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No. 13 Tigers Slay the RV Cougars For the First Time in 16 Years on Senior Day Under the Lights
Posted: Apr 04, 2021

No. 13 Tigers Slay the RV Cougars For the First Time in 16 Years on Senior Day Under the Lights

Box Score

BOURBONNAIS, Ill. – For the first time in 16 years, the No. 13 Olivet Nazarene University football defeated their rivals from Chicago, the Saint Xavier University Cougars. The Tigers beat the Cougars in dominate fashion, 34-10, under the lights, on Senior Night, at Ward Field on Saturday night.

The Tigers also wrapped up the Mid-States Football Association Midwest Division (MSFA) title in the process as well.

After forcing a Cougar punt, the Tigers marched down the field for a touchdown drive. Max McClendon (FR/Jacksonville, Fla.) got the drive started with a five-yard rush. A few plays later, David Hutton (SO/Brookfield, Wis.) hooked up with Brady Walling (SR/Meridian, Idaho) for a 23-yard and a 7-yard gain. Then, when the Tigers got into Cougar territory, Hutton fed the ball to Aaje Grayson (SO/New York, N.Y), who ran for a rush of 11 yards and 7 yards, before banging his way in for a 4-yard touchdown. After a Bryce DeGuira (SR/Nashville, Tenn.) extra point, the Tigers led 7-0. That score would hold true going into the second quarter.

In the first drive of the second quarter, the Cougars drove down an kicked a 44-yard field goal, making the score 7-3. After a Tiger three-and-out, the Cougars scored a two-yard rushing touchdown to take the lead, 10-3. The Tigers then had 3:24 minutes left to try to get into the lead going into the half. Hutton was making it work with his arm and feet, totaling 32 passing yards and 28 rushing yards. The Tigers got within the SXU one-yard line with 25 seconds left and got stuffed twice by the Cougar front, but with time expiring, Hutton connected with one of his favorite targets Jalen Dunnigan (JR/Jacksonville, Fla.) for a touchdown making the score 14-10 going into the half.

Halftime: No. 13 ONU 14, RV SXU 10

The Tigers received the ball to start the second half and did not squander that opportunity has they drove the ball down the field for a touchdown. The drive was capped off by a 67-yard touchdown reception to Scott Graziano (SR/Elgin, Ill.) from Hutton. The Tigers led 21-10. After the defense stopped Saint Xavier's next offensive drive, the Tigers went back to work. The drive started with a 20-yard rush by McClendon and later was followed by a 13-yard rush by Grayson putting the Tigers at the SXU 15-yard line. Grayson finished off the drive with a 10-yard touchdown run making the score 28-10. That score would hold true going into the fourth quarter.

In the fourth quarter, the Tigers mark more points on a 29-yard field goal by DeGuira growing their lead to 31-10. On the Tigers' proceeding drive, DeGuira knocked another field goal through the uprights, but this time, it was from 30-yards out making the score 34-10.

The Tigers scored 20 points in the second half and took out the Cougars, 34-10.

Game Vitals

Final: No. 13 Olivet Nazarene 34, RV Saint Xavier 10

Records: No. 13 Olivet Nazarene: 7-0 (5-0 MSFA) | RV Saint Xavier: 4-3 (2-2 MSFA)

Location: Ward Field | Olivet Nazarene University | Bourbonnais, Ill.

Quick Hits

  • Hutton threw for 165 yards on 14-of-27 passing for a pair of touchdowns.
  • Grayson led the Tigers with 56 yards on the ground, while McClendon added 53 on 11 carries and Hutton had 10 carries for 33 yards. Gil'Scott Jackson II (SR/Thousand Oaks, Calif.) had 5 carries for 26 yards.
  • Graziano had 82 yards receiving.
  • DeGuira notched 10 points (4 PATs and 2 FGs) and had a pair of touchbacks.
  • On defense, Jason Freeman (SO/Zion, Ill.) led the Tigers with 10 tackles, while Mark Phelps (JR/Schoolcraft Mich.) and Drew Hanft (JR/Michigan City, Ind.) both had 9 tackles apiece.
  • Andrew Ryczek (FR/Round Lake Beach, Ill.) had 5 punts for 142 yards with his longest being 50-yards.
  • Grant Manke (SO/Brownsville, Wis.) had seven tackles and a sack for eight yards.
  • Scott Leonard (SO/Santa Ana, Calif.) also had a sack in the game.
  • Arinze Ekowa (JR/Plainfield, Ill.), Eric Cloy (SR/Foley, Ala.), and Joshua Mathiasen (FR/Elmhurst, Ill.) each had a quarterback hurry.

What's Next?

The No. 13 Tigers travel to Leslie Frazier Field up in Deerfield, Ill. for their final regular season contest of the season against the Trojans of Trinity International on Saturday, April 10 at 1 p.m.

--ONU—

*Contact: Sam Viebrock, Sports Information Director, stviebrock@olivet.edu