By: Colton Steiner

CINCINNATI, Ohio - The Bluffton Beavers traveled south to face off against the Mount St. Joseph Lions in an inter-conference matchup. Despite a strong first half performance, the Lions were too much to handle as they outscored the visitors 35-7 in the second half on the way to a 63-27 victory. This defeat dropped Bluffton to an overall record of 2-4 and a conference record of 2-1, while Mount St. Joseph improves to 5-2 and stays undefeated in the HCAC at 3-0.

The host Lions got hot right out of the gate and followed up a 1-yard rushing touchdown with a 75-yard passing touchdown to go up 14-0 with 5:15 left in the first quarter. Despite the slow start, the Beavers were finally able to get on the board with Kainan Stoner (Belle Center/Benjamin Logan) scoring from the 1-yard out to cap off a 9-play, 50-yard drive at the 1:18 mark of the first quarter. However, Mount St. Joseph wasn't finished as QB Tyler Prather found Eli Aston for a 47-yard touchdown pass to give the Lions a 21-6 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Then, with 9:11 left in the first half, Bluffton sophomore Evan Unruh (Elida/Lima Central Catholic) was able to scramble on third down and score from 19-yards out to cut the deficit to 21-13. The Beavers were able to carry this momentum onto the defensive side of the football when Andrew Matthews (Miami, Fla./South Miami Senior) forced a Lion fumble and Nick Perry (Northwood/Lake) was able to recover to give the Beavers possession in Mount St. Joseph territory. The rushing attack from Unruh and Stoner carried the visitors down the field, with Unruh capping off the 42-yard drive with a 1-yard rushing touchdown, making the score 21-20 in favor of the Lions at the 5:37 mark of the second quarter. However, with only 20 seconds remaining in the half, a 4-yard touchdown pass for Mount St. Joseph put the home team up 28-20 going into the break.

After the Lions would open up the second half with a 38-yard touchdown pass, the Beavers scored one of their own when Unruh found Ethan Beringer (Findlay/Carey) down the right sideline from 29 yards out, cutting the deficit to 35-27. Despite the fast start to the half for Bluffton, the defense couldn't stop the punishing offense from Mount St. Joseph as back-to-back rushing touchdowns in the third quarter extended the home team's lead to 49-27. In the fourth quarter, the Lions would score two more times and continue to shut the Beaver offense down en route to the 63-27 victory.

The Beaver offense struggled to get in a good groove through the air as Unruh completed 12-of-24 passes for 185 yards with one touchdown and two picks. Niegel Payne (Detroit, Mich./River Rouge) led the receiving core with six catches for 87 yards while Beringer had four catches for 77 yards, including a touchdown. Bluffton had a solid run game in the loss with Unruh rushing for 75 yards and two scores and Stoner adding 64 yards on 14 touches.

It was a rough day in the office for the Beaver defense as they allowed 578 yards of total offense to the Lions. Travion Curry (Thomson, Ga./Thomson) led the team in total tackles with 11 and Mason Brandon (Louisville, Ky./Meade County) chipped in with 10.

MSJ moved the chains 32 times, compared to 19 first downs for the visitors. The Lions were 6-of-8 on third down and they put up 263 yards on the ground.

Bluffton will look to put this loss in its rearview mirror when the Beavers welcome the Rose-Hulman Fightin' Engineers to Alumni Field on Saturday, Oct. 26, with kickoff set for 12 p.m.

-BEAVERS-