The Bluffton University football team led 14-10 with less than two minutes to play in the first half before Mt. St. Joseph turned it around with three straight touchdowns en-route to a 45-27 victory on Homecoming Saturday, Oct. 2, 2021. Bluffton slipped to 1-3 overall and 0-1 in the Heartland Conference on a day when the 2000 Beaver football team was honored for their HCAC title.

Freshman quarterback Blake Rine (Heath/Granville) connected with Andre Price Jr. (Akron/Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy) for a seven-yard scoring strike, putting Bluffton up 7-3 late in the opening stanza. Following a 25-yard scamper from MSJ signal-caller Josh Taylor, freshman bulldozer Kainan Stoner (Belle Center/Benjamin Logan) made it 14-10 Bluffton with 7:19 to play in the first half with a five-yard TD run.

MSJ lived up to its billing, however, putting up touchdowns on five of its next six possessions. Bluffton sprinkled in another Stoner scoring plunge and a three-yard pitch and catch from Rine to Laurenz Johnson (Huber Heights/Wayne), but when the clock struck four bells the final score read 45-27 in favor of the visitors.

The Lions amassed 436 yards of total offense, compared to 269 for the Beavers. MSJ was nearly unstoppable on third down, moving the chains 10 times on just 13 opportunities. Bluffton struggled with just 4-of-13 conversions. Both teams were 4-of-4 on red zone chances, but MSJ tacked on a 25-yard scoring run and a 76-yard touchdown pass from Taylor to Austin Brock.

Stoner ran it 17 times for 68 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Rine completed 15-of-26 for 158 yards and two scores. Zane Dine (Marion/Pleasant) hauled in four balls for 61 yards, while tight end Drew Mace (Johnstown/Northridge) added three catches for 60 yards.

To watch the Bluffton-MSJ game on replay tune to https://indianasrn.org/ throughout the week to catch the initial HCAC-IndianaSRN production.

BLuffton will travel to Anderson University for a 1:30 p.m. showdown with the Ravens on Saturday, Oct. 9.