BOURBONNAIS, Ill. – The Olivet Nazarene University football team knew they had a tall task in front of them when the No. 7 Indiana Wesleyan Wildcats came to town Saturday afternoon. The Tigers fought hard but ultimately dropped the contest 69-0 against one of the nation's top teams at Ward Field.

After IWU received the opening kickoff, the Tiger defense seemed poised to get off the field. With the ball on the ONU eight-yard line, the Tigers stuffed the Wildcats at the goal line to bring up fourth down. But the IWU offense remained on the field to punch in the touchdown on the game's opening drive.

And that would be the first of eight touchdowns scored by Indiana Wesleyan in the first half alone as the game quickly got out of reach for the Purple & Yellow Gold.

Jack Miller and Brendyn Agbayani split snaps at quarterback for ONU, with both play-callers completing six passes for 76 and 72 yards respectively.

Andrew-Lee Smith was the Tigers' most efficient back, toting the ball six times for 49 yards on an 8.2 yards-per-carry average. Noah Bartley added 40 yards on five carries and Aaron Bennett notched 32 more on seven rush attempts.

Blake Lamb paced the receiving corps with a team-best four receptions for 30 yards. Ray Coffey, who nearly brought down a touchdown grab late in the first quarter, led the team with 55 receiving yards on a pair of catches.

Brett Deiter, Nicholas Bunkosky, and Joe Fugle led the Tigers with seven tackles each. Bunkosky led the trio with six solo tackles. Hunter Ah Loo was responsible for the team's lone takeaway with an interception.

The Tigers will enjoy a bye week before hosting Madonna for a noon kickoff at Ward Field on Oct. 5.

--ONU—

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