By Associated Press
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Nick Howard threw two touchdown passes and ran for a score and Butler rolled to a 53-0 victory over Division-III’s Hanover on Saturday.
Butler (3-0) took a 7-0 lead on the second play from scrimmage when Howard fired a 47-yard scoring strike to Ethan Loss, who had three touchdown receptions on the day. Howard’s 30-yard touchdown run and backup quarterback Reagan Andrew’s two-point conversion run gave the Bulldogs a 15-0 lead after one quarter.
Andrew passed to Loss for a 9-yard touchdown, Joey Suchy ran 46 yards for a score, and Howard and Loss connected for a 7-yard touchdown with seven seconds left to give Butler a 36-0 lead at halftime.
Ershod Jasey II had a 7-yard touchdown run for the Bulldogs in the third quarter and fellow sophomore Griffin Caldwell ran it in from 21 yards out early in the fourth for his first career touchdown and a 53-0 advantage.
Howard completed 6 of 8 passes for 91 yards and carried eight times for 87 more to lead the Bulldogs, who punted just once.
Hanover finished with 79 yards passing and 54 on the ground.
Quarterback Eian Roudebush, of New Palestine, was 11 for 20 passing for 47 yards and had eight rushes for 15 yards. His brother, Eric Roudebush, had three receptions for 33 yards and eight punts for a 37.8 yard average.
Ball State loses 62-0 at No. 10 Miami
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Cam Ward was dominant again, throwing for 346 yards and five touchdowns before getting subbed out early in the second half as No. 10 Miami piled up stats in a 62-0 win over Ball State on Saturday night.
Miami (3-0) outgained Ball State 750-115, setting a school record for yards in a game. It was the biggest shutout win over an FBS opponent in Hurricanes’ history, topping the 61-0 win over Rutgers in 2001.
Ward now has three straight 300-yard games to start his season. He connected with Xavier Restrepo on a pair of touchdown passes, and found Jacolby George, Elijah Arroyo and Chris Johnson Jr. with his other scoring throws for the Hurricanes.
“It’s good for everybody to lock in, prepare the right way,” Ward said. “It’s good to see.”
Kadin Semonza completed 16 of 26 passes for 111 yards for Ball State (1-1). The Cardinals fell to 0-9 all-time when playing Top 10 teams and were shut out for the first time since a 42-0 loss to Temple on Oct. 8, 2011.
“There’s not a lot of positives to bring out of tonight,” Ball State coach Mike Neu said.
For the Cardinals, Mt. Vernon High School grad Tanner Koziol had five receptions for 39 yards. New Palestine’s Charlie Spegal had three rushes for nine yards.
Defensive scores spark Indiana State’s 24-13 win over Dayton
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (AP) — Jorge Valdes and Garret Ollendieck scored defensive touchdowns, Indiana State held Dayton scoreless into the fourth quarter and the Sycamores defeated the Flyers 24-13 on Saturday night.
Indiana State had one first down and 18 total yards in the first half but led 14-0 after Valdes returned an interception 90 yards for a touchdown and Ollendieck scored on a 12-yard fumble return.
Indiana State’s only offensive touchdown was a 23-yard run by Lance Rees on a 4th-and-1 play in the third quarter. The drive was only 32 yards after a 15-yard punt return by Rashad Rochelle.
Drew VanVleet threw two touchdown passes for the Flyers (1-1) in the fourth quarter. The first touchdown was set up by Luke Brenner’s 60-yard kick return.
The Sycamores (1-2) finished with 92 yards on offense, were 0-for-11 on third down and had five first downs. Keegan Patterson completed 6 of 8 passes for 12 yards and was their leading rusher with 32 yards.
VanVleet was 26-for-40 passing 291 yards. Jake Coleman caught five passes for 102 yards and the Flyers finished with 326 yards of total offense.
FG lifts Valparaiso past NAIA-Indiana Wesleyan
VALPARAISO, Ind. (AP) — Ryan Hawk kicked a 37-yard field goal with 5:24 left and Valparaiso escaped with a 20-17 win over NAIA-member Indiana Wesleyan in the Beacons’ home opener Saturday night.
The Beacons opened the season with losses to Northern Iowa and Youngstown State on the road.
Valparaiso took a 14-0 lead after Michael Mansaray scored on a 33-yard first-quarter run and Caron Tyler threw six yards to Chris Gundy to start the second.
Indiana Wesleyan responded when Roosevelt Cage ran 28 yards for a touchdown and Kyle Antoine threw a 17-yard touchdown to Ryan Whitewell with 2:49 left in the third to make it 17-14.
Indiana Wesleyan tied the game with 9:16 left on a 34-yard field goal by Josh Clifton.
Tyler was 8 of 17 passing for 70 yards and a touchdown and carried 18 times for 115 yards to lead Valparaiso. Mansaray added 97 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries.
Antoine was 19 of 36 passing for 218 yard and a touchdown with two interceptions for the Wildcats. Cage added 70 yards on nine carries.
