Indianapolis — The 6th-ranked Marian University football team rolled to a Senior Day win over Saint Xavier on Saturday at Ascension St. Vincent Field, claiming at least a share of the Mid-States Football Association Midwest League regular season title. The Knights clinched the MSFA Midwest's automatic bid to the NAIA Football Championship Series with the win.
TEAM STATISTICS
- Marian out-gained Saint Xavier 483-346
- The Knights rushed for 216 rushing yards to 74 yards on the ground for the Cougars
- SXU held a 272-267 edge in passing yards
- Saint Xavier led in time of possession, 31:43 to 28:17
- MU converted six of 15 third downs, while holding the Cougars to 6-for-21 on third down and 2-for-7 on fourth down
- Marian recorded all four sacks in the game
- MU tallied four of the six takeaways in the game
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
- Jake Dunn was 14-for-22 with 243 yards, three touchdowns and an interception
- Uriah Buchanan took six carries for 120 yards and three touchdowns, his third straight game with three touchdowns
- Trey Cooks, Alex Leugers and RJ Griffin added scores on the ground
- Charles Vaden hauled in six passes for 91 yards and two touchdowns
- Montasi Clay also scored on a long receiving touchdown
- Hudson Moritz tied a team-high eight tackles with a sack
- Cade Houseman also had eight tackles
- Jackson Reece returned an interception for a touchdown; Jackson Mills and Samirion Ford came up with interceptions
- Luke Swartz had two sacks; Jackson Heims added a sack
- Dean Mason averaged 53 yards per punt with a 57-yard boot that was downed at the 2-yard line
- Drayton Allgood and CJ Harris combined for over 100 return yards
- Ashton Vogel and Noah Mays combined to go 10-for-10 on PATs
HOW IT HAPPENED
FIRST QUARTER
- A 42-yard kickoff return from Harris set up Marian with the ball near midfield; the Knights struck for a touchdown in just three plays, scoring on Buchanan's six-yard rush
- Saint Xavier reached Marian territory before Ford intercepted Blainey Dowling's pass and returned it 47 yards just outside the SXU red zone
- Zane Skibinski's third-down grab extended the drive; after Buchanan was stalled on a run, the o-line helped push him over the end zone for a 10-yard score
- The Cougars drove the ball into MU territory, but Swartz came up with a sack on fourth down to turn the ball over on downs
- Dunn found Clay over the top and Clay did the rest, scoring from 65 yards out to lead 21-0
- Marian forced a punt and scored immediately, with Buchanan's 79-yard touchdown run being his third of the quarter; the Knights led 28-0 after 15 minutes
SECOND QUARTER
- On fourth down, Vaden hauled in a deep ball in the end zone for a touchdown, extending the lead to 35-0
- The Cougars got on the board on a nine-play, 60-yard drive, capped by Eddie McClain's 15-yard touchdown catch on third and long
- On Marian's ensuing drive, Dunn's pass was intercepted Zach Norred and returned 35 yards
-Swartz came up with another sack on fourth down on the ensuing SXU drive
- Mason came on for a booming 57-yard punt that was downed at the 2-yard line; Saint Xavier went for a fake punt on its own two-yard line to give Marian the ball in great field position
- Griffin took the next play in for a two-yard touchdown, leading 42-7
- The Knights forced a quick timeout and scored again on a Vaden 9-yard reception to lead 49-7 at the break
THIRD QUARTER
- The Marian defense forced a punt and Allgood returned it 51 yards to give MU possession at the 15-yard line
- Leugers scored from six yards out to extend the lead to 56-7
- Reece intercepted Dowling's pass and returned it 43 yards for a touchdown to go in front, 63-7
- Dowling found Antonio Benson for a 14-yard touchdown to cap a 14-play scoring drive for Saint Xavier
- Marian drove into SXU territory, but a 35-yard field goal missed wide right
FOURTH QUARTER
- Mills intercepted Saint Xavier on the first play of the fourth quarter
- A jump ball in the end zone was intercepted by the Cougars
- Cooks scored MU's tenth touchdown of the day, their second game scoring 70 or more points in the last three weeks
- SXU fumbled the ensuing kickoff and Ben Fedorchak jumped on it
- The teams traded turnovers on downs as the clock winded down on Marian's title-clinching victory
UP NEXT
- The Knights look to earn the MSFA Midwest League title outright when it travels to Judson next Saturday for the regular season finale; kickoff is set for 2 p.m. CT
