HANOVER, Ind. – The Panthers (1-3 overall, 0-1 HCAC) celebrated Homecoming on Saturday in a high-flying Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference contest with Mount St. Joseph. Hanover surrendered the offensive battle 49-41.
Hanover combined 431 yards of offense as a unit and 366 yards through the air. The sophomore
Eian Roudebush (New Palestine, Ind.) put on a QB clinic as he recorded four passing touchdowns with zero turnovers.
His top target was senior
Eric Roudebush (New Palestine, Ind.) who hauled in five receptions for 117 yards and a touchdown.
Defensively, Hanover forced two MSJ turnovers with freshman
Brian Wall (Sellersburg, Ind.) leading the way. The freshman had a game-high 14 tackles including three tackles for a loss.
Ben Massey (Indianapolis, Ind.) added a pick six.
The contest saw two offensive powerhouses take the field. MSJ drew first blood in the first period when Roudebush responded taking Hanover 75 yards on six plays. The Sophomore tied the contest 7-7 on a two-yard rush to the endzone.
The Lions remained all gas finding the endzone with 1:15 left in the first quarter to capture the 14-7 advantage.
The second quarter would see sophomore
Scotty Johnson (West Chester, Ohio) pick up a touchdown as he capped a 10-play 79-yard drive tying the contest once more.
Eric Roudbush found the goal line at the 3:19 mark in the second quarter before senior
Austin Oppel (Brandenburg, Ky.) provided a rare score on the ground. The senior took the handoff 42 yards to give Hanover its first lead of the contest, 27-21.
However, the Lions were able to add one final first half score with just 11 seconds to take the slim 28-27 halftime lead.
Massey looked to flip the momentum in favor of Hanover in the second half as the senior was able to pickoff the high-flying MSJ offense and take it to the house. But it just wasn't the Panther's day as the Lions continued to fire on all cylinders en route to the HCAC contest win.
Hanover returns to Alumni Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 12 when they welcome Rose-Hulman. Game time is slated for 2:00 PM.
