#8 Marian 44, #19 Olivet Nazarene 36
No. 19 Olivet Nazarene would go blow-for-blow with No. 8 Marian, but the host Tigers would come up just short down the stretch, falling to the Knights 44-36 in a Midwest League matchup.
Both sides would pile up 17 points apiece in the first half, as Keagan La Belle and Alijah Price found paydirt for the Knights, and Christian Dhue-Reid found Andy Vogelmann for a passing TD and Aaron Bennett rushed for another to lead Olivet Nazarene.
La Belle and Bennett would each score another TD in the third quarter, and Olivet Nazarene would tie the game at 30-30 with another Dhue-Reid TD pass, this time to Japheth Lilo.
The Knights would reclaim the lead on the next play, as Price returned the following kickoff 95 yards for a TD. After a defensive stop, Marian would take a two-possession lead on La Belle’s third touchdown of the day, 44-30. Dhue-Reid would throw his third TD pass of the day, but after the Tiger defense got a stop, a strip-sack from Isaiah Street would force the turnover and secure the win for the Knights.
Tristan Polk threw for 228 yards to lead the Marian attack, while Price rushed for a team-high 45 yards and one TD on five carries. Aidan Wanner caught five passes for 109 yards.
Dhue-Reid would lead the Tigers with 368 passing yards and three scores, with Vogelmann leading the way to the tune of eight catches and 106 yards. Bennett finished with a team-high 57 rushing yards and two TDs on 15 carries.
Cade Houseman finished with ten tackles for Marian, and Wyatt Woodall collected nine stops with a sack. John Harman made six tackles for Olivet Nazarene, along with one and a half tackles for loss.
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#14 Indiana Wesleyan 56, Defiance 17
Arjun Lothe would have five touchdown passes before the halftime break, as No. 14 Indiana Wesleyan opened a 35-0 lead en route to a dominant 56-17 homecoming win over Defiance.
The Wildcats collected nearly 550 yards of total offense, including over 400 yards passing. Lothe would finish with 383 yards through the air and six touchdowns, completing 23 of 33 passes in the win. Montez Jones recorded 132 yards on just five catches, with one TD, while Isaac Smith grabbed 11 receptions for 105 yards and two scores. Drew Dutton just missed out on the century mark, finishing with four catches, 99 yards, and two TDs.
Ethan Thanthanavong would led the Yellow Jackets with 268 passing yards and 32 rushing yards, scoring two total touchdowns for Defiance. Cameron Turner carried the ball 13 times for 118 yards, while Caleb Johnson made five catches for 97 yards.
On the other side of the ball, Trey Speek and Vincie Solano each made ten tackles to lead the Indiana Wesleyan defense, while Dominic Harris made ten stops for the Yellow Jackets.
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Saint Francis (Ind.) 28, Saint Xavier 27
Saint Xavier would pull off the two-minute drive in the closing minutes, but the Cougars came up just short when going for the game-winning two-point conversion as Saint Francis (Ind.) held on for a key road win in the Midwest League, 28-27.
Both teams would trade first-quarter touchdown drives, before Saint Xavier took a 14-7 lead in the second after Dominic D’Ambrosio’s 16-yard TD run. Saint Francis would tie the game early in the third period, taking advantage of a short field and scoring on a Chris Mullen TD run from the one-yard line.
Saint Francis took their first lead of the day at the start of the fourth quarter on Mullen’s eight-yard TD reception from Joshua Kulka, 21-14. Saint Xavier came back with a 76-yard scoring drive, capped by D’Ambrosio’s 23-yard TD pass to Ronnie Foster.
With less than two minutes left to play, Kulka would connect with Mullen again, this time for an 81-yard TD pass to give the visiting Cougars a 28-21 advantage.
Saint Xavier would march 80 yards in response, and D’Ambrosio would find Marquel Porter for a 16-yard touchdown with just 28 seconds left on the clock. The Cougars would go for two and try to take the lead, but a run from D’Ambrosio would get stopped at the line, secure the win for Saint Francis.
