#13 Indiana Wesleyan 56, Taylor 48
With a combined 1,100 yards of total offense, No. 13 Indiana Wesleyan survived a shootout win on the road over their Grant County rivals, 56-48 over the Taylor Trojans.
Arjun Lothe would throw two long TD passes in the first period, connecting with Drew Dutton for a 53-yard score, and Isaac Smith for a 49-yard TD. Nathan Parker broke free for the Trojans, running 47 yards for a TD.
The second quarter would see a combined seven touchdown drives, with the Wildcats taking a 14-point lead into the half, 42-28. Lothe would throw two more TD passes in the second period, while Taylor would see two other Trojans record rushing TDs before the break.
In the third, Taylor would close the gap with a pair of TD drives as Parker and Ethan Albert would find paydirt, but Lothe would respond by connecting with Dutton for the third time to keep it a two-score game. The fourth quarter would see the Wildcats held scoreless, and Alex Amburgy threw a 24-yard TD pass to Jack D’Arcy as Taylor worked on the comeback, but a pair of fourth-quarter interceptions would secure the win for Indiana Wesleyan.
Lothe finished with 435 yards and five TDs, completing 24 of 33 passes in the win. Cameron Morrison rushed 20 times for 101 yards and a TD, while Isaac Smith and Dutton each finished with 161 receiving yards and a combined four TDs.
Parker would lead the Taylor attack, rushing 29 times for 247 yards and two TDs.
Defensively, Brock Thomason made 17 tackles with 1.5 tackles for loss, and Vincie Solano recorded 14 tackles to go along with two interceptions to lead the Wildcats. Maverick Brown led the Trojan defense with 11 tackles and an interception.
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#7 Marian 28, St. Francis (Ill.) 11
In a defensive battle, St. Francis would hang with No. 7 Marian through three quarters, but a 21-point fourth period would allow the Knights to pull away down the stretch, taking a 28-11 home win over the Saints.
Following a scoreless first period, Keagan La Belle would score the first points of the day by leading Marian on an 89-yard drive. After breaking free for a 57-yard gain, La Belle would punch the ball in from two yards out for the first of his three TDs on the day.
St. Francis would get on the board midway through the third quarter with an Adrian Guerrero field goal. Both teams would then trade touchdowns in the fourth quarter, first on a four-yard TD run from Tristan Polk for the Knights, following immediately after by Carl Bew’s 97-yard kick return TD for the Saints.
Leading 14-11, Marian would secure the win with two late scoring drives, resulting in two more rushing TDs for La Belle.
La Belle would finish with 148 yards on 27 carries along with three TDs, while Polk threw for 155 yards and ran for 51 more. Nathan Maul completed 19 of 37 passes for the Saints, collecting 161 yards, while Larry Stringham led the St. Francis rushers with 77 yards on 16 carries.
Aidan Wanner surpassed the century mark with 108 receiving yards on six catches to lead the Knights receivers.
Defensively, Allan Richards made nine tackles for St. Francis, while J.T. Downey recorded 12 stops for the Marian defense.
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Saint Francis (Ind.) 30, #22 Olivet Nazarene 22
Saint Francis would overcome over 500 yards of total offense from Olivet Nazarene, as the Cougars held off the Tigers down the stretch for a 30-22 win at home.
The visitors would open the game with a 78-yard TD pass from Christian Dhue-Reid to Blake Lamb late in the first quarter, before Joshua Kulka connected with Chris Mullen for a 17-yard score for the Cougars.
Both teams would trade field goals in the second quarter, as Josiah Johnson and Austin Deleon each converted 32-yard field goals for their teams. Saint Francis would take a 17-10 lead into the halftime break, as Kulka found Crosley MacEachen for a TD pass near the end of the first half.
After a scoreless third quarter, Azariah Wallace broke free for two long TD runs in the fourth, giving the Cougars a 30-16 lead late in the game. Aaron Bennett would find the end zone for Olivet Nazarene in the final minutes, but the following onside kick would be recovered by Saint Francis to secure the win.
Kulka finished with 288 passing yards and two TDs to lead the Cougars, with Wallace collecting 136 yards and two scores on 17 carries. Mullen caught seven passes for 99 yards and a TD.
