MSJ Football Set to Take on Westminster in Opendorse Bowl Series

CANTON, OH - The 2025 Opendorse Bowl Series match-ups, featuring the ForeverLawn Bowl and Extra Points Bowl, were announced Sunday night. The games will be played on November 22nd at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio.
 
The ForeverLawn Bowl will feature football programs from the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) and the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC), while The Extra Points Bowl will be a match-up between programs from the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) and the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC). 
 
The Opendorse Bowl Series schedule will be:
? Game 1: ForeverLawn Bowl - Ohio Northern vs. Wabash (1:00 p.m. ET)
? Game 2: Extra Points Bowl - Mount St. Joseph vs. Westminster (Pa.) (6:00 p.m. ET)
 
The teams in the Opendorse Bowl Series are determined by each conference based on preset guidelines. 
 
Both games of the Opendorse Bowl Series will be streamed exclusively by FloSports on its FloCollege platform. More information about the FloSports exclusive broadcasts will be announced this week.
 
All media inquiries for the Opendorse Bowl Series should be directed to Brian Rose, Presidents' Athletic Conference Director of Communications at rose@pacathletics.org / 724-579-8972.
 
GAME PREVIEW
Mount St. Joseph will represent the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC). The Lions are led by ninth-year head coach Tyler Hopperton, whose team is making its fourth consecutive postseason appearance after ending the regular season with a 6-4 overall record and 5-1 mark in the HCAC.
 
The potent MSJ offense, which averaged 37.6 points per game, is guided by junior QB Jaxon Schreiber (Cleves, Ohio/Oak Hill), who threw for 3,271 yards and an NCAA Division III-leading 44 touchdowns. The main receivers for Schrieber are sophomore Eli Aston (Cincinnati, Ohio/East Central), who hauled in 69 passes for 1,188 yards and 19 TDs, which is second in Division III, and junior Michael Hunkus (Hilliard, Ohio/Hilliard Bradley), who made 60 receptions for 946 yards and 12 scores.

Mount St. Joseph's defense, which is coming off a shutout in its regular season finale against Rose-Hulman, has 16 sacks and forced 17 turnovers this year. Junior linebacker Luke Paff (Cincinnati, Ohio/Elder) has a team-high 92 tackles, including six tackles-for-loss. Another playmaker is senior Brady Pierce (Thompson Station, Tenn./Summit), who plays the STAR position, and has 55 tackles and six INTs, with two of those returned for touchdowns in wins over Anderson and Rose-Hulman.
 
For the second consecutive year, Westminster College will represent the Presidents' Athletic Conference in the Extra Points Bowl. The Titans are led by head coach Scott Benzel and posted a 7-3 overall record this year and 6-2 in the conference. Westminster placed third in the PAC this season and earned their sixth postseason bid in the last seven years.
 
Offensively, Westminster ranked third in the PAC in scoring with 36.7 points per game and boasted the top rushing attack in the league, averaging 176.0 a contest on the ground. Pacing the Titans was junior Clayton Cannon Jr. (Parkland, Fla./Marjory Stoneman Douglas) with 671 rushing yards and 11 TDs.

Due to injuries, Westminster played several quarterbacks through the season before freshman Quentin Goode (Aliquippa, Pa./Aliquippa) stepped in as the starter for the final five games. He completed 97-of-154 through the air for 1,292 yards and 13 TDs with only three interceptions. The top Titan target this season was sophomore wideout Brite Cannon (Parkland, Fla./Monarch) with 48 receptions for 848 yards and 10 TDs.
 
Westminster had a stout defensive side this year, allowing a PAC-low 12.1 points per game with a pair of shutouts. Senior linebacker Dylan Sleva (Moon Twp., Pa./Moon), who had 16 tackles, a sack and a fumble recovery in last year's Extra Points Bowl win over Marietta, made a team-leading 98 tackles this season. In the secondary, sophomore defensive back Lamont Austin (Sharon, Pa./Sharon) made 30 tackles, picked off four passes and broke up another four.