By: Colton Steiner
HANOVER, Ind. - The Bluffton University football team hit the road to face off aginst the Hanover College Panthers in an HCAC battle. Coming into the contest, Bluffton would look to end a 7-game losing streak to Hanover with their last win coming in 2016, a 28-18 victory on Alumni Field. After starting off hot, the Beavers were unable to keep that momentum going as Hanover would outscore the visitors 35-7 in the second half, handing Bluffton a 49-13 loss. The defeat dropped the Beavers to an overall record of 2-6 and 2-3 in Heartland Conference play, while Hanover improved to 5-3 and 4-1 in the HCAC.
Bluffton was able to dent the scoreboard on its first drive of the game after Bluffton quarterback Evan Unruh (Elida/Lima Central Catholic) found Ethan Beringer (Findlay/Carey) in the end zone for six from seven yards out. After a missed Beaver extra point, the visitors would hold a 6-0 lead until 2:38 in the first quarter when the Panthers connected on a 14-yard touchdown pass to take a 7-6 advantage. Both teams would go back and forth for most of the second quarter until there was 3:09 left in the half when Hanover QB Eian Roudebush completed a 6-yard score to give the Panthers a 14-6 advantage going into the break.
Each team struggled to move the ball to start the second half as the score held firm until the 5:58 mark of the third quarter when Hanover back Austin Oppel took a handoff 55 yards to the house to extend the home team's lead to 21-6. After a 2-yard score on the ground, the Panthers would continue to ride the momentum, snagging an interception from Unruh on the first play of the next Beaver drive. One play later, Hanover would find the end zone yet again to increase the spread to 35-6 with 12:29 left in regulation. With 10:22 left, Bluffton sophomore signal caller Donovan Brazley (Atlanta, Ga./Creekside Christian) would come in and drop a dime of a pass to Ethan Beringer, making it a 35-13. Hanover added to its score with back-to-back touchdowns en route to the 49-13 victory.
Bluffton's offense struggled as they were outgained in total yardage 382-267. Under center for the Beavers was Evan Unruh who completed 7-of-19 passes for 75 yards with one touchdown and an interception. Donovan Brazley would add 97 yards through the air, completing 60 percent of his passes while throwing a touchdown and interception. Senior Ethan Beringer would lead the receiving core, hauling in eight catches for 132 yards and he added two scores on Saturday. Kainan Stoner (Belle Center/Benjamin Logan) led the Bluffton ground attack with 62 yards on 18 carries.
Defensively, the Beavers struggled to stop the run, allowing 190 rushing yards on 5.9 yards per carry. Nick Perry (Northwood/Lake) totaled a team-high eight tackles in the loss with Dominic Barry (Brooklyn) adding seven. Sophomore Jaydon McBreen (Portland, Ore./Westview) was able to snag his first interception of the season for the Beavers.
Bluffton will look to get back on the horse when the Beavers come back home on Saturday, Nov. 9, to go head-to-head with the Franklin College Grizzlies in a 1:30 p.m. kickoff on Alumni Field.
-Beavers-