BIG PLAYS NOT ENOUGH IN ONU’S SETBACK AT No. 15 SAINT XAVIER

CHICAGO, Ill. – Three long touchdown passes were not enough to knock off one of the NAIA's top teams as the Olivet Nazarene University football team fell to No. 15 Saint Xavier 38-21 Saturday afternoon at Bruce R. Deaton Field.

Cameron Crouch connected for touchdowns on throws of 41, 29, and 20 yards but it wasn't enough to topple the Cougars, who took a commanding 14-0 lead by the end of the first quarter.

Brian Jenkins got the Tigers on the board when he hauled in the 41-yard strike from Crouch that cut the deficit to a one-possession game. And when the ONU defense forced a Cougar three-and-out two drives later, Crouch found Ryan Morrison-Gravenberg from 29 yards out to tie the game 14-14 midway through the second quarter.

With four minutes remaining in the first half, ONU looked poised to take a lead into the locker room when Crouch got the Tigers to midfield. But the drive stalled out, turning the ball over on downs. SXU took full advantage of the short field, knocking in a field goal as time expired to take a three-point lead into the locker room.

The Cougars found their footing from there, scoring touchdowns on their first two drives of the second half to take a lead they would on to for the remainder of the game. Blake Lamb hauled in his eighth touchdown of the year on a 20-yard pass from Crouch, but it would prove to be the last ONU points of the contest.

On the day, Crouch completed 21-of-37 passes for 253 yards and the three scores. Jenkins and Morrison-Gravenberg brought down five receptions each for 80 and 78 yards, respectively. Lamb finished the day with 61 yards on four catches.

Abraham Flores-Cuen paced the ONU defense with 12 total tackles. John Harman reached double-digit tackles, as well, finishing with 10. Brock Deardorff snagged his first interception of the year in the loss.

ONU, now 5-4 overall and 2-2 in the MSFA Midwest league, will close out the season at Ward Field against St. Ambrose Saturday. Kickoff is slated for 12 p.m.

--ONU—

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