November 3, 2007
BLUFFTON, Ohio - The Mt. St. Joseph football team found the end zone three times in the first quarter and put it on cruise control, improving to 8-1 overall and 6-1 in Heartland Conference action with a convincing 28-0 shutout of Bluffton University at Salzman Stadium on Saturday, November 3, 2007. The Beavers fell to 0-9 overall and 0-6 in the HCAC with their loss to the Mount on Family Day at Bluffton.
An interception by Rocky Siegel on Bluffton's first possession gave MSJ the ball on the Bluffton 15-yard line less than three minutes into the contest. The Lions needed only five plays to take the early 7-0 lead when Kevin Cocanougher, who ended the day with three touchdowns, went in from one yard out with 10:17 to play in the opening stanza.
Bluffton generated only 11 yards on its next two possessions as Mt. St. Joseph also went three-and-out on its second drive. The Lions took over at their own 35-yard line following a Jonathan Thompson (Carmel, Ind./Carmel) punt and needed only one play to push their lead to 14-0. Cocanougher took the handoff, changed directions and went to the house for a 65-yard scoring run with 6:04 to play in the first quarter.
The Beavers' next drive netted only five yards following a MSJ sack of Kyle Coleman (Etna/Watkins Memorial), forcing another Bluffton punt. With the Lions facing a 3rd and 12, junior quarterback John Barbour found Tim Meiner for a 43-yard pick-up to the home one-yard line. Fullback Ben Widolff used an MSJ surge at the line to make the score 21-0 with just over a minute to play in the opening quarter.
To open the second quarter, sophomore A.J. Ramthun (Springfield/Southeastern) took over the Bluffton offense out of the shotgun, helping the Beavers move the chains three times. He hit freshman tailback Cameron Campeau (Pfafftown, N.C) for a 13-yard gain before the drive stalled with an incomplete pass by Coleman on fourth down at the Lions' 19-yard line.
The Lions rotated players freely as both offenses sputtered throughout the second quarter. Senior safety Taylor Iceman (Lucas/Lucas) picked off backup quarterback Ben Hunterman late in the first half for his fifth interception of the year.
Both teams had long drives come to a screeching halt early in the third quarter as a result of fumbles on running plays. Bluffton then fumbled on fourth down following an MSJ sack, giving the Lions excellent field position at the home 42-yard line. The Lions returned the favor again, tossing an interception to Gordon Hagen (Toledo/Libbey) who took it back to the Bluffton 44.
The Mount tacked on a 40-yard touchdown pass from Barbour to Cocanougher with 4:19 to play for the 28-0 final over the Beavers.
MSJ picked up 13 first downs compared to 10 for the home team. Despite running 72 plays to only 60 for the Lions, MSJ gained 330 yards, including 218 on the ground, while limiting the Beavers to only 153 total yards. Both teams struggled to move the chains on third down as the Lions went 3-of-12 while Bluffton converted on only 3-of-18 opportunities. Bluffton had possession of the ball for over 34 minutes, nearly 10 minutes more than the Mount, but MSJ won the battle on the scoreboard, 28-0.
Sophomore Greg Mason (Cleveland/Collinwood) led the Beavers with 64 yards on the ground. Campeau and Ramthun chipped in with 37 and 24 yards, respectively. Junior tight end Joel Sienicki (Goshen, Ind./Northridge) hauled in three receptions for 18 yards while Campeau added a pair of catches for 21 yards.
Senior linebacker Sam McCullough (Bluffton/Bluffton) continued to impress, racking up 14 tackles for the Beavers. Adding nine stops on the day was senior Taylor Iceman who also picked off his fifth pass of the year. Seniors Erick Buddin (Ypsilanti, Mich./Ypsilanti) and Jeremy Hanson (Oakwood/Paulding) chipped in with eight and seven tackles, respectively. Senior Gordon Hagen finished the game with six tackles.
The Beavers travel to Heartland Conference rival Defiance College for their 2007 season finale on Saturday, November 10. The contest is slated to start at 1 p.m.
-BEAVERS-