Indianapolis —- The eighth-ranked Marian University football team rolled to its sixth straight win on Saturday, handing 16th-ranked Olivet Nazarene its first loss of the season. The Knights defense dominated in the win, holding ONU to over 40 points below their scoring average and just nine yards rushing.
TEAM STATISTICS
- Marian out-gained Olivet Nazarene 403-210
- The Knights dominated the ground game, out-gaining the Tigers 226-9
- ONU held a 201-177 edge in passing yards
- Marian picked up 26 first downs to Olivet Nazarene's 14
- The Knights' defense recorded all three takeaways in the game
- MU held a significant lead in time of possession, 35:07 to 24:53
- Marian was 4-for-13 on third down, while limiting the Tiger offense to 2-of-12 on third down
- ONU was 3-of-4 on fourth down; Marian converted both of their fourth downs
- MU recorded a season-high four sacks
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
- Jake Dunn threw for 159 yards and a touchdown with 42 rush yards
- Uriah Buchanan took 12 carries for 72 yards and a touchdown
- Montasi Clay hauled in four passes for 72 yards
- Cade Houseman tied a team high with five tackles, three coming for loss
- Samirion Ford had five tackles with a sack
- Trent Baker-Booker, JT Downey and Zion Woods recorded the interceptions
- Darian Dixon picked up 1.5 sacks
HOW IT HAPPENED
FIRST QUARTER
- Marian converted on a fourth down, a third and long on its opening drive; an unsportsmanlike penalty after a stopped third down allowed the Knights to extend its drive
- Vaden caught a short pass from Dunn and walked the tightrope into the end zone to cap an 18-play drive, leading 7-0
- Dixon's sack on the first drive set up a three-and-out for ONU on its opening drive
- A 30-yard Buchanan rush set the Knights up in the red zone, but a sack pushed the field-goal try back to 38 yards and was unsuccessful
SECOND QUARTER
- A 12-yard punt gave the Knights a short field
- Vaden's 22-yard rush set Marian up inside the ONU 10-yard line, but the drive stalled and MU settled for a 21-yard field goal, leading 10-0
- A 54-yard ONU pass moved the Tigers into Marian territory; Olivet got on the board with a 32-yard field goal
- The Knights were stopped on third down, but a roughing the punter penalty once again extended a Marian drive after being stopped on third down
- Drayton Allgood's 26-yard catch set up the Knights at the goal line; RJ Griffin punched it in on a one-yard score to extend Marian's lead to 17-3 just before the half
- Baker-Booker's interception gave the Knights the ball right back; Marian's 52-yard field goal attempt as time expired was blocked
THIRD QUARTER
- Marian forced a three-and-out on ONU's opening offensive possession of the second half
- A 32-yard Clay catch and run and Buchanan's 19-yard touchdown run pushed the advantage to 24-3
- ONU went on an 18-play, 75-yard drive that took up nearly eight and a half minutes of game time that ended up with no points as the Marian defense stood tall on fourth and goal
FOURTH QUARTER
- The Knights had a 14-play drive of their own that ended up with no points as the 44-yard field goal try was wide left
- ONU drove the ball into Marian territory, but Downey intercepted the Tiger signal caller
- The Knights punted, but the Tigers muffed the punt and Hudson Moritz recovered
- Avery Garlock rushed four straight times, scoring on the final carry to extend the lead to 31-3
- Woods ended Olivet's final offensive possession with an interception, Marian's third of the game
UP NEXT
- Marian hits the road for the first time since the second week of September, facing St. Mary-of-the-Woods at 1 p.m.
