Anderson Searches for Third Straight Win at Mount St. Joseph
October 9, 2008
CINCINNATI , OH - Mount St. Joseph will welcome Anderson to Cincinnati Saturday afternoon in an important conference match up. Both Mount and AU enter the showdown after earning conference wins last weekend. The Lions were victorious at Bluffton 50-7, while the Ravens defeated Hanover 56-12.
Anderson (2-2, 1-0 HCAC) will look for their first victory over Mount St. Joseph since 2003 when the two schools meet Saturday. The Ravens opened the HCAC season last weekend with their most lopsided victory over Hanover in their 60 meetings. AU scored 49 unanswered points after trailing 6-0 early in the contest. Sophomore running back Darryl Stott (Union City , Ind. /H.S.) was named HCAC Player of the Week on offense after rushing for a career-high 200 yards and three touchdowns on 28 carries. Sophomore wide receiver Chris Russell (Terre Haute , Ind. /North) also scored three times against Hanover , catching six balls for 162 yards. Stott ranks second in the HCAC in rushing (93.8 ypg), but will have a tougher time against the Mount St. Joseph defense Saturday. The Lions lead the HCAC, allowing only 105.5 yards per game on the ground.Mount St. Joseph (3-1, 1-1 HCAC) scored the third-most points ever by a Lions team in last weekend's 50-7 triumph at Bluffton. The 43-point margin of victory was the second-best in school history. The Mount scored all eight times they entered the red-zone against the Beavers and totaled 489 yards of total offense to Bluffton's 143. Running back Jake Davis (Cincinnati , Ohio / Anderson ) scored three times on the ground during the win and quarterback Vince Palmer (Cincinnati , Ohio / Anderson ) completed 15 of his 23 passes for 151 yards and a score.
As a team, the Lions lead the conference in scoring defense (10.2 ppg) and rank 14th nationally in that category. The defense also ranks among the national leaders in passing efficiency defense (3rd ), total defense (14th ), and passing defense (17th ).
In last year's meeting, Mount St. Joseph shut out Anderson 37-0 at Macholtz Stadium to claim their fourth straight win against the Ravens. The Lions defense limited the AU offense to only 225 yards on the afternoon. The Ravens and Lions are tied in the all-time series at five games apiece, with Anderson last defeating Mount St. Joseph back in the 2003 season, 27-10 in Cincinnati .
Kickoff from Schueler Field is set for 1:30 PM.
In other conference action .
Franklin (3-1, 1-0 HCAC) will entertain the home crowd for the first time since their season-opening win vs. Baldwin-Wallace as the Grizzlies welcome Bluffton for Homecoming. The Grizzlies are coming off a 30-14 win at Defiance last weekend, while the Beavers suffered a 50-7 defeat at home against Mount St. Joseph . FC scored touchdowns on its first two possessions against the Jackets and never looked back in last week's win. Franklin received a boost from a struggling rushing attack as sophomore Fred McMoore (Greenville , SC / Berea ) found the end zone twice on the afternoon. Chad Rupp (Evansville , Ind. /Memorial) continued a great senior season under center, completing 20 of his 26 passes for 283 yards and a touchdown. Rupp ranks fifth in NCAA Division III in passing yards per game (322.0) and stands 24 th in passing efficiency (158.72) this season. Bluffton struggled with the Mount last week on Homecoming, tallying only 143 yards and five first downs on the day. Junior quarterback Brock Miller (Cincinnati , Ohio /Oak Hills) led the offense with 97 yards passing and a touchdown. Bluffton and Franklin will face off for the 12 th time when the Beavers head to Faught Stadium to face Franklin Saturday afternoon. The Grizzlies hold a 6-5 advantage in the series, including five straight wins over Bluffton. Last year, Franklin posted a 54-7 win at Bluffton as the offense rolled up 613 yards of total offense. Rupp tossed four touchdowns and totaled 387 yards passing in the win.
First place Rose-Hulman (4-1, 2-0 HCAC) heads to Hanover College (0-3, 0-1 HCAC) Saturday for the Panthers annual Homecoming game. The Engineers came from behind to defeat Manchester last weekend 35-31, while Hanover lost a 56-12 road decision to Anderson . Rose seeks its first 5-1 start to a season and its first 3-0 conference record since the 1994 season. Junior quarterback Derek Eitel (Marshall , Ill. /H.S.) moved into fourth place on the Rose-Hulman career passing list with his performance against Manchester and has passed for 3,933 yards in his career. Junior tailback Calvin Bueltel (Huntingburg , Ind. /Southridge) leads the conference in rushing with 511 yards and a 102.2 yards per game average. Bueltel has crossed the 100-yard plateau three times this season and will look to add to the tally against the Panthers defense. The HC defense ranks last in the HCAC in scoring defense (45.3 ppg) and has surrendered 200.0 rushing yards per contest. Hanover 's tradition of success in the passing game has continued with this version of the Panthers. Tyler Thiems (Indianapolis , Ind. /North Central) leads the league and nation with 12.0 receptions per game this season and leads the conference in receiving yards (110.0 ypg), and all-purpose yards (182.3 ypg). Hanover leads the all-time series with Rose-Hulman 31-26-2. Rose claimed a 24-7 win over the Panthers in Terre Haute last fall.
Defiance (0-4, 0-1 HCAC) will travel to Manchester (2-2, 0-1 HCAC) as both schools look for their first conference win of the season. The Spartans return home after losing a fourth quarter lead in a 35-31 loss to Rose-Hulman, while the Jackets lost to Franklin 30-14. Manchester running back Brandon Wells (Woodburn , Ind. /Woodlan) rushed for 95 yards and a touchdown and quarterback Caleb Grimes (South Haven, Mich./H.S.) threw for 217 yards and a touchdown during the loss to the Engineers. The black and gold lead the HCAC in rushing yards per game (212.8 ypg) and total offense (432.0 ypg) this season. Defiance will search for more offense this weekend against Manchester . The Jackets totaled 218 yards against Franklin last week and currently rank seventh in the league, averaging 9.5 points per game. Freshman quarterback Rick Powell (Rochester , Mich. /Cousino) completed an efficient 16 of 18 pass attempts for 183 yards and two touchdowns last week against FC. Keith Snyder (Martin , Mich. /H.S.) continued to lead the defense this season, adding 12 more tackles and two pass deflections to his season totals. Snyder ranks second in the conference, averaging 12.2 tackles per game this season. The Yellow Jackets hold the advantage in the all-time series 26-15, including a 27-8 win over Manchester last year.
Oct. 11 Schedule
|
|
|
Oct. 11 |
Rose-Hulman at Hanover |
1:30 PM |
|
Bluffton at Franklin |
1:30 PM |
|
Anderson at Mount St. Joseph |
1:30 PM |
|
Defiance at Manchester |
1:30 PM |