BLUFFTON, Ohio – The Manchester University football team was defeated by Bluffton University on Saturday November 6, falling on the road in Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference action by a final score of 31-7.

Bluffton knocked in a 37-yard field goal in the 1^st quarter for an early 3-0 advantage. The Beavers then found the end zone twice in the 2^nd quarter. Bluffton quarterback Blake Rine threw touchdown strikes of 35 and 10 yards to push the Beavers' advantage to 17-0.

The Beavers would add another score on its opening possession of the 3^rd quarter. Blake Rine threw his third touchdown of the game, completing a 16-yard pass to Laurenz Johnson. Bluffton would find the end zone one final time, scoring midway through the 4^th quarter following a 6-yard touchdown pass from Zachary Nobis to Chris Mclaurin

Manchester's young offense was held off the scoreboard until the final seconds of Saturday's game. Carter Campassi (Cicero, Ind./Hamilton Heights) did manage to throw a 2-yard touchdown pass to senior Harrington Greer (South Bend, Ind./Riley) with 29 ticks left on the game clock. Greer had 4 receptions for 50 yards on Saturday.

For the game, Bluffton tallied 415 total yards of offense – throwing for 293 yards and rushing for 122 yards. Manchester put up 286 yards of total offense – throwing for 174 yards and rushing for 112 yards.

Jalen Masden (Evansville, Ind./Harrison) finished with a team-high 8 tackles. He had 1 sack against Bluffton. 4 additional Spartans added 5 tackles on Saturday afternoon.

Manchester (2-7, 2-4 HCAC) will conclude its season next weekend at home against rival Anderson University. The Spartans will look to win back the coveted Bronze Ball Trophy.

Bluffton (3-6, 2-4 HCAC) will travel to rival Defiance College to conclude its season next weekend.