BOURBONNAIS, Ill. – In their final game of the 2024 season, the Olivet Nazarene University football team sent its senior class out with a bang as they took down No. 18 Saint Francis (Ind.) 39-31 Saturday afternoon at Ward Field on senior day.
The Tigers did most of their damage on the ground, gashing the Cougars for 284 rushing yards and four touchdowns behind a big game from Evan Leake. The Mt. Vernon, Ill., senior went for 151 rushing yards on 14 carries for a 10.8 yards-per-attempt average and a pair of touchdowns.
His first came on ONU’s opening drive when he broke away for a 65-yard rushing touchdown on the team’s third play from scrimmage. Consecutive scores from Saint Francis, who had already clinched a share of the MSFA Midwest league title prior to kickoff, put the Tigers in a hole. But Christian Dhue-Reid turned a broken play on fourth and long into a 34-yard touchdown strike to Ray Coffey to give ONU a 12-10 lead heading into halftime.
The Tigers shifted that momentum in the second half, opening the third quarter with a methodical 21-play touchdown drive. Leake capped off the nearly 11-minute opening drive with a five-yard touchdown dive on fourth down to put the Tigers up two scores.
Nicholas Bunkosky gave the Tigers great field position when he intercepted a USF pass that led to a 12-yard touchdown run from Keshawn Huguely. The Cougars cut the lead to one possession on their ensuing drive, but Dhue-Reid connected with Brandon Jackson for a three-yard touchdown to push the lead right back up to double-digits.
Kyle Taylor followed his teammate’s lead when by picking off the Cougar quarterback on their first play on the following drive, setting up ONU offense in the redzone. Dhue-Reid paid off the short field with a two-yard scoring scramble to make it 39-17 Tigers. USF made a last-ditch effort to make it interesting, but the Tigers would hold on to complete the upset.
Dhue-Reid had another effective start at quarterback, going 14-of-24 through the air for 177 yards and two touchdowns. He only threw to three different receivers throughout the day: Blake Lamb had six catches for 58 yards while Ray Coffey and Brandon Jackson hauled in four receptions each for 95 and 24 yards, respectively, and one touchdown grab apiece.
Aaron Bennett joined in on the rush attack by toting the ball nine times for 48 yards. Huguely, Andrew-Lee Smith, and Dhue-Reid all tallied seven carries each.
Bunkosky led the potent ONU defense with eight tackles and the interception. Lucas Eckles notched seven tackles and a pass breakup. John Harman record six tackles. Hunter Ah Loo had four with one for loss.
The Tigers end their season with a winning record at 6-4 and 3-2 in the MSFA.
–ONU—
*Contact: Evan Wild, Sports Information Director, ewwild@olivet.edu
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