Mid-States Football Association Weekly Recap
Greg Gorham- Sports Information Director
#19 Marian 52, #5 Indiana Wesleyan 42
In a shootout that saw a combined 94 points and over 1,000 yards of total offense, No. 19 Marian used a 28-point fourth quarter to overcome an 11-point halftime deficit, earning the upset over No. 5 Indiana Wesleyan, 52-42.
The host Knights opened with a 10-0 lead after the first quarter, with a 51-yard TD pass from Tristan Polk to Aidan Wanner, and a 49-yard Kenny Curry field goal. The Wildcats would respond with three TD drives in the second period; two one-yard rushing TDs, and a 20-yard TD pass from Arjun Lothe to Isaac Smith to give the visitors a 21-10 lead at the half.
Two five-yard rushing TDs, from Keagan La Belle and Alijah Price, gave Marian the lead again late in the third quarter, 24-21, but Indiana Wesleyan would answer again, with a 79-yard bomb from Lothe to Blake Brumbaugh that gave the Wildcats a four-point edge going into the fourth quarter.
The Knights and Wildcats would trade the lead five times in the fourth, the final time on Polk’s 29-yard TD run that put Marian ahead 45-42 with just 45 seconds left. A pick-six from Yassine Falke would ice the game for Marian, for their third win of the season.
Lothe finished with 401 passing yards for Indiana Wesleyan, with three TDs. Cameron Morrison rushed 26 times for 147 yards and two scores, while Blake Brumbaugh and Isaac Smith both reached the century mark, with 193 and 136 receiving yards, respectively.
Polk would throw three TDs and collect 261 yards for the Knights, while rushing for another 63 yards and a score on the ground. La Belle finished with 140 yards on 30 carries and one TD. Wanner led the Knights receivers with 95 yards and a TD on three catches.
On the other side of the ball, Cruz Pursley made ten tackles to lead Indiana Wesleyan, while Wyatt Woodall collected 12 stops for the Knights.
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Saint Francis (Ind.) 37, Defiance 34
A fourth quarter comeback would put the visitors in front, but hosts Saint Francis would rally late for the game-winning drive as the Cougars took a 37-34 win over Defiance.
The Yellow Jackets led throughout most of the first half, before back-to-back scores would give Saint Francis the halftime edge. Joshua Kulka would find Chris Mullen for a four-yard TD pass with five and a half minutes to play in the second quarter, and after a defensive stop Kulka led the Cougars 63 yards again, completing the go-ahead TD pass to Aden Dennis for a 17-10 lead just before halftime.
Defiance would find the end zone twice in the third quarter – once from a Damon McCracken pick-six – but two rushing TDs from Azariah Wallace including a 57-yard breakaway would keep Saint Francis in front 30-22 entering the fourth quarter.
Ethan Thanthanavong put the Yellow Jackets into the lead with a pair of fourth-quarter scoring drives, one that included a 64-yard TD pass to Tristan Thomas for the go-ahead score, 34-30. With just under eight minutes left to play, the Cougars would respond again, driving 72 yards resulting in a three-yard TD run from Mullen. The Saint Francis defense would hold Defiance to a turnover on downs in just four plays to secure the win.
Wallace would rush for a game-high 138 yards and two TDs on 14 carries to lead the Cougar attack, while Kulka finished with 185 yards and two TDs. Thanthanavong tallied 257 yards through the air for Defiance, with three TDs.
On the other side of the ball, Dylan Krehl made a team-high seven tackles for Saint Francis, while Tamarris Springfield finished with six tackles and an interception. McCracken led the Yellow Jacket defense with nine tackles, including three and a half for loss, and a pick.
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Olivet Nazarene 37, Siena Heights 29
In a matchup that would see five lead changes throughout the day, reigning Midwest League Offensive Player of the Week Christian Dhue-Reid would lead the Tigers on three scoring drives in the fourth quarter as Olivet Nazarene picked up their third win of the season, 37-29 over Siena Heights.
