ONU not able to upset #8 ranked Cougars of St. Francis (Ind.)
Posted: Sunday, November 1, 2009
L, Olivet Nazarene University - 7;
#8 University of St. Francis (Ind.) - 56
Boxscore
FORT WAYNE, Ind. - The Tigers of Olivet Nazarene University traveled east to Fort Wayne, Ind. knowing they would have their hands full with the current No. 8 NAIA ranked team in the nation. The University of St. Francis (Ind.) was coming off its first loss of the year the previous week and needed no more motivation to win, as it held a 55 game win streak at home. The Tigers would end up being number 56.
This would only be the team's second meeting, the first dating back to 1998 in the Cougars first year as a program. The Tigers would win that game. On this day, the Cougars would get revenge on the Tigers, winning big 56-7. The loss drops Olivet’s record to 2-7 overall and 1-4 in the MSFA Mideast division and St. Francis moves to 7-1 overall and 5-0 in the MSFA division.
The Tigers played the entire game shorthanded with injuries for the third straight week, quarterback Sam Smidt (Morton, Ill.) and running back A.C. Collier (Gurley, Ala.) will miss the remainder of the season, but running back Marshall Fraley (Beloit, Kan.) got his second straight after missing four games earlier this year.
The St. Francis offense was very consistent all day, ending up with eight scoring drives, as the Tiger defense was overwhelmed. They totaled 615 yards of offense and had 29 first downs on 76 plays. They scored five times on the ground and three times through the air.
For St. Francis, quarterback Shaine Tierney threw for 267 yards (18-of-22) and one touchdown and threw no interceptions and back-up QB Justin Boser threw for the other two touchdowns and 55 yards. Daniel Carter ran 12 times for 120 yards and three touchdowns. The Cougars had two receivers over 70 yards as Bustamante caught two balls for 82 yards and one touchdown and Austin Coleman chipped in with four receptions for 70 yards and a touchdown.
The Tiger defense had a day that they will look back at and learn from. The Cougar offense has so many options to go to, and is able to cause so many problems for any defense. The Tigers however did force six fumbles and recovered two. Sophomore linebacker Travis Powers (Marysville, Ohio.) played well with eight tackles. Freshman defensive back Will Cummings (Flint, Mich.) was second on the team with nine tackles and two fumble recoveries and freshman safety Colt Carnahan (Dublin, Ohio) led the team with 11 tackles.
The ONU offensive attack was designed to put up big numbers and score a lot of points, but it failed to do in this contest, scoring its only points in the fourth quarter. With Smidt and Collier out again due to injury, ONU struggled. Olivet totaled just 199 yards on 74 plays and had 13 first downs. They passed for 127 yards and finished with 72 rushing yards. ONU also was only in the red-zone once on Saturday.
Junior Nick Darland (West Chester, Ohio) would get the start at quarterback for the Tigers in this game after freshman QB Clayton Simpson (Momence, Ill.) was injured in last week's game. Darland threw for 127 yards (21-of-38), one touchdown, and one interception. Junior Aaron Swart (Grove City, Ohio) caught three balls for 25 yards; freshman Andrew Butler (Montclair, Va.) had three catches for 24 yards. Senior wide receiver Joshua Howells (Sycamore, Ill.) would have five receptions for 55 yards. Junior Marshall Fraley (Beloit, Kan.) who started in the backfield again, would finish with 19 carries for 74 yards and seven receptions for 16 yards.
The Tigers had one scoring drive in the game against the Cougars. It was in the fourth quarter when senior Shane Steckman (East Liverpool, Ohio) caught a 3-yard pass from quarterback Nick Darland. The drive lasted 4:57 and went for 11 plays and 63 yards.
The Tigers will be back in action this weekend. ONU will play at home against conference opponent, Taylor University (Ind.). The game is scheduled for Saturday, November 7th at 1:30 p.m. at Ward Field. The game is a part of ONU's 2009 Homecoming festivities.
Nick Birkey
Men's SID
