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A 6-0 Bluffton College halftime lead quickly disappeared in the second half as host Thiel College scored 37 unanswered points en route to a 37-6 win over the Beavers Saturday in Greenville, Pa.
Bluffton quarterback Brad Moore found the endzone from 10 yards out with just 16 seconds left in the first half to give BC the lead, but it would be his last play of the game as he suffered a collarbone injury on the scoring run and did not return.
Without Moore in the second half, Bluffton had just 46 yards in offense and three first downs.
The Bluffton defense held Thiel to just 109 yards in the first half, but the Tomcat offense exploded in the second half for 259 yards and 13 of their 19 total first downs in the game.
Tailback Ben Dodds was held to 19 yards rushing on 11 carries as Thiel held the freshman well below his 117 yards per game average. Junior Jovan Johnson led Bluffton with 41 yards on 14 carries and caught two passes for 29 yards.
Moore was 5-for-12 passing for 58 yards and rushed for 39 yards before his injury. He will be evaluated by the BC medical staff on Sunday and Monday to determine to extent of his injury.
Thiel sophomore wide receiver Shannon Alston returned the opening kickoff of the second half 29 yards to the Thiel 41 yard line and on TC’s first play he caught a quick diagonal pass from sophomore quarterback Daryl Moore and raced 59 yards to the endzone for the first of Thiel’s five second half touchdowns. The extra point was good to give the Tomcats a lead that they wouldn’t give up.
Freshman running back Darious Thompson led Thiel with 100 yards rushing and two touchdowns on 21 carries. The Tomcats (1-2) rushed for 244 yards in the game against a Bluffton defense that had allowed just 82 yards on the ground in the first two games combined.
Junior middle linebacker Chris Sommers led Bluffton with 13 tackles, while sophomore outside linebacker Andy Tabler added seven stops. Junior defensive end Lucas Wilson forced a fumble and returned it 29 yards late in the second quarter to set up Bluffton’s lone touchdown. He ended the game with six tackles, as did sophomore outside linebacker Scott Steiner.
Bluffton is now 1-2 on the season and has a bye week before returning to action on October 5 as Urbana University visits Salzman Stadium for a homecoming game showdown. The game will be televised by WTLW TV44 (Adelphia cable channel 3) with tape-delayed telecasts at 9:30 p.m. Saturday and 2:00 p.m. Sunday.
