By: Colton Steiner
BLUFFTON, Ohio - The Bluffton University football team played host to the Franklin College Grizzlies in an HCAC thriller on Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024. Coming into the contest, it had been over a decade since the Beavers were able to knock off the Grizzlies, with their last win coming back in 2013. In the end, it would come down to the last play of the game, where Bluffton was able to hold on and seal the victory. The win pushed Bluffton to an overall record of 3-6 on the season and 3-3 in the HCAC while the loss drops Franklin to 3-6 and 2-3 in conference play.
On the first drive of the game the Beavers would start fast when Evan Unruh (Elida/Lima Central Catholic) connected with Jaeden Campbell (Bellefontaine) on a 66-yard touchdown pass just one minute into the contest. The Bluffton defense stayed ferocious, forcing the Grizzlies to punt on their first two possessions. The Beavers would throw in a little trickery with their second score of the game when wide-out Ethan Beringer (Findlay/Carey), a former quarterback himself, would get under center and complete a 1-yard toss to Chris Mclaurin (Bolton, Miss./Clinton), putting the Beavers up 14-0 in the first quarter. A fumble forced by Travion Curry (Thomson, Ga.) would give Bluffton momentum as Evan Unruh found Ethan Beringer from 14-yards out to give the Beavers a 21-0 advantage going into the half.
The Grizzlies would come out in the second half with a new sense of urgency, scoring on back-to-back drives with Garrett Cora to cut the Beaver lead to 21-13. With 5:43 left in the third quarter, Beringer hauled in his second touchdown of the day, an 8-yard pass from Unruh which extended Bluffton's lead to 28-13. After a Beaver touchdown was taken off the board due to a holding penalty, a fumble on the following play shifted the momentum in favor of Franklin. A 24-yard touchdown pass on the following drive made it 28-19. The Beavers managed to block the extra point again, keeping it a two-possession game.
Bluffton took over with 13:44 left in regulation, but on third-and-seven the Grizzlies would snag their fourth interception of the day to get their offense right back on the field. A 13-play, 55-yard drive from Franklin led to a 21-yard field goal which cut the Beaver lead to 28-22 with 7:07 remaining. While Bluffton managed to burn 4:33 off the clock, a fifth pickoff gave the Grizzlies the ball with 2:34 left. Franklin's offense completed 6-of-7 passes to get in Bluffton territory. However, the Beaver managed to hold strong and force a turnover on downs with only 40 seconds remaining in the contest. After the visitors used their three remaining timeouts, Bluffton would be at its own 23 yard line on 4th-and-1 with 23 seconds left on the clock. Attempting to get the first down and ice the game, a tackle for loss giving Franklin the ball back. The Grizzles would throw an incomplete pass on their first play, but a 12-yard rush from Kai Ross moved the ball to the 10-yard line for a first and goal situation. Following a Franklin spike of the ball with only one second left in regulation, Kai Ross attempted a pass to the corner of the end zone, but Travion Curry (Thomson, Ga.) would make a game-sealing deflection, giving Bluffton the 28-22 victory.
Despite a strong start from the Beavers offense in the first half with 338 total yards, four turnovers limited them to only 114 yards in the second half. Unruh threw for 294 yards on 14-of-26 passing with three scores to go along with five picks in the outing. Having a standout day was Ethan Beringer, who would haul in four catches for 78 yards and two scores, to go along with a passing touchdown on the day. Beringer is just two scores from tying all-time great Micah Roberson who hauled in 31 touchdown passes! Campbell added three receptions for 96 yards and a score, while DeAunte Hubbard (Columbus/Bishop Hartley) paced the ground attack with 21 carries that went for 87 yards.
On the defensive side of the ball, Bluffton would allow 392 yards of total offense, with 227 yards coming on the ground. Travion Curry would lead the way for the Beaver defense, having a game-high 10 total tackles to go along with two pass breakups. Mason Brandon (Louisville, Ky./Meade County) added nine tackles in the contest with Jaydon McBreen (Portland, Ore./Westview) hauling in his second interception of the season. Marvus McWright (Westland, MI/Lee M Thurston) and Dominic Barry (Brooklyn) each recorded half a sack in the outing.
The Beavers will close out the 2024 season next week when they host long-time rival Defiance College in the final battle for the 'Hammer' on Saturday, Nov. 16, with a 1:30 p.m. Senior Day kickoff. Come out and support your Beavers!
-BEAVERS-
