By: Colton Steiner
MANCHESTER, Ind. - The Bluffton Beavers football team took to the road to go head-to-head with the Manchester University Spartans. After picking up their first win of the season against Anderson last week, the Beavers carried that momentum into this contest as they rolled to a 42-10 victory over the Spartans to improve to a record of 2-3 overall and 2-0 in conference play.
The visitors struck first as sophomore quarterback Evan Unruh (Elida/Lima Central Catholic) connected with Niegel Payne (Detroit, Mich./River Rouge) on a 31-yard score to give Bluffton a 7-0 lead. Bluffton would immediately follow that up on the other side of the football as Collin Hoehn (Lima/Bath) forced a fumble and recovered it to give the Beavers field possession in Manchester territory. A 26-yard pass set up the Beavers inside the five and a 3-yard run by Koby Coffee (Antioch, Tenn.) finished off the drive as Bluffton extended its lead to 14-0 with 6:45 left in the first quarter.
After the Beaver defense forced a three-and-out, the offense would finish off a 10-play, 4:19 drive with a second TD run by Coffee from 10-yards out as the visitors made it 21-0 with 56 seconds left in the first quarter. The Beaver offense would find the end zone again with 11:49 left in the first half after Unruh completed a short pass to Payne on the right side of the field and he used his speed to score from 30 yards out, making it 28-0. With 2:03 left in the first half, the Spartans finally would get on the board after a 15-yard field goal cut the deficit to 28-3 at the break.
The Beaver offense would come out with determination in the second half as Unruh found Payne down the sideline from 34-yards out as the duo connected for their third time on the afternoon, extending the lead to 35-3. With the third quarter winding down, Manchester scored its only touchdown of the day off a 2-yard pass which cut Bluffton's lead to 35-10. However, after a missed Beaver field goal attempt, the menacing Beaver defense would get a touchdown of their own as Andrew Matthews (Miami, Fla./South Miami Senior) forced a Manchester fumble and Nolan Whobrey (Louisville, Ky./Meade County) was able to scoop it up and carry it in for six from 19 yards out with 7:19 left in regulation. Bluffton would then run the clock out on the way to its 42-10 victory over the Spartans.
Leading the way through the air was Evan Unruh, who completed 8-of-21 passes and threw for 171 yards with three touchdowns. Senior running back Kainan Stoner (Belle Center/Benjamin Logan) led the ground attack with 77 yards on 17 carries while Koby Coffee added two rushing scores. Niegel Payne hauled in four catches that went for 102 yards and he found the end zone three times as the wide-out was able to eclipse 1,000 career receiving yards in the win.
It was a defensive showcase for Bluffton as Nick Perry (Northwood/Lake) was all over the field, totaling seven solo tackles with a sack and two tackles for loss. Along with his scoop and score, Nolan Whobrey would also pick off two Manchester passes on Saturday afternoon, making his case for HCAC Defensive Player of the Week! Travion Curry (Thomson, Ga.) collected an interception to go along with two tackles.
Bluffton finished with a 353-247 edge in total yards, including 168 to 57 on the ground. The Beavers took advantage of five Manchester turnovers and 11 Spartan penalties that set the home team back 85 yards.
The Beavers will look to carry the momentum from this win as they travel to face Mount St. Joseph on Saturday, Oct. 19 with kickoff set for 1:30 p.m. in Cincinnati.
-Beavers-