Kulka finished the day with 310 passing yards, completing 20 of 34 passes with two TDs in the win. Mullen finished with four catches and 113 yards with two scores.
D’Ambrosio led the Saint Xavier attack with 181 passing yards and 56 more on the ground, with four total TDs. Porter caught a game-high six passes for 97 yards and a TD.
Defensively Bobby Weiler finished with six tackles and a sack to lead Saint Francis, while Terry Elias, Jr. made nine stops for Saint Xavier along with a sack, and Zach Norred tallied six tackles with three sacks.
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Taylor 63, Lawrence Tech 0
A 35-point second quarter was the highlight for the visitors, as Taylor routed Lawrence Tech, 63-0 to earn a Mideast League win on the road.
The Trojans collected 661 yards of total offense in the win, including nearly 450 yards on the ground. Jedidiah Galvin led the way, recording 129 rushing yards and two trips to the end zone on just five carries. Nathan Parker also recorded two TDs, along with 81 yards on 16 rushing attempts.
Trojan quarterback Alex Amburgy pitched in with a pair of TD passes and 166 yards through the air, completing five of nine pass attempts in the win.
For Lawrence Tech, Ryan Schuster completed 12 of 24 passes for 141 yards, while Keone Sanders rushed nine times for 54 yards.
Levi Brown and Seth Tolliver each finished with five tackles and a half-sack to lead the Taylor defense, while Justin Greer-Sykes made 12 stops for the Blue Devils.
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Siena Heights 45, Madonna 21
The Siena Heights defense would hold their in-state rivals to just 34 rushing yards, and 155 yards of total offense overall, while the Saints offense reeled off 31 unanswered points to take a 45-21 victory over Madonna.
Braylen Himmelein would throw three TD passes in the first half, including a 25-yard connection to Credell Prather for an early 7-0 lead. Madonna would answer with a TD drive on their next possession, but Himmelein would find Numehnne Gwilly and Tendaji Alexander to give the Saints a 21-6 advantage. A 24-yard Carter Ball field goal put the home team up 24-6 going into the halftime break.
Touchdown runs from Jaylen Flowers and Brendan Haisenleder continued to stretch the Siena Heights lead in the third quarter. Nathan Patterson would throw his second and third TD passes to lead Madonna in the fourth quarter, but the Crusaders would run out of time on the late comeback attempt.
Himmelein finished with 252 yards and three TDs, completing 19 of 27 passes in the win. Prather caught five passes or 78 yards to lead the Saints. Kwame Miller paced the Crusaders with a game-high 96 rushing yards on 19 carries.
On the other side of the ball, Clarke Hamilton made ten tackles to lead Siena Heights, including one and a half sacks, while Greg Predina collected four sacks in the win. For Madonna, Mitch Nguyen made a team-high nine tackles.
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St. Francis (Ind.) 48, Judson 0
Recording their first shutout in two years, St. Francis cruised to a road Midwest League win, scoring 42 points in the first half on their way to a 48-0 win at Judson.
The Saints would find the end zone on five of their first six possessions, building a 35-0 lead behind a pair of Nathan Maul touchdown passes, and three rushing TDs from three different Saints. Brevin Amiga would add another seven after his 35-yard pick-six late in the second quarter, and St. Francis would take a 42-0 lead into the break.
After a scoreless third, Adrian Guerrero would convert a pair of field goals in the fourth quarter, including a long kick of 47 yards.
Maul finished with 252 yards and two TDs, completing 17 of 26 passes in the win. Jonny Sorenson led the rushing attack with 63 yards and a TD on three carries, and Mason Hackman caught four passes for 67 yards and a score.
For the Judson attack, Marcus Freeman led the way with 105 yards, while Jawesley Borders, Jr. collected 52 rushing yards on 12 attempts.
Defensively, Nick Franciskovich made six tackles with two tackles for loss and an interception to lead St. Francis, while Bryden Miller anchored the Eagles with six stops and a sack.
