by Greg Gorham, Sports Information Director, Mid-States Football Association
#12 Marian 42, Taylor 35
In a matchup that saw over 1,000 combined yards of total offense, a 21-point first quarter would give the No. 12 Knights a narrow lead they would maintain the rest of the night, as Marian picked up a 42-35 road win at Taylor.
Keagan La Belle would give the Knights a lead with his 10-yard TD run on the game’s opening drive, then Tristan Polk found Jake Reichard for a 32-yard score to quickly give Marian a 14-0 lead after the team’s first two possessions. The Trojans respond with a pair of TD passes from Alex Amburgy to Nathan Munson, cutting the deficit to 21-14 early in the second quarter.
Both teams would trade touchdown drives throughout the rest of the second and third quarters, including two TD runs from Ethan Albert for the Trojans, and Polk for the Knights.
Amburgy collected 254 yards and two TDs through the air, while Nathan Parker rushed 27 times for 107 yards to lead the Trojan offense. Munson caught two passes for 131 yards and two TDs.
Polk led the Knights to the tune of 238 yards, completing 11 of 15 passes, while La Belle carried the ball 29 times for 236 yards with two scores. Reichard caught six passes for 131 yards and a TD.
On the other side of the ball, Isaiah Street led the Marian defense with 15 tackles including three tackles for loss. Reid Messer, Grady Stanley, and Maverick Brown each made nine tackles for the Trojans.
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#24 Olivet Nazarene 63, Defiance 14
With 63 unanswered points, No. 24 Olivet Nazarene earned a dominant home win, 63-14 over Defiance.
A pair of Tiger quarterbacks finished the win with three TDs apiece, as Christian Dhue-Reid and Jack Miller combined for 273 passing yards in the win. Keshawn Huguely collected 101 yards and two TDs on five rushing attempts, while Blake Lamb caught four passes for a game-high 140 yards to go with two scores.
For the Yellow Jackets, Dylan Armentrout carried the ball 12 times for 69 yards, but the passing attack was held to just 45 yards on the day.
Defensively, John Harman and Alexander Florea made five tackles to lead Olivet Nazarene, while Jalen Perkins finished with three tackles, a sack, and a forced fumble. Jay Graves led Defiance with four tackles, a forced fumble, and fumble recovery.
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#25 Saint Francis (Ind.) 49, Madonna 14
A 35-point second quarter led to a dominant day for No. 25 Saint Francis, as the Cougars collected over 600 yards of total offense in a 49-14 win on the road at Madonna.
Joshua Kulka threw for 416 yards and four TDs, completing 24 of 34 passes in the win. Adjaye Dandridge made five catches for 162 yards and a TD, while Azariah Wallace rushed 17 times for 101 yards and a score.
Eric Thomas would lead the Crusaders with 116 receiving yards and a TD on nine receptions, while Kwame Miller tallied 83 yards and a TD on 16 carries.
Rondell Greene made seven tackles and a forced fumble to lead the Saint Francis defense, while Dylan Krehl and Marquise Cross each had sacks in the win. The Madonna defense was led by Mitch Nguyen, who finished with 14 tackles and a forced fumble.
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Saint Xavier 26, Siena Heights 20
The Siena Heights defense would grab four interceptions on the day, as the Saints took a fourth-quarter lead at Saint Xavier, but the Cougars would recover with two late scoring drives to earn a 26-20 homecoming victory over the Saints.
The Cougars struck first midway through the first quarter, after a strip sack from Carter Wynn resulted in a 75-yard fumble recovery TD for Justin Yeazell and an 8-0 lead for Saint Xavier. After a TD for the Saints in response late in the first quarter, Dominic D’Ambrosio would connect with Travonta Gist for a 24-yard TD pass in the final seconds before halftime, giving Saint Xavier a 15-7 lead at the break.
Back-to-back touchdown drives including a second TD for Brendan Haisenleder would put Siena Heights in front, 20-15 early in the fourth quarter. D’Ambrosio would lead the Cougars down the field again, resulting in a 20-yard TD pass to Kameron Hopkins to put the home team back in front, 23-20. The Saint Xavier defense would force two fourth-down stops to close out the win.
D’Ambrosio finished with 161 yards and two TDs for the Cougars, with Hopkins leading the receivers with 75 yards and a TD on four catches.
For the Saints, Braylen Himmelein collected 238 yards and a TD through the air, while Haisenleder rushed 14 times for 42 yards and two scores. Bailey Jackson caught five passes for 91 yards to lead the Saints receivers.
On the other side of the ball, Clarke Hamilton made 11 tackles with one sack to lead the Saints, while Devan James finished with seven tackles and two interceptions. Terry Elias, Jr. made 11 stops for the Cougars, and Nick Naujokas made two sacks to go along with eight tackles overall.
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Lawrence Tech 59, Judson 28
Judson would score 14 first-quarter points, but were unable to keep up with Lawrence Tech, who posted 24 in the opening period and 14 more in a 38-point first half, as the Blue Devils picked up their first win of the season, 59-28 over the Eagles.
Judson started the scoring on the game’s opening drive, when Marcus Freeman connected with Zach McGee for a 65-yard TD pass. After a 38-yard field goal from Vincent Robison, the Blue Devils would take the lead on Ryan Schuster’s five-yard TD run.
The Eagles would come back again, with another Freeman-to-McGee TD pass, but Lawrence Tech responded again, with a 37-yard TD run from Keone Sanders. Corey Pittman made it a two-possession lead for the visitors with his pick-six late in the first quarter.
Schuster would throw two TD passes in the second quarter as Lawrence Tech pulled away before the half, taking a 38-14 lead into the break, on their way to the win.
Schuster finished with 233 passing yards, completing 15-of-22 passes in the win, with two TDs. Sanders rushed for 121 yards and two scores on 14 carries, while Jaylen Johnson grabbed six passes for 116 and one touchdown.
Freeman led the Eagles with 311 yards and two TDs, while two Judson receivers reached the century mark on the day. Grant Alexander, Jr. caught a game-high ten passes for 148 yards, while McGee collected 107 yards and two scores on six receptions.
Karter Schmitt made nine tackles to lead the Blue Devil defense, with Aaron Mitchell contributing eight tackles and a sack. For the Eagles, Avrian Gilbert led the way with seven tackles and a sack.
