Engineers Fight Back on Homecoming to Defeat Spartans
October 4, 2008
TERRE HAUTE, IN - Rose-Hulman held on to first place in the HCAC football standings with a 35-31 come from behind victory over Manchester (2-2, 0-1 HCAC) Saturday . The Engineers (4-1, 2-0 HCAC) trailed 31-21 heading into the fourth quarter on Homecoming before Derek Eitel (Marshall, Ill./H.S.) tossed two touchdowns to lead RHIT to the win.
Eitel completed 19 of his 24 passes for 245 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Engineer offense. Sophomore Reed Eason (St. Louis, Mo./Parkway North) led the receivers with six catches for 121 yards and a pair of touchdowns, including the game winning score with just under eight minutes to play.
Manchester reached the Rose-Hulman 22-yard line with just over two minutes to play before an interception by the Engineers' Kyle Stevens (Santa Cruz , Cali./Harbor) sealed the victory.
Junior running back Calvin Bueltel (Huntingburg , Ind. /Southridge) led the rushing effort for Rose with 130 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries, posting his third 100-yard game of the season.
Manchester 's offense was very balanced on the afternoon, totaling 415 yards in the loss. Junior quarterback Caleb Grimes (South Haven, Mich./H.S.) threw for 217 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 36 yards and a score. Junior tailback Brandon Wells (Woodburn , Ind. /Woodlan) led the rushing effort with 95 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries. Wells also caught two passes for 42 yards and a touchdown.
Rose-Hulman will look to stay perfect in conference action next week at Hanover . Manchester will return home for a date with Defiance next Saturday.
In other HCAC action.
Franklin scored touchdowns on its first two possessions and never looked back in a 30-14 win at Defiance (0-4, 0-1 HCAC) in both schools HCAC opener. The Grizzlies (3-1, 1-0 HCAC) used a balanced attack on offense against the Jackets defense, netting 161 yards on the ground and 282 yards through the air. FC struggled to move the football on the ground in its first three games, averaging only 41.0 rushing yards per contest, but seemed to solve that problem Saturday afternoon. Sophomore running back Fred McMoore (Greenville , SC / Berea ) found the end zone twice on the afternoon, scoring the Grizzlies first and third touchdown against the Defiance defense. Senior quarterback Chad Rupp (Evansville , Ind. /Memorial) finished 20 of 26 through the air for 283 yards and a touchdown. He also added 21 yards and a touchdown on the ground. Franklin more than doubled the Yellow Jackets in total yards of offense 443 to 218 in the victory and committed no turnovers in capturing its 12 th straight HCAC contest. Freshman quarterback Rick Powell (Rochester , Mich. /Cousino) led Defiance offensively, completing an efficient 16 of 18 passing for 183 yards and two scores. Keith Snyder (Martin , Mich. /H.S.) led the Defiance defense with 12 tackles and two pass deflections on the afternoon. Franklin will return home next week against Bluffton after playing three straight games on the road, while Defiance will travel to Manchester to face the Spartans.
Mount St. Joseph bounced back from last weekend's home loss to Rose-Hulman in their conference opener with a 50-7 defeat at Bluffton (1-3, 0-1 HCAC). The 50 points scored were the third-most ever by a Lions team, while the 43 point margin of victory was the second-best in school history. The Mount (3-1, 1-1 HCAC) scored all eight times they entered the red zone and totaled 489 yards of total offense to Bluffton's 143 during the contest. MSJ jumped out to a 30-0 halftime lead and received three touchdown runs by Jake Davis (Cincinnati , Ohio / Anderson ) during the first half of play. Davis finished with 79 yards rushing as the Mount totaled 303 yards rushing on the afternoon. The Lions defense was stout all day against the Bluffton offense. BU moved the chains only five times against the Lions and rushed for 31 yards on 24 carries. Junior quarterback Brock Miller (Cincinnati , Ohio /Oak Hills) paced the Beavers offense, completing six of his 14 passes for 97 yards and a touchdown. Vince Palmer (Cincinnati , Ohio / Anderson ) led the Lions offense, completing 15 of his 23 passes for 151 yards and a score. Senior wide receiver Tim Meiner (Hamilton , Ohio /Talawanda) led all MSJ receivers with 70 yards and a touchdown on seven receptions. The Mount will entertain a red hot Anderson team next weekend and Bluffton will travel to Franklin .
Anderson University opened the HCAC season with a dominating 56-12 victory over Hanover College Saturday afternoon, marking the most lopsided victory against Hanover in the 60 meetings between the two schools. After Hanover grabbed a 6-0 lead late in the first quarter, Anderson countered with 49 unanswered points to put the contest out of reach. The Ravens (2-2, 1-0 HCAC) have now won two in a row, while the Panthers (0-3, 0-1 HCAC) are still searching for their first win of the season. AU was led by a sophomore trio that helped the Ravens tally 620 yards of total offense. Sophomore running back Darryl Stott (Union City, Ind./H.S.) rushed for a career-high 200 yards on 28 carries, including touchdown runs of 23, four, and 11 yards. Sophomore quarterback Mitch Grider (Brookville, Ind./Franklin Co.) subbed for an injured Chase Thurston (Yorktown , Ind. /H.S.) and completed 12 of his 17 passes for a career-high 253 yards and three touchdowns. Thurston was 4 of 8 passing for 83 yards before his injury. Sophomore wide receiver Chris Russell (Terre Haute , Ind. /North) led all AU receivers with six catches for a career-best 162 yards and three touchdowns. Hanover was a little rusty offensively after having the past two weeks off due to a scheduled off week and a cancelled game with Butler . The Panthers totaled 281 yards and tossed five interceptions in the loss. Tyler Thiems (Indianapolis , Ind. /North Central) caught nine passes for 76 yards and a touchdown against the AU defense. Freshman quarterback Nick Sharp (Indianapolis, Ind./Franklin Central) completed 22 of his 43 passes for 226 yards, two touchdowns, and three interceptions. Anderson will have a tough test next weekend at Mount St. Joseph , while Hanover will try and find the win column at home against Rose-Hulman.