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Photo credit: Seth Ellis
Photo credit: Seth Ellis
Posted: Oct 08, 2022

SECOND-HALF RALLY NOT ENOUGH AS TIGERS FALL TO NO. 18 SAINT XAVIER

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BOURBONNAIS, Ill. - After being left off the scoreboard in the first half, the Olivet Nazarene University football team was the only team to score in the second half in Saturday afternoon's conference matchup against No. 18 Saint Xavier. However, the Tigers couldn't complete the comeback, falling one score short 17-10.

 

The ONU offense was virtually nonexistent in the first half, mostly in part to a pair of methodical, double-digit play touchdown drives from Saint Xavier that chewed up a combined 12 minutes of game clock to open the game.

 

Saint Xavier's Justin Pringle was the primary threat for the Cougars, bringing down the first two touchdowns of the game. On the flip side, the Tiger offense couldn't find its groove in the first half. ONU could only muster two first downs in the first 30 minutes of play.

 

Lucas Benes punched in a field goal for Saint Xavier to close out the first-half scoring, leaving the Tigers off the scoreboard as the teams headed to the locker room.

 

Halftime: No. 18 Saint Xavier 17, Olivet Nazarene 0

 

Neither team scored in the third quarter, with both teams knocking on the door but coming up short. Benes missed a field goal for the Cougars and the Tiger's came up empty on a redzone trip after getting great field position when Drew Hanft recovered a fumble.

 

The Tigers finally got on the board in the fourth quarter. With SXU deep in their own territory, Damien Thornton forced a fumble that the Tigers were able to jump on. Evan Leake capitalized on the takeaway, punching it in from seven yards out to cut the deficit to 10.

 

With just under six minutes to play, Cameron Crouch led the Tigers down the field to the redzone, converting on two fourth-down attempts along the way. Crouch looked to Tyler Isaacson, Jalen Dunnigan, and Brian Jenkins on three plays inside the 10, but came up empty. Mahuka nailed the field goal to make it a one-score game.

 

The Tigers stymied the Cougars on the following drive, getting the ball back with 1:38 remaining on the clock. Crouch took the team past midfield, but couldn't make the necessary plays to complete the comeback, falling to a final score of 17-10.

 

The loss dropped the Tigers to 1-1 in the MSFA and 2-3 on the season. The No. 18 Cougars improved to 4-2 on the season and 2-0 in the conference.

 

GAME VITALS

Final: No. 18 Saint Xavier 17, Olivet Nazarene 10

Records: No. 18 Saint Xavier 4-2 (2-0 MSFA) Olivet Nazarene 2-3 (1-1 MSFA)

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

 

QUICK HITS

  • The Tiger defense forced and recovered three fumbles.

  • Sean Outlaw led the team in tackles (7), had two tackles-for-loss, and one sack.

  • Evan Leake was the game-leader in rushing yards with 92.

  • Ryan Morrison-Gravenberg was the top receiver for ONU, snagging five catches for 43 yards.

 

WHAT'S NEXT?

The Tigers will travel to the Quad Cities to take on the Fighting Bees of St. Ambrose. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. CST.

 

--ONU—

 

*Contact: Evan Wild, Sports Information Director, ewwild@olivet.edu