ANN ARBOR, IL. – The Olivet Nazarene University football team got its latest era under new head coach Avante Mitchell off to a great start with a statement 35-14 road win over Concordia (Mich.), a team that received votes in the NAIA’s preseason top-25 poll, Saturday afternoon at Ferry Field.
The Tigers rolled up 526 yards of total offense, including 280 yards on the ground. Four different running backs combined for 278 yards, led by Aaron Bennett‘s 159 yards on just nine carries. Evan Leake powered for 75 yards, Keshawn Huguely carried for 41 yards and Andrew-Lee Smith went for three yards.
Jack Miller started at quarterback and commanded the offense on every drive, completing 19-of-31 passes for 246 yards and two touchdowns. His longest completion of the day went for 59 yards on a pitch-and-catch to Leake on the game’s opening drive.
The Tigers, who scored in every quarter, struck first in the opening period with a five-yard touchdown completion from Miller to senior tight end Blake Lamb. ONU doubled their lead on their first drive of the second quarter with Bennett making a 58-yard sprint to the endzone to make it 14-0 over the Cardinals, where the lead would hold heading into the break
The ONU defense held Concordia (0-1), a team that averaged 33 points per game last season, scoreless through the first 43 minutes of play. The Cardinals eventually got on the board for a touchdown late in the third quarter to cut the ONU lead in half, but Leake responded with a 98-yard kickoff return house call to extend the advantage right back to 14.
Leake hit paydirt once again early in the fourth quarter to make it a three-touchdown lead for the Purple & Gold. The Cardinals rallied for their second score of the game. But after ONU recovered an attempted onside kick, Miller made quick work of the short field, capping off an eight-play drive with a one-yard scoring strike to Brandon Jackson to seal the game 35-14.
Jackson led the ONU receiving corps with five receptions for 77 yards and the score. Lamb had four catches for 38 and a score of his own. Leake, Ray Coffey, and Andrew Cloy each had three catches apiece totaling 116 yards. Caiden Ray recorded 15 yards on his one reception.
The Tigers averaged 7.2 yards per play while limiting the Cardinals to just 4.5 yards per play. Concordia totaled just 252 yards with only 73 of those yards coming on the ground over 24 carries. Vaisen Viloria led the defense with eight tackles and one tackle for loss.
ONU will host Taylor next Saturday for the White Out at Ward Field. Kick-off is slated for 7 p.m.
For more information about the athletics program, contact Evan Wild, Sports Information Director, ewwild@olivet.edu.
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— Republished 9/02/2024 —
