Mount St. Joseph Welcomes Rose-Hulman for HCAC Opener
September 25, 2008
CINCINNATI , OH - The College of Mount St. Joseph (2-0, 0-0 HCAC) will welcome Rose-Hulman (2-1, 0-0 HCAC) to Schueler Field for the 2008 HCAC opener for both schools Saturday evening. The Mount will recognize the efforts of the program's first head coach, John Pont, who passed away during this past summer.
The Engineers are coming off a 25-15 setback at home to Greenville (IL) last weekend and will seek a 3-1 start to the season for the sixth straight year. Mount St. Joseph had an off week last Saturday and will look to pick up where they left off after two impressive wins to begin the campaign.
The Lions saw their streak of conference championships end at three straight last season. MSJ has a record of 39-7 since the start of the 2004 season and has marked a conference record of 24-2 during that span. The Mount's defense has been tremendous this season, leading the conference in scoring defense (3.5 ppg), rushing defense (73.5 ypg), and passing defense (114.0 ypg). Offensively, quarterback Vince Palmer (Cincinnati , Ohio / Anderson ) has led the way with 499 yards and three touchdowns through the air in the Lions' first two wins.
Rose-Hulman will try for their first win in a league opener since 2003 Saturday. Junior Calvin Bueltel (Huntingburg, Ind./Southridge) currently leads the conference with 213 rushing yards this season and will look to add to his total against a very tough Mount rush defense. Defensively for Rose, senior Paul Spreen (Williams, Ind./Bedford North Lawrence ) leads the league with 11 tackles for loss and two forced fumbles.
In last year's meeting, Mount St. Joseph earned a 49-20 win in Cincinnati , running the series record to a 6-0 Mount advantage. Vince Palmer had a big night against the Engineer defense, completing 14 of 20 passes for 215 yards and three touchdowns. He also added 59 rushing yards in the Mount victory. The MSJ defense forced six RHIT turnovers, including four Derek Eitel (Marshall , Ill. /H.S.) interceptions.
Kickoff from Schueler Field is set for 6:30 PM.
In other conference action .
Franklin (2-0) is back in action after an off week last week, looking to move into conference play a perfect 3-0 after traveling to Trine (IN) (2-0) this weekend. The Grizzlies last game was back on September 13, when the blue and gold pulled out a 31-28 win over Butler in Indianapolis . Trine will look to finish a perfect 3-0 against HCAC opponents to open the season. The Thunder beat Manchester 41-13 in week one and knocked off Defiance 42-14 last weekend. The No. 14 Grizzlies have been led on offense by senior quarterback Chad Rupp (Evansville , Ind. /Memorial) . Rupp currently ranks third nationally with 355.5 passing yards per game and ranks 29 th in passing efficiency (156.93). The senior QB has completed 60.7% of his passes for 711 yards, seven touchdowns, and only one interception. The Thunder is also led by their signal caller under center. Eric Watt led Trine with 265 yards passing and three touchdowns, while rushing for 37 yards and a score in the 42-14 win over Defiance . Last season, Franklin beat Trine 38-14 at Faught Stadium after leading 38-0 at the half. Rupp completed 20 of 29 of his passes for 287 yards and four touchdowns against the Thunder defense. The Grizzlies have defeated Trine in all four meetings between the two schools.
Bluffton University (0-2) returns home for the first time in 2008 after playing on the road in the first two regular season contests. The Beavers will welcome Kalamazoo (1-2) for a 1:30 kickoff with the Hornets. Both teams come into Saturday's game losers last weekend. The Beavers fell to Adrian 34-7, while Kalamazoo lost to Manchester , 42-21. Bluffton has struggled mightily on offense this season, scoring only seven points in two games. The only Beavers touchdown was scored by the defense in the loss to Adrian as Dylan Moore (Greenwood , Ind. /H.S.) returned a Bulldog interception 27 yards for a score. The Hornets struggled running the football in their loss to Manchester , rushing for only nine yards on the ground. The Kalamazoo offense totaled 283 yards in the loss and allowed 523 yards of offense to Manchester . Bluffton and Kalamazoo will square off for the seventh time and third consecutive season on Saturday. The Beavers hold a 3-2-1 advantage in the series which dates back to 1935. BU's three game win streak against the Hornets came to an end last season as Kalamazoo pulled out a 37-19 win.
Sept. 27 Schedule
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Sept. 27 |
Kalamazoo (MI) at Bluffton |
1:30 PM |
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No. 14 Franklin at Trine (IN) |
1:00 PM |
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Rose-Hulman at Mount St. Joseph |
6:30 PM |
* Anderson (1-2), Defiance (0-3), Hanover (0-2), and Manchester (2-1) have the week off.