Anderson Claims The Bronze Ball, Takes Down Manchester

The Anderson University football team took down Manchester University by a score of 31-14 to claim The Bronze Ball during Saturday's Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) matchup at Highland Middle School in Anderson.

Anderson (2-8, 1-5) got its first scoring opportunity in the first quarter on a Manchester (0-10, 0-6) punt return. As Elijah St. Pierre delivered the punt and Manchester's Kenneth Moore muffed the punt. Nathan Contreras recovered the muff, but Jake Simpson forced Contreras to fumble and Cody Eastgate recovered the fumble. On the following play, Zac Montgomery converted an 18-yard touchdown pass to Preston Yoder to put the Ravens on the board. Corey Layton hit the extra-point attempt to put Anderson ahead 7-0 with 8 minutes, 50 seconds left in the first quarter.

Cameron Hovey punched in a one-yard rushing touchdown for the Spartans. Diego Moguel converted the extra point to tie the game with 9:04 left in the first half.

The Ravens chipped away with a 14-play 87-yard drive and finished off with Layton hitting a 22-yard field goal with 14 second left in the first half to put Anderson ahead 10-7.

Anderson took a 17-7 lead with 11:00 left in the third quarter. With the help of a defender who slipped and fell, Montgomery delivered a 67-yard touchdown stripe to Yoder. Layton made the extra point.

The Ravens found the scoreboard again with 8:21 left in the third quarter. Montgomery completed a 5-yard pass to Yoder. Yoder then pitched it back to Julian Holguin as Holguin took it another 51 yards to complete the hook-and-ladder touchdown. Another Layton extra point put Anderson ahead 24-7 with 7:15 left in the third quarter.

Early in the fourth quarter, the Ravens brought in linebackers Gavin Reners and Simpson on offense as Travis Moon rushed for a 14-yard touchdown. Layton's extra-point put the Ravens ahead 31-14 with 13:22 remaining.

Two-way player Levarian Campbell provided some momentum for the Spartans as he picked off a pass and returned it 32 yards to Anderson's 19. The drive resulted in a 26-yard field goal from Moguel to trim the deficit to 31-10 with 2:09 remaining. Aiden Beachy was successful on an onside kickoff for Manchester, which was recovered by James Lewis. The Spartans scored again with 17 seconds left on the clock after Dante Chaney connected with Campbell for a 38-yard touchdown pass. Moguel converted the extra point. The Spartans attempted another onside kickoff, but were called for illegal touching after recovering the kick only nine yards from the line of scrimmage. Anderson lined up in victory formation and sealed the victory.

"I am so proud of our team for how they continued to grow throughout the season and I'm excited that we got to end our season on a high note by winning back The Bronze Ball," Coach Jonathan Coddington said.

The Ravens held a 406-176 advantage against the Spartans in total offense.

Yoder was named Raven of the Game after tallying 87 receiving yards, three receptions and two reception touchdowns. Montgomery threw for 293 passing yards and three touchdowns. The senior from Fortville completed 19-of-31 passes. Holguin notched nine receptions, 140 receiving yards and a reception touchdown. Moon rushed for 64 yards and a touchdown. Albert Rabb provided 30 receiving yards. Tone Hurd produced a 43-yard kickoff return while Semy Turner added a 23-yard kickoff return. St. Pierre pinned two punts inside the 20.

Simpson provided a forced fumble, seven tackles, a tackle for loss and a pass breakup. Johnathen Hayworth-Dupree posted five tackles, one sack, 1.5 tackles for loss and one pass breakup. Derrius Grimes recorded two sacks and two tackles for loss. Matt Shams provided a pass breakup while Eastgate recovered a fumble. Elijah Hurns contributed five tackles and a tackle for loss. Rickey Bell tallied five tackles. Connor Huffman put together a pas breakup and three quarterback hurried while Reners put together two quarterback hurries.

Prior to the game, the Ravens recognized St. Pierre, Hurd, Shams, Bell, Holguin, Jacob Holifield, Montgomery, Logan Alexander, Huffman, Dre Malo, Quinn Dreiband and cheerleader Hannah Souder for Senior Day.

"Our seniors have fought through a lot of adversity during their time here and without a doubt have left the program better. We wish them best in each of their lives after football and we look forward to continuing to build our program going into the 2025 season."