Dhue-Reid tallied 267 yards through the air, with one TD to lead the Tiger offense. Lamb would make seven receptions for a game-high 160 yards and a score, while Japheth Lilo recorded five catches for 101 yards.
On the other side of the ball, Joe Fugle made a team-high nine tackles with a sack to lead Olivet Nazarene’s defense, while Marquise Cross recorded six stops with a sack for the Cougars.
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Siena Heights 28, Defiance 20
Siena Heights would keep their perfect Mideast League record intact, going on the road and taking a 28-20 victory over Defiance.
Both sides would open the scoring with back-to-back special teams touchdowns, first when the Saints’ Numehnne Gwilly returned a punt 83 yards for a score. On the following kickoff, Defiance would respond with Teon Hill’s 85-yard kick return touchdown, coming up short on the two-point attempt as the Saints took an early 7-6 lead.
Braylen Himmelein connected with Credell Prather for a 19-yard TD later in the first quarter to extend the Siena Heights lead, and after a scoreless second period the Saints would take a 14-6 lead into the break.
Late in the third, Brendan Haisenleder would cap an 86-yard drive with a one-yard TD run to make it a two-possession game for the Saints. Defiance would get their first offensive touchdown on the following drive, with Ethan Thanthanavong finding Deveon Williams for the 14-yard score.
Both quarterbacks would connect with their top receivers again down the stretch, trading fourth-quarter touchdowns, as Siena Heights closed out the win.
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Saint Xavier 50, Judson 31
A 21-point first quarter put Saint Xavier in control early, as Cougar quarterback Dominic D’Ambrosio was responsible for five touchdowns in a 50-31 road win at Judson.
With three passing TDs in the opening period, first to Ronnie Foster then two to Marquel Porter, the Cougars opened a big lead before Judson would get on the board early in the second quarter. Marcus Freeman would find Grant Alexander for the Eagles’ first score of the day, then connected with Zach McGee for an 85-yard TD. A fumble on fourth down would set up Saint Xavier on the Eagles’ 1-yard line, as D’Ambrosio found paydirt before a 45-yard Christian Casil field goal at the end of the half would give Saint Xavier a 31-14 halftime lead.
Another touchdown drive to open the second half from Jacob Fisher would give the Cougars a 23-point lead, before Judson responded with ten points before the end of the period, including the first of two rushing TDs from Tyler Johnson, however Saint Xavier would add two more touchdown drives in the fourth quarter to put the game away.
D’Ambrosio would finish with 286 yards and four TDs through the air, along with 25 yards and another score on the ground to lead the Cougar attack. Porter recorded three catches for 83 yards and two TDs in the win.
Freeman tallied 280 yards and two TDs for Judson, with Johnson rushing 18 times for 93 yards and two scores. McGee made eight catches for a game-high 160 yards and a TD on the day.
Defensively, Chris Swayne led the Cougars with six tackles and two tackles for loss, while Zach Norred made four stops and had one sack, one forced fumble, and one interception. For the Eagles, Andre Hawkins made five tackles with a sack and forced fumble.
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Lawrence Tech 44, Madonna 17
Lawrence Tech would collect over 450 yards of total offense, scoring in each period as the Blue Devils cruised to a 44-17 road win over Madonna.
Keone Sanders would put Lawrence Tech on the board on the game’s opening drive, with a 23-yard rushing TD. Ryan Schuster then connected with Enrico Piccinini for an eight-yard TD pass to give the visitors an early 13-0 lead.
Sanders and Schuster would each add another trip to the end zone in the second quarter, giving the Blue Devils a 20-10 lead at the half.
In the second half, Lawrence Tech would score 24 unanswered points, including a pick-six from Corey Pittman late in the fourth, to close out the win.
Schuster finished with 304 passing yards and two TDs, completing 23 of 34 passes in the win. Sanders rushed 23 times for 152 yards and three TDs, while T.J. Byard caught a game-high eight passes for 147 yards and a TD.
For Madonna, Nathan Patterson collected 175 yards through the air with a TD, while Kwame Miller rushed for 94 yards and a TD on 19 carries.
Jake DiFalco made five tackles to lead the Lawrence Tech defense, while Mitch Nguyen made 11 stops for the Crusaders.
