michael (Eaton) field goals, a 30-yard Xavier Reyero (Corona, Cal.) to CJ Thompson (Indianapolis, Ind./Park Tudor) connection and a 21-yard Andre Wynes (Troy, Mich./Cousino) fumble recovery! Michael closed out the opening 30 minutes with a 39-yard boot for the commanding 29-0 lead.
Miway through the third quarter, Reyero hit Ethan Beringer (Findlay/Carey) from five yards out, capping a 13-play, 91-yard drive and making it 36-0. Following the only Anderson score of the day, Darnell Thomas (Toledo/Springfield) found Andre Price Jr. (Akron/Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy) for a 29-yard scoring toss. Michael drilled his 3rd field goal of the day from 20 yards, making the final score 45-7!
King and Salieu Koroma (Westerville/Central) both went over 100 yards on the ground. King churned out 143 and a touchdown on 28 carries, while Koroma needed just 15 touches for 105 yards! Reyero was 16-of-23 for 147 yards and two scores. Thompson led the pass catchers with four receptions for 51 yards and a touchdown. Beringer eclipsed 1,000 career receiving yards in the Saturday victory!
Kenan Ivery (Akron/Ellet) led the defense with seven tackles, including a pair of sacks. Maxwell Moore (Chagrin Falls) added 3 TFL's and two sacks for 22 yards! Jaydon McBreen (Portland, Ore./Westview) was one of four Beavers with pickoffs and he returned his 25 yards.
Bluffton moved the chains 23 times and racked up a 424-169 edge in total yards. The Beavers dominated on the ground with 248 yards and the defense allowed Anderson just 21 yards rushing! It marked the third straight game that Bluffton has run for over 200 yards and it was the first time since 2011 that the Beavers have had two runners over 100 yards! Both teams struggled on third down, but Bluffton helped its cause by going a perfect 3-of-3 of fourth down conversions.
The Beavers will celebrate Senior Day next Saturday, Nov. 4, when Heartland-leading Mount St. Joseph comes to town. Kickoff at Alumni Field is slated for 1:30 p.m.
-BEAVERS-