BLUFFTON, Ohio - The Bluffton University football team won three of its last four games and put a scare into Heartland Conference champion Mount St. Joseph as the Beavers went 4-6 overall and 3-4 in the HCAC. Coach Nardo's second season saw Bluffton show tremendous improvement on both sides of the ball. His offense gained 70 more yards per game while the defense was over 90 yards a game better in 2023! Bluffton's Markus Finley garnered First Team All-HCAC honors, while Ethan Beringer, Kainan Stoner, Nick Perry and Qiyone Nelson all earned Second Team All-Heartland Conference. Honorable mention selections are Niegel Payne, Xavier Reyero, Marvus McWright, Malik Echols, Jaydon McBreen and CJ Thompson.
Earning his fourth straight All-Heartland Conference award is Markus Finley (Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence North) who was 2nd Team All-HCAC his first three years at Bluffton. Finley paved the way for an offense that gained nearly 400 yards per game after it averaged 327.3 in 2022. The Beavers moved the chains 201 times, the most first downs since 2017 and he played a huge part in that. The First Team All-Heartland Conference honoree will now turn his attention to track and field where the standout thrower is one of the best in the conference!
Senior wide receiver Ethan Beringer (Findlay/Carey) notched his second straight post-season honor, earning Second Team All-Heartland Conference after being named honorable mention last season. He entered his final game at Defiance needing five yards to make it three Bluffton receivers over 500 yards and eight catches later, the sure-handed Beringer went for 122 and three tubs as they became the first trio of Bluffton receivers to surpass 600 yards in the same season! His 11 receiving touchdowns are 3rd all-time for a single season and they put him 4th in the conference this year. Beringer's 617 yards are 8th in the HCAC, while his 43 grabs are 6th. Despite not have a reception as a freshman, Beringer finished 2nd to all-time great Micah Roberson (31) with 21 touchdowns and his 1,190 career receiving yards are 11th all-time.
Bluffton's bell cow in the backfield, Kainan Stoner (Belle Center/Benjamin Logan) rolled up 698 yards on the ground despite missing nearly three games due to injury. He finished 5th in the conference in yards and carries (140), while averaging 5.0 yards per rush. Stoner is currently 20th all-time with 1,475 rushing yards and he is in position to get in Bluffton's top 10 following his senior campaign. He added seven catches for 85 yards and finished with five touchdowns in 2023. Stoner had a career day at Rose-Hulman, piling up 295 yards (3rd all-time) and three scores on 38 carries.
Garnering his first all-conference honor is senior Nick Perry (Northwood/Lake) who led the Beavers with 51 tackles while playing just seven games. He was the leader of a defense that allowed 90 fewer yards in 2023 than it did in 2022! Perry racked up 23 solos, 2.5 TFL's, four quarterback hurries and a forced fumble this season. His 199 career tackles have him tied with Jake Luthy for 12th all-time at Bluffton. He has 116 career solo stops, 21.5 TFL's, four sacks, two pickoffs, two forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries.
Lining up beside Finley and giving Bluffton one of the best left sides in the Heartland Conference is junior Qiyone Nelson (Harper Woods, Mich.). They gave All-HCAC quarterback Xavier Reyero (Corona, Cal.) time to pick apart opposing defenses to the tune of 260.4 passing yards per game (3rd in the HCAC). Bluffton finished 5th in the conference with 398.3 yards per game.
Sophomore Niegel Payne (Detroit, Mich./River Rouge) picked up his first All-HCAC recognition after leading the Beavers with 666 receiving yards (7th in the conference). Payne hauled in 39 catches, including six touchdowns, after cutting his teeth on special teams in 2022. His 17.1 yards per catch placed Payne 3rd in the HCAC.
Graduate transfer Xavier Reyero stepped in and made Bluffton's offense the toast of the town from game one when he sliced and diced Kenyon College with a school-record seven passing touchdowns and 404 yards in a 51-35 season-opening victory! His 25 touchdowns are 2nd all-time for a single season and 3rd in the Heartland Conference this year. Reyero's 2,272 passing yards place him 4th in the single-season record book and 13th for a career even though he played just one year at Bluffton. He went 168-of-286 with just seven interceptions while dissecting opposing defenses for the Beavers.
A three-year starter, Marvus McWright (Westland, Mich./Thurston) made a living in the backfield of Bluffton's opponents, finishing with 11.5 TFL's (6th in the HCAC) and 4.5 sacks. The defensive end had an interception, a breakup, a forced fumble and three QB hurries as a senior. McWright has 91 career tackles, 20.5 TFL's, eight sacks and three forced fumbles.
Also earning honorable mention as a nose tackle is senior Malik Echols (Cincinnati/Mount Healthy). He had a breakout season for the Beavers, more than doubling his career tackles with 25 stops in 2023. Echols had two TFL's, a sack, two interceptions and a quarterback hurry while stuffing the opposition's run game this season.
Freshman Jaydon McBreen (Portland, Ore./Westview) stepped right into a starting role and never looked back, picking off four passes which placed him 2nd in the conference! The standout safety finished with 37 tackles, 3.5 TFL's, three breakups and a forced fumble in year one with the Beavers. His 26 solo tackles led Bluffton this season. McBreen wrapped up a career-high eight tackles and had an interception in Bluffton's 42-35 year-ending victory at rival Defiance.
Sophomore CJ Thompson (Indianapolis, Ind./Park Tudor) showed off his versatility at wide receiver and as Bluffton's primary kick returner. He caught 40 passes for 603 yards, giving the Beavers three wideouts with over 600 yards! Thompson returned 25 kicks for 443 yards, including a long run back of 47 yards. He hauled in six receiving touchdowns with a 79-yarder against HCAC-champion Mount St. Joseph!
Bluffton's offense scored nearly eight points a game more than it did in 2022 and the improvement defensively was even more noticeable with a drop of over 12 points from 43.0 to 30.7! The 64 third-down conversions were the most since 2015 and on top of that Bluffton moved the chains a school-record 23 times on fourth down, making it 87 times that the Beavers kept the ball after getting to third down.
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