The previous two games saw the Bobcats give up too many turnovers costing them the last two games. On Saturday; however, the 'Cats only gave up only one fumble, but penalties were costly as PSC racked up 134 yards on 11 flags with the yardage being more than they had been penalized all year long.

In addition, the Bobcats were playing without several starters who stayed home treating injuries suffered in the previous game.

First Half Action

Trinity took the opening kickoff and moved the ball down the field quickly with mainly passes. The Lions were stopped at the Bobcat five-yard line as the third-down pass was deflected in the end zone. The Lions went for it on fourth down and used a hard count to get the Bobcats to jump offside. This gave them another down on the two-yard line after which they scored on a run. Following the PAT, TBC was up 7-0 with 12:06 to go in the first quarter.

The Bobcats got their first possession after getting the kickoff at their own 38-yard line. By mixing the run with the pass, the 'Cats moved the ball down the field. Eventually, the Lions' defense stiffened up and stopped Peru State at the 16-yard line that set up a 34-yard field goal by Levi Cockle (Lincoln) which was good with 5:58 remaining in the first. The 13-play drive of 46 yards took 7:55 off the clock and was one of PSC's longer drives in terms of time this season.

The teams traded possessions during the rest of the quarter, but it was the last possession of the first quarter where PSC took over on TBC's 32-yard line. Peru State moved the ball down the field and had the ball down to the Lions' 11-yard line with a reception, but it was called back for a holding penalty. This put the ball on Trinity's 35-yard line after which Tyler Francis (Lincoln) completed a 21-yard pass to Brendan Whitted (St. Louis, Mo.), making it fourth and five to go. For Whitted, this was his first catch of the year. The 'Cats decided to go with a field goal by Cockle which was good, but TBC was offside. Following the penalty that the Cats took and made it a fourth and one, PSC decided to go for it. However, the rushing attempt was stopped for no gain and the Bobcats gave the ball back to Trinity, thus taking points off the board.

Following another trading of possessions, Trinity got the ball again and later scored to make it 13-13 with 6:13 remaining in the first half. On the Bobcats' next possession, after making one first down which was 57-yard pass reception from Francis to Lance Steffen (Murdock), Peru State had a failed play on fourth down which resulted in a negative three-yard punt.

Trinity then proceeded to put together another drive, resulting in another touchdown as time ran off the clock. The point after attempt was blocked by Adrian Lawson (Lincoln) (per the PSC radio announcers) after which it was picked up by Trey Rigby (Oak Grove, Mo.) and ran back for a defensive PAT. This made the score 19-5 at the end of the half.

Second Half

Neither team scored in the third quarter, but the Bobcats did move the ball in the quarter and won the time of possession, but to no avail.

Peru State was moving the ball again at the end of the third and continued that drive into the final stanza. After moving the ball to the Lions' nine-yard line, three incomplete passes, including two in the end zones, left the Bobcats without scoring.

When the Lions took over on the 'Cats five-yard line, it only took with two plays to score. On their second play of the final quarter, the Lions connected on a 92-yard pass for a touchdown putting them on top 25-5 with 12:25 remaining.

Trinity did tack on one more score finishing off the 'Cats with a 13-play, 98 yard drive, which took 7:43 off the clock. Their PAT failed and the final score of the game was 31-5.

Statistics

While the score on the board did not show the closeness of the game, the total yardage was only slightly in favor of the Lions. For the game, TBC had a total of 445 yards, while PSC finished with 392. The Lions had 20 first downs while the Bobcats finished with 19. Time of possession actually ended up in the favor of the 'Cats as they had the ball for over 33 minutes.

Tyler Francis was 28 of 46 for 272 yards with a long of 57 to Steffen. In addition, he added 25 yards on the ground. Jacob Grobe (Oakland, Iowa) had his first shot at quarterback and went three for three for 33 yards. Grobe also led the team on the ground with 38 yards on six carries.

Quentin Edelman (Sabetha, Kan.) had ten receptions for 109 yards while Steffen had seven grabs for 107 yards.

Defensively, Preston Bruss (Bennet) led the Bobcats with 11 total tackles, five of which were solo. Curtis Larsen (Plattsmouth), Lawson, and Zach Lempka (Sterling) each added six tackles. Larsen had two tackles for a total loss of three yards. Lawson, per the radio announcers, was given credit for getting his paws on the ball that Rigby took back for the defensive PAT and had one and one-half tackles for a loss. Rigby, besides the defensive PAT, had three tackles and two tackles for a loss of five yards. Tony Traynor (Waterloo) was credited with the fumble recovery.

Post-Game Comments

Edelman was selected as the KNCY Bobcat Player of the Game and noted it was a tough loss. Edelman said, “The offense started good on the first couple of drives and got a field goal and could have had another field goal. We knew Trinity was a pretty good team and probably better than maybe their record showed.” Edelman concluded, “We just need to get over this and get ready for the rest of the HAAC teams.”

Bobcat head coach Terry Clark echoed Edelman's sentiments of just getting over this one. Clark said, “Quentin was right, we need to forget this one and get ready for Evangel for next week. Evangel did have an upset over Baker, but last week was shutout by Benedictine who we were able to score on.” Clark concluded, “We do tend to play better at home, so hopefully, we will do so next week.”

Game Box Score

Next Game

On Saturday, Oct. 15, the Bobcats will host the Evangel University Crusaders in a game beginning at 1 p.m. in the Oak Bowl. Evangel is 3-1 in the HAAC having defeated Graceland University on Saturday 27-21. Overall, the Crusaders are 3-2.

Next Saturday is the Hall of Fame Day at Peru State. During halftime of the game, four individuals and one team will be recognized as new members of the College's Athletic Hall of Fame.

In addition, on Saturday, the Bobcats are hosting a youth cheer camp, Nebraska's Toughest Mile, and a volleyball game on campus. So, if sports action is something you want, you need to be in Peru on the 15th.