BLUFFTON, Ohio - The Bluffton University football team had its best finish in the Heartland Conference since 2016 and the Beavers were rewarded with 12 All-HCAC honorees following the 2024 season. Markus Finley and Nick Perry made it two on the first team, with Ethan Beringer, Niegel Payne, David Warfield Jr., Qiyone Nelson, Marvus McWright, Travion Curry, Drew Michael and Kainan Stoner all earning Second Team All-HCAC honors. Chris Mclaurin, Nolan Whobrey and Maxwell Moore picked up Honorable Mention recognition.
Markus Finley (Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence North) anchored an offensive line that helped the Beavers to 1,498 rushing yards during his final campaign. He is the first Beaver to be a five-time All-Heartland Conference honoree for football! Finley stands at the top of Bluffton's all-time lists with 48 games played and started. He is a three-time second team honoree and Finley has been selected First Team All-HCAC the past two seasons. Bluffton picked up 195 first downs and gained 351.2 yards per game.
Picking up First Team All-HCAC on the defensive side was Nick Perry (Northwood/Lake) who came back for a fifth season that was the most productive of his career. He was second on the team with a career-high 63 tackles, including 45 solos. Perry led the Beavers with 9.5 TFL's for 23 yards and he also added two sacks, two breakups, three hurries, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery and for good measure he blocked a kick! He wrapped up his career fifth all-time with 262 tackles and his 31 TFL's are tied for 9th on the all-time list. Perry also finished his career with 101 solo stops, six sacks, two pickoffs, seven QB hurries, four fumble recoveries and three forced fumbles.
Fifth-year senior Ethan Beringer (Findlay/Carey) continued his climb up the all-time record books, hauling in 45 passes for 730 yards with eight touchdowns. He collected his third straight All-Heartland Conference honor, earning Second Team All-HCAC in his final season as a Beaver. Beringer ended the season tied for 3rd in the conference with eight touchdown receptions and his 730 receiving yards are 4th in the HCAC. He tied for 5th with 45 catches this season.
Although he came up just short of 2,000 yards receiving, Beringer finished his career 5th all-time with 128 receptions and 1,920 receiving yards. He also ended just two touchdowns shy of Micah Roberson for the most receiving scores in Bluffton football history.
Helping Nick Perry out in the defensive backfield was Marvus McWright (Westland, Mich./Thurston), a four-year starter at defensive end. He chipped in with 6.5 TFL's out of his 27 total tackles. McWright also forced a fumble and had a QB hurry for the Beavers. He capped his career at Bluffton with 118 tackles, 27 TFL's, 8.5 sacks, four forced fumbles and four QB hurries. He and Perry are both near the top of Bluffton's all-time list with 44 games played.
Earning his second straight All-Heartland Conference post-season honor is senior Kainan Stoner (Belle Center/Benjamin Logan). The feature back in Coach Nardo's offense the past three years, Stoner picked up 577 yards in spite of missing most of the final two games. He finished fourth in the HCAC in rushing yards and carries (147). Stoner eclipsed the 2,000 yard barrier this season, finishing with 2,052 yards (14th all-time) on 530 carries. He ran for 13 career touchdowns and added another one receiving. Stoner caught 28 passes for 247 career receiving yards. He had a career day at Rose-Hulman in 2023, piling up 295 yards (3rd all-time) and three scores on 38 carries.
Giving the Beavers another dynamic threat in the passing game, opposite of Beringer, was junior Niegel Payne (Detroit, Mich./River Rouge) who hauled in 39 passes for 572 yards (8th in the HCAC). He is closing in on 100 career receptions, sitting at 82 with another season to play. His 1,279 receiving yards are 11th all-time while his 11 touchdown catches are just outside the top 10 at Bluffton. Payne also returned six kickoffs for 130 yards with a long of 35 yards.
Seniors Qiyone Nelson (Harper Woods, Mich.) and David Warfield Jr. (Canton/Glen Oak) gave the Beavers three offensive lineman to be selected All-Heartland Conference, joing Finley who was selected to the First Team. They helped the Beavers put up 201.4 yards through the air and 150 yards per game on the ground. It marked the second straight post-season honor for Nelson who teamed up with Finley to forge one of the best left sides in the Heartland Conference.
Leading the Beavers with 64 total tackles and 48 unassisted stops, Travion Curry (Thomson, Ga.) took the conference by storm as a sophomore. He finished tied for 2nd in the HCAC with his 48 solo tackles, while his 64 total stops were tied for 8th. He picked off two passes for 51 yards, broke up a pair of passes and forced a fumble while chipping in with five TFL's.
The final member of the 2nd Team All-Heartland Conference squad from Bluffton was Drew Michael (Eaton). The sophomore, who handles all of the punting and kicking duties for Bluffton, saw his punting average go up nearly six yards a boot from 2023 to 2024. He punted 40 times for 1,525 yards (38.1 avg.) with three touchbacks and four placed inside the 20 yard line. His 31 kickoffs went for 1,550 (50.0 avg.) with three touchbacks.
Michael is 5th all-time with an 89.6 make percentage on PAT's (60-of-67) and his 60 PAT's are tied for 7th all-time. He is currently 10th all-time on the kick scoring list with 75 points. His 35.7 yards per punt is currently tied for 9th all-time.
Selected for his first All-Heartland Conference honor is Nolan Whobrey (Louisville, Ky./Meade County) who matched up against some of the best receivers in the conference. The junior cornerback picked off a pair of passes, broke up three more and recovered a fumble. Whobrey helped the cause with 25 tackles, including 19 solos, and he added three TFL's for the Beavers. Through three years, Whobrey has 77 tackles, 7 TFL's, four interceptions and six breakups.
Fellow junior Maxwell Moore (Chagrin Falls) wreaked havoc on opposing offenses with 8.5 TFL's, three sacks and three hurries. He finished with 26 tackles this season. Moore has 68 career tackles, including 33 of the solo variety, and he also has 14.5 TFL's in three seasons at Bluffton.
Last but not least is senior tight end Chris Mclaurin (Bolton, Miss./Clinton) who gives the Beavers another outstanding blocker who has the ability to sneak out and catch a pass. He tallied five receptions for 38 yards with a touchdown as a senior. For his career, Mclaurin hauled in 30 passes for 325 yards with six touchdowns as one in every five of his receptions went for six points!
Bluffton has shown steady improvement over the past three years under Head Coach Matt Nardo, both on the field and in the classroom. For the first time since 2013, the Beavers took down HCAC heavyweight Franklin on the way to a fourth place finish in the conference.
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