(Peru, Neb.) – It was a cool and blustery day in the Oak Bowl, but the Peru State College (PSC) football team did not seem to be bothered by the weather as they ran past the visiting Trinity Bible College Lions 47-21.
With the win, the Bobcats evened their season record at 3-3 while the Lions fell to 2-4. This was a non-conference game for Peru State.
First Half Action
The Bobcats took their opening possession and put together a nine-play drive, all rushes, resulting in a three-yard touchdown by
Ryan Ludlow (Plattsmouth). Ludlow had carried six times in the drive.
Levi Cockle's
(Lincoln) PAT was good and PSC led 7-0 with 11:13 to go in the first quarter.
On Trinity Bible's first possession, the Bobcat defense held them to a three and out and
Garret Campbell (Santee, Calif.) blocked the Lions' punt so PSC took over on their own 48-yard line.
On their second drive of the game, the 'Cats gained two on the first play. Bobcat quarterback
Bo Shepard (Gretna) then found
Lance Steffen (Murdock) for a 21-yard first down. On the next play, Ludlow went up the middle for his second touchdown of the day, which was good for 29 yards. Cockle's PAT was good and Peru State led 14-0 with 8:20 left in the first quarter.
Again, the Bobcat defense held the Lions and forced Trinity to punt. Peru State took over on their own 28-yard line. All but one of the Bobcats' next plays were rushes which saw
Nate Tromblee (Lincoln) having a big run of 19 yards in the middle of the drive and then Tromblee finished it off with a three-yard touchdown with 1:48 left in the first quarter. The PAT was no good and PSC led 20-0.
The teams traded a couple of possessions before Peru State fashioned a four-play drive to gain another score. Shepard found
Ryan Twehous (Central City) for a 41-yard first down pass which put the ball on Trinity's 16-yard line. Ludlow followed with ten yards and another first down moving the ball to the Lions' five-yard line. Two more rushes by Ludlow allowed to him to find the end zone for his third touchdown of the first half. The PAT failed, but PSC led 26-0 with 7:10 left in the first half.
The Lions were able to score in the first half with just a few seconds remaining in the second quarter on a 25-yard touchdown pass. Trinity's PAT was good and the first half ended with the Bobcats on top 26-7.
Second Half Action
After stopping the Lions' on their first possession of the second half, when the Bobcats got the ball, following a short run by Ludlow, Shepard followed with a quarterback keeper for a 16-yard touchdown.
Greg Conry's
(Harlan, Iowa) PAT was good and PSC was up 33-7.
The teams traded a couple of possessions before Trinity found themselves at their own four-yard line after an excellent punt by
Jacob Grobe (Oakland, Iowa). The Lions had some questionable play-calling as on fourth down and nine they attempted to pass which was broken up by
JD Faxon (Odell) giving the 'Cats the ball on the Lions' five-yard line. On Ludlow's third rush, Ludlow found the end zone and with Conry's PAT, the Bobcats now led 40-7.
The Lions got a good 35-yard kickoff return and had one of their better starting field positions of the game as they started their next drive on their own 42-yard line. Following a five-yard gain on first down, the Lions' pass was successful but
Zach Lempka (Sterling) forced a fumble, which was recovered by
Adrian Lawson (Lincoln) at the 41-yard line, and Lawson headed for the end zone for the Bobcats' final score of the game. Conry's third PAT of the game made it PSC 47-7 with 1:02 left in the third quarter.
The Lions did manage to put together two scoring drives against the Bobcat reserves, but PSC prevailed 47-21, winning their third game of the year.
Team Statistics
Trinity actually had more first downs than the Bobcats 21-19. Peru State gained 342 yards on the ground on 52 carries while the Lions managed 145 yards on 42 attempts. Trinity had 179 passing yards going 19 of 40 that included one Bobcat interception. PSC was three of eight passing for 66 yards. Total yardage was in favor of the Bobcats 408 to 324.
Individual Statistics
Ludlow finished the game with 140 yards on 22 carries, good for 6.4 yards per carry, and had four touchdowns.
Tyler Audsley (Prescott Valley, Ariz.) added 59 yards on nine carries while Tromblee finished with 46 yards on six carries and one touchdown.
Shepard was three of seven passing for 66 yards and added 24 yards on the ground.
Twehous, Steffen, and Tromblee each had one reception with Twehous leading the team with 41 yards.
Grobe had four punts averaging 42 yards per punt with one touchback and two within the Lions' 20-yard line.
Defensively, the Bobcats were led by
Preston Bruss (Bennet) who finished with 12 tackles – four solo, one-half a sack for two yards, one and one-half tackles for a loss of six yards, and had one pass break up.
Curtis Larsen (Plattsmouth) finished the game with ten total tackles – three solo. Larsen also had a one-half sack for a loss of one and one-half yards and was credited for one pass break up.
Jacob Kelley (Beggs, Okla.) had nine total tackles – two solo and had one tackle for a loss of three yards.
Ryan McClarty (Omaha) added seven tackles – one solo while
Tony Traynor (Valley) had six tackles – two solo.
Cody Sullivan (Firth), Tim Oehring (Lincoln), Maurice Berry (Long Beach, Calif.), Chase Bloomquist (Wausa), and
Cody Piotrowski (Mihawka, Ind.) each finished with five tackles. Oehring had one and one-half tackles for a loss of 12 yards and added two tackles for losses of 13.5. Berry had two tackles for losses of 14 yards.
Campbell finished with four total tackles – three solo, had one tackle for a loss of three yards, had one interception – nearly had two more, had two pass break ups, and blocked two punts.
TRINITY BIBLE BOX SCORE
Individual Single Season Stats Update
With four touchdowns rushing on the day, Ludlow moved up to second in the single season top ten performances with 14 on the year. Ludlow trails only Bobcat Hall of Famer Alvin Holder, who finished the 1980 season with 17.
Player of the Game Comments
For his very busy day, Campbell was named the KNCY Player of the Game. When asked about how this game compared to last year's game, Campbell said, “Even though I did not get to play as I had a separated shoulder, we obviously had overestimated ourselves last year. So, this year, we worked all week preparing for their offense.” When discussing his near interceptions, Campbell added, “I was not sure where the receiver was at as we were in Cover 4 and ended up getting the ball just out of bounds.” On his interception, Campbell noted, “I read the quarterback and made the pick in the end zone. When I looked out and realized I would not get too far, I just took a knee.”
The announcers also applauded Campbell for his two blocked punts. In conclusion, when asked about how he got to Peru State from California, Campbell stated, “I went to a small high school and found a guy who helped me out in terms of the recruiting process. My dad and I toured a number of schools and I ended up here. The biggest change is that there are no mountains and then all of the humidity was a big change as I live in San Diego County.”
Coach Schneider Comments
Bobcat head coach
Steve Schneider was pleased with the win and in particular, how the Bobcats played in the first half. Schneider said, “Particularly in the first half, our offense and defense pretty much followed the game plan – they executed the game plan to a T. The second half was probably with less intensity but we got the job done. We will have to fix some things before playing Evangel.”
Upcoming Game
Peru State will be on the road next Saturday, Oct. 6, when they travel to Springfield, Mo., to take on Heart of America Athletic Conference (HAAC) foe, Evangel University, at 1:30 p.m.
Evangel is 3-1 in the HAAC and is coming off a win over Graceland 35-14 on Saturday. Overall, the Crusaders are 4-2. Evangel has also had HAAC wins over Culver-Stockton and an upset win over Benedictine. Following their win over Benedictine, the Crusaders were receiving votes in the NAIA Football Top 25 poll.
