BY: Colton Steiner
BLUFFTON, Ohio – The Homecoming crowd was loud and proud as the Bluffton football team hosted the Manchester University Spartans on Alumni Field, and despite a late surge, the Beavers would come away with a 39-23 win, improving to 3-1 on the season and 1-0 in conference play. Manchester stays winless, falling to 0-4 and 0-1 in the HCAC. Four different Bluffton players found the end zone, with Drew Michael (Eaton) hitting 4-of-5 field goals and going a perfect 3-for-3 on extra points.
The Beavers would win the toss and defer the ball to the second half, but on the second play of the game, a fumble from the Manchester back would wind up in the hands of Devin Hogan (Warren, Mich./Fitzgerald), as Bluffton would take over deep in enemy territory. After going 13 yards, the Beavers would cap off the drive with a 1-yard QB sneak from Tywuan Clark (Toledo/Central Catholic) to get Bluffton’s first touchdown of the game and a 6-0 lead. On the following Spartan drive, the visitors would take it 62 yards off 14 plays, but had to settle for a 22-yard field goal to cut the Bluffton lead to 6-3.
After a few stale drives from both teams, Bluffton would add a field goal at the 9:00 minute mark of the second quarter when Drew Michael connected on a kick from 39 yards out. Following a three-and-out from Manchester, Bluffton went down the field for a Drew Michael 38-yard field goal to go up 12-3 with just 4:28 left in the half. With a quick three-play drive from the visitors, the Beaver offense would get right back on the field and find the end zone for the second time of the day when Tywuan Clark found Jashawn Wyckoff (Cleveland/Cleveland Heights), who would haul in a 28-yard pass to put the Beavers up 19-3 with just over three minutes left in the half.
Bluffton came out on its first drive of the thrid quarter and hit another field goal from Drew Michael from 23-yards out, extending the lead to 22-3. After a three-and-out from the Spartans, Drew Michael drilled a 41-yard three-pointer for the Beavers to put the hosts up 25-3 with just 3:39 left in the third quarter.
The home team found the end zone at the 9:10 mark of the final quarter, following an 11-yard rush from Jaivon Hudson (Bedford), putting the Bavers up 32-3. Manchester finally cracked the end zone with a 6-yard touchdown pass, but on Bluffton’s first play on the following drive, Damien Brockington (Tiffin/Columbian) would scamper for a 56-yard score to put the good guys up 39-10 with 4:03 left in regulation. The Spartans would score an 11-yard touchdown, and then they added a 1-yard rushing touchdown following an onside kick recovery, but the comeback would be too little, too late as the Beavers would line up in victory formation to seal a 39-23 victory over Manchester.
While the Spartans had a slim 184-161 edge in passing yards, the Beavers would rack up 462 yards of total offense to Manchester’s 242. With 301 yards on the ground, Bluffton averaged 8.1 yards per play and burned 32:02 minutes off the clock. Tywuan Clark who threw throw for 161 yards and completed 11-of-17 passes with one touchdown pass. Clark ran the ball 12 times for 21 yards and added a rushing touchdown to his statline.
It was a strong outing for the Beaver backs. Jaivon Hudson led the three-headed monster with 12 carries for 117 yards and a score, while Jamarrion Banks added 101 yards off 11 carries to go along with two receptions for 44 yards. Brockington needed just four touches for 63 yards with a 56-yard scamper to paydirt!
On the receiving end of the ball, Jashawn Wyckoff snagged seven catches that went for 106 yards and a touchdown. Devin Hogan led the Bluffton defense with six total tackles, that included 1.5 tackles for loss and a fumble recovery. Mason Brandon (Louisville, Ky./Meade County) add four solo tackles, with a sack and a pair of tackles for loss. Savon Gatlin (Riverdale, Ga./Drew) and Brandon Resnover (Indianapolis, Ind./Pike) each recorded a sack, with Gabriel Cavazos (Otsego, Mich./Otsego) forcing a fumble against the Spartans.
The Beavers will look to carry the momentum from this win into next week’s contest when they travel to Anderson University for the first conference road game of the season. Kickoff will be at 1:30 as Bluffton will look for conference win number two of the season.
