Indianapolis, Ind. — The 10th-ranked Marian University football team utilized a late defensive stand to defeat 3rd-ranked Indiana Wesleyan in a statement win over Homecoming at Asension St. Vincent Field on Saturday.
TEAM STATISTICS
- Indiana Wesleyan out-gained Marian 487-432
- The Knights rushed for 235 yards to the Wildcats' 200
- IWU threw for 287 yards; MU passed for 197 yards
- Marian totaled 31 first downs, while Indiana Wesleyan picked up 22 first downs
- The Knights' defense forced three of four turnovers in the game
- MU dominated time of possession, 38:49 to 21:11
- Marian converted six of 13 third downs, while holding the Wildcats to five of nine on third down
- The Knights recorded the lone punt of the game, a 47-yard boot; IWU had the lone sack of the game
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
- Jake Dunn was 17-for-22 for 197 yards with a touchdown and an interception
- Uriah Buchanan took a team-high 20 carries for 141 yards
- RJ Griffin and Avery Garlock ran in scores on the ground
- Montasi Clay hauled in six catches for 93 yards; Zane Skibinski grabbed a touchdown pass
- Samirion Ford tallied a team-leading 14 tackles
- Wyatt Woodall added eight tackles and forced a fumble
- LJ Ward and Jeivyair Horton recorded interceptions
- Ashton Vogel was 3-for-4 on field goal attempts and made all three PATs
HOW IT HAPPENED
FIRST QUARTER
- Indiana Wesleyan's defense forced a stop on Marian's opening possession, but an offsides penalty on a fourth and short extended the Knights' drive
- MU settled for Vogel's 35-yard field goal to take an early 3-0 lead
- The Wildcats drove the ball into MU territory; their 39-yard field goal attempt was no good
SECOND QUARTER
- Skibinski's 24-yard catch moved Marian into the IWU red zone, but a 33-yard FG missed, keeping the game at 3-0
- Blake Brumbaugh hauled in a 71-yard touchdown catch to take a 7-3 lead
- Three straight Buchanan first-down runs moved the ball quickly into the Wildcat end; a third-down pass interference call set up a two-yard Garlock touchdown run
- IWU's Ryan Whitwell responded with a four-yard touchdown run to regain a 14-10 lead
- Two 25-yard passes to Clay got the ball down the field towards the end of the half; Griffin used a push from the o-line to cross the goal line from two yards out to take a 17-14 lead into the locker room
THIRD QUARTER
- Ward intercepted Arjun Lothe's pass on IWU's first drive of the second half and returned it 43 yards into the IWU half
- Dunn's 16-yard pass to Skibinski was caught in the end zone, putting the Knights ahead 24-14
- On the Wildcats' third play from scrimmage on its next drive, Woodall punched the ball free from Whitwell and the Knights recovered
- The Wildcats responded with an interception of Dunn on the ensuing drive
- IWU capped a 10-play drive with a five-yard touchdown pass to Braxton Myers to pull within 24-21
FOURTH QUARTER
- The lone punt of the game came on Marian's possession that spanned the end of the third and the start of the fourth quarter
- IWU's Lothe threw another interception, this time by Horton, who returned it 18 yards to the Wildcat 30-yard line
- Marian recorded three straight quarterback runs and took a six-point lead on Vogel's 42-yard try
- Whitwell broke free for a 38-yard gain to set up Simon Vinson's 25-yard touchdown catch to take a 28-27 lead with under 10 minutes to play
- Marian's next drive chewed up over six minutes of clock over 14 plays; Vogel's 27-yard go-ahead field goal put the Knights back in front with 3:33 to play
- IWU converted a 4th & 8 and a 3rd &12, but threw a pass underneath on fourth and long to turn the ball over
- With IWU still holding timeouts, Buchanan's 26-yard run sealed the Knights' win
GAME NOTES
- Marian's second straight win over Indiana Wesleyan
- Matches the Knights' highest ranked win since 2018
UP NEXT
- Marian closes up a three-game homestand next Saturday, hosting 17th-ranked Olivet Nazarene in the MSFA Midwest opener
- The Tigers are the lone unbeaten team in the MSFA