Dhue-Reid would open the scoring with a two-yard TD run to finish an 88-yard drive early in the first quarter, but Siena Heights would answer after Jalen Edwards recovered Clarke Hamilton’s forced fumble, returning the ball to the Tiger five-yard line. Brendan Haisenleder punched the ball in for the Saints, but a missed PAT kept the Tigers in front.
Brayden Himmelein gave the Saints their first lead of the day early in the second quarter, connecting with Tendaji Alexander for a nine-yard TD pass. Olivet Nazarene would tie the game at 13-13, and Carter Ball’s 31-yard field goal kept Siena Heights up, 16-13. With just 1:13 left before the end of the first half, Dhue-Reid would lead the Tigers on another TD drive, finding Ray Coffey for a 46-yard score with 14 seconds left on the clock to give ONU a 20-16 lead at the break.
On the first drive of the third quarter, Himmelein put the Saints back in front with a 24-yard TD pass to Numehnne Gwilly. The Tigers rallied in the fourth, with one passing TD and one rushing TD from Dhue-Reid to take a 34-22 lead. D.J. Young would make it a one-possession game with a 90-yard kick return TD for Siena Heights, but the home team would be unable to complete the comeback.
Dhue-Reid threw for 311 yards and two TDs in the win, while rushing seven times for 43 yards and two scores. Coffey led all receivers with 83 yards and one TD on three catches.
Himmelein collected 199 yards in the air for Siena Heights, with two TDs. Defensively, Hamilton made nine tackles with one sack, while Kennarius Chandler and John Harman each led the Tiger defense with seven stops and two tackles for loss.
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Saint Xavier 31, Lawrence Tech 10
Lawrence Tech opened the game with a touchdown drive on their opening possession, but visiting Saint Xavier would come back with three straight trips to the end zone as the Cougars secured their first road win of the season, 31-10 over the Blue Devils.
The Cougars were led by Tyreese Lee, who finished the day with two TDs and 155 yards on 19 rushing attempts. For Lawrence Tech, Ryan Schuster collected 197 passing yards to lead the Blue Devil offense, with Jaylen Johnson making six catches for 89 yards.
Defensively, Terry Elias, Jr. made 12 tackles to lead the Cougars, including a sack and forced fumble. Karter Schmitt finished with 12 stops for Lawrence Tech, with one sack and two and a half tackles for loss.
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Taylor 63, Judson 7
With more than 600 yards of total offense, Taylor played spoiler on homecoming weekend, earning a dominant road victory over Judson, 63-7.
The Trojans built a 35-point lead before the host Eagles would get on the scoreboard, including a 80-yard TD return on a missed field goal from Reid Messer. A 35-point second quarter for Taylor would lead to a 49-7 halftime lead en route to the win.
Damon Hockett threw for 182 yards and a TD, and rushed for two more scores, while Nathan Parker led the Trojans with 136 yards and two TDs on 12 carries.
Kobe Anderson tallied 91 receiving yards and a TD on three catches for the Judson offense. On defense, Ridley Joseph led the Eagles with 13 tackles.
Luke Graft and Seth Tolliver each made seven tackles for Taylor, with Tolliver collecting three of the Trojans’ seven sacks in the win.
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St. Francis (Ill.) 66, Madonna 13
Madonna took the first lead of the day with a 38-yard scoop-and-score from Reese Pulliam, but the Crusaders would surrender 35 unanswered points to St. Francis as the Saints cruised to a 66-13 home win.
The Saints collected over 550 yards of total offense, including over 300 yards on the ground, while the defense grabbed four interceptions in the win. Nathan Maul tallied 230 passing yards and two TDs, with Ryan Little grabbing six passes for 92 yards. Tyshawn Strong finished as the Saints’ leader in rushing, with 94 yards from a single 94-yard TD run in the fourth quarter.
Colin Tola led the Madonna defense with 12 tackles, including one sack and a forced fumble. Nick Franciskovich anchored the Saints with eight tackles and an interception, while Michael Hackman grabbed two picks on the day.
