Box Score Junior Lions' quarterback Mike Williams (Cincinnati, OH/Taft) threw for 327 yards and four touchdowns but it wasn'€™t enough to overcome Manchester University'€™s experience and balanced offense as Mount St. Joseph University dropped its first conference game of the season 44-32 Saturday afternoon in North Manchester, Ind.
The Lions (1-2, 1-1 HCAC) face Earlham College at 6 p.m. in the Homecoming game Oct. 3 on Schueler Field at the Mount Athletics Complex.
Manchester jumped out to a 7-0 lead halfway through the first quarter with a Tyler Pruitt 25 yard touchdown run. The Spartans had 228 yards and three touchdowns on the ground and another 334 yards and three touchdowns through the air in the game.
The Lions wasted little time in answering when Williams hit freshman wide receiver Garrett Weaver (Cincinnati, OH/Amelia) for a 23-yard touchdown. Weaver finished with 143 yards receiving on eight catches with two going for touchdowns.
The versatile Williams got his first start this season after freshman Quinn Farrell went out with an injury in last week’s Defiance game.
The Lions turned the ball over five times with three interceptions and two fumbles. The Lions’ defense caused and recovered three fumbles on the afternoon.
Manchester broke the game open in the third quarter, scoring 14 unanswered. The Lions rallied back in the fourth quarter with a Williams-to-Weaver 26-yard strike midway through the quarter. The Lions tacked on a touchdown in the game’s final drive.
Freshman defensive back Tavon Robertson (Louisville, KY/Ballard) led the Mount defense with eight solo tackles.
This is a test for Max Bishop.
