Cincinnati, Ohio—For the final time this season the Mount St. Joesph University Football program hosted a game at Schueler Field, and it was a good one. The Lions entered this game on a two game winning streak, looking to make it three against Bluffton. With all things being told the Mount left this game victorious with a dominant 47-21 win.
The game opened up with Bluffton receiving the kickoff, and the Lions defense was able to force a quick three and out. As Bluffton attempted a punt, the Lions punt rush put enough pressure on the Beavers punter, to force him to his knee giving the Lions great field position for their first drive. Capitalizing quickly off of the muffed punt the offense put the ball in the end zone on two quick plays covering 18 yards, thanks to a 9 yard Josh Taylor touchdown. A few drives later Bluffton was able to find the end-zone for the first time giving them a 7-6 lead. After several stops by both defenses the Lions got some help from special teams again. With a short field the Lions offense put together an 8 play 55 yard drive capped off by a second Taylor touchdown. This gave the Lions a 12-7 lead, in which they never looked back. With 1:29 remaining in the first half the Lions put together a 3 play 80 yard drive, thanks to a 54 yard Taylor touchdown run. In the following Bluffton drive the Lions defense forced a turnover thanks to a Gavin Brennan strip sack. With only 27 seconds left in the half the Lions put together another scoring drive with 4 plays covering 28 yards capped off by a Paul Minor receiving touchdown. This allowed the Lions to go into the half with a 26-7 lead.
Starting the second half the Lions offense was stopped on a 6 play drive. Bluffton took over the ball and put together a 10 play 80 yard scoring drive, cutting the lead to 26-14. However the Mount offense was able to respond quickly, to shutdown any Bluffton momentum. This drive lasted 12 plays going 82 yards, capped off by a 4 yard Amartae Rice score. Bluffton was not ready to lay down at this point as they put together a second score in as many drives in the second half, but their last of the ball game. In the following drive the Lions put together a 5 play 63 yard that was capped off by another Taylor touchdown run, making the Lions lead 40-21. After a huge defensive stop by the Mount defense the Lions offense scored one final time with an 11 play 63 yard touchdown drive with Taylor finding the end zone for the fourth time of the game. This was the final score of the ball game, allowing the Lions to walk away with a 47-21 win.
The Lions defense had another great game. Julius Fisher led the team in total tackles with 12 while also adding 1.5 tackles for a loss and half a sack. Defensive Linemen Gavin Brennan had a monster game totaling 8 tackles to go along with 1.5 sacks. Additionally Troy Speakman had a huge interception that he returned for 65 yards. The efforts of these three senior defenders were a huge part in stopping the Bluffton offense, holding them to 246 total yards for the game.
The Mount offense had an up and down performance, but put up a big statistical afternoon, totaling 465 yards. Taylor ran for 185 yards and 5 touchdowns, while throwing for 207 yards in the air with one passing touchdown. Running back Trevor Thome had a solid all around game, rushing for 40 yards on the ground and 2 receptions for 50 yards receiving.
On Saturday April 10 the Lions will be back in action when they travel to Anderson University. This game is set to kickoff at 1:30PM. For a preview of this upcoming game and any other Mount St. Joseph University Athletics news continue to follow msjlions.com
