By: Colton Steiner

BLUFFTON, Ohio - The Bluffton University football team welcomed the Rose-Hulman Fightin' Engineers on a breezy fall afternoon at Salzman Stadium. It was a game where Rose-Hulman went up early and didn't look back as the visitors handed the Beavers a 52-10 loss on Saturday, Oct. 26, dropping Bluffton to 2-5 overall and 2-2 in the HCAC. The Engineers improved to 3-4 and 2-1 in the conference.

The visitors were the first to get on the board after a two-play drive was capped off with a 33-yard touchdown through the air at the 6:16 mark of the first quarter. Rose-Hulman continued their onslaught on defense, forcing an Evan Unruh (Elida/Lima Central Catholic) interception and taking it 28-yards to the house, extending the lead to 14-0. Early in the second quarter with 12:08 to go, the Beavers would finally get on the board after Drew Michael (Eaton) nailed a 31-yard field goal through the uprights, cutting the deficit to 14-3. Despite the solid offensive drive, the Fightin' Engineers would score three consecutive times to go into the half with a 35-3 advantage on the Beavers.

Coming out of the half, Rose-Hulman would take its first drive 70 yards and score on a 17-yard run from Jay Smith to make it 42-3 in favor of the Fightin' Engineers. The Beavers would immediately answer and cut the lead to 42-10, after going 72 yards on 11 plays, with Connor Cannon (New Haven, Ind.) hauling in his first career touchdown reception. The Bluffton score wouldn't slow Rose-Hulman down as they added a touchdown and a field goal in the final quarter, marching to a 52-10 victory over the Beavers.

Bluffton struggled to find offensive consistency as they only accumulated 212 yards of total offense with just 90 yards through the air. The Beavers managed to rack up 122 yards on the ground with Kainan Stoner (Belle Center/Benjamin Logan) leading the way with 99 yards on 23 carries. Bluffton quarterback Evan Unruh struggled to find his receivers as he went 9-of-19 for 90 yards with one score and two interceptions. Niegel Payne (Detroit, Mich./River Rouge) led the receiving core with three catches that went for 35 yards with Chris Mclaurin (Bolton, Miss./Clinton) adding a season-high 27 yards on the day.

The Beavers defense couldn't stop the run attack from the Fightin' Engineers, allowing 296 yards on the ground. Travion Curry (Thomson, Ga.) led the team in total tackles with 13, including 11 solos, with Nick Perry (Northwood/Lake) adding 12 stops. Picking up Bluffton's lone sack was Maxwell Moore (Chagrin Falls).

Bluffton will return to action next week on Saturday, Nov. 2 at 1:30 p.m. when they will travel to face off against the Hanover College Panthers in the final road matchup of the regular season.

-BEAVERS-