An offensive attack of 20 unanswered points during the third quarter was too much for the Butler football team on Saturday, as the Bulldogs fell to Indiana State 48-34 at Memorial Stadium in Terre Haute.

The outburst by the Sycamores (1-1) thwarted Butler’s hopes of bringing home a win in the first meeting between the two squads in 37 years.

Indiana State found the end zone early, scoring a touchdown within the first two minutes in the game.

The Bulldogs (1-1) responded when senior wide receiver Jeff Larsen scored on a 19-yard pass from freshman running back Brandon Grubbe, tying the game 7-7.

In the second quarter, Butler grabbed the lead with a 30-yard field goal by senior kicker David Lang. Lang scored 10 points in the Bulldogs’ loss and was named Pioneer Football League Player of the Week.

“They expected to push us over, and we were not going to roll over just because they are a big school,” Butler sophomore cornerback Kevin Cook said. “We kind of went in there with a chip on our shoulder.”
The Sycamores soon took back the lead with a 92-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by sophomore wide receiver Leonard Riston.

The Bulldogs were not behind for long though, thanks to a 4-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Andrew Huck to senior wide receiver Jordan Koopman.

Photo by Rachel Senn

The Sycamores outscored the Bulldogs 7-3 in the final two minutes of the first half.

“We went toe-to-toe with them and competed,” Butler head coach Jeff Voris said.  “It should give us the confidence that we can play with anyone if we play together, play as a team and trust each other.”

Indiana State came out strong in the second half with two touchdowns in less than six minutes. The Sycamores posted 20 points in the third quarter while the Bulldogs went scoreless.

“We came out a bit sluggish after the half and Indiana State took advantage of that,” Cook said.
Butler fought back with two touchdown passes by Huck in the fourth quarter, but Indiana State’s offensive onslaught in the third quarter proved to be too much.

The Bulldogs finished with 429 offensive yards, while the Sycamores had 456.

Junior linebacker Ridley led Butler defensively with 12 tackles. Ridley also forced a fumble in the game.

“We learn more from a loss than a win,” freshman cornerback Jimmy Schwabe said. “As a resilient team, we are going to bounce back and learn from our mistakes so we can get a win.”

The Bulldogs will hit the road again to take on Taylor Saturday, Sept. 17 at 1 p.m.

Butler beat the Trojans (2-0) last season 28-20.

Photo by Maria Porter

The Butler football team opened its season in record-breaking fashion Saturday en route to beating Albion 31-17.

Senior quarterback Andrew Huck etched his name in Butler lore, completing his first 19 passing attempts.

Dwayne Ewing (2001) and Matt Kobli (2008) shared the old record for consecutive completions with 12. Kobli also set his mark against Albion.

“The record is cool to have,” Huck said, “But I couldn’t get that done without good line protection and my guys outside making plays. It definitely wasn’t a one-man show out there.”

Huck led the Bulldogs to a 31-3 halftime lead by throwing for 212 yards and three touchdowns, including a 19-yard strike to senior receiver Zach Watkins to end the second quarter. Huck finished with 235 passing yards.

Butler’s 273 first-half yards more than doubled Albion’s 116.

The Bulldogs’ offensive onslaught was put on ice in the second half, with Albion holding Butler scoreless on 45 yards of offense.

“We didn’t show the mental toughness necessary to come out of halftime and play like it’s 0-0,” Butler head coach Jeff Voris said. “You’re going to have hiccups, but I was proud of our effort and the way we played today.”

Behind a stellar performance by junior running back Clinton Orr, Albion mounted a second-half comeback, cutting its deficit to 31-17 with about 12 minutes to play in the fourth quarter.

Orr, who finished second in Division III for all-purpose yards last season, rushed for 39 of his 85 yards in the second half, including a third-quarter touchdown run from the goal line.

“He [Orr] is a good football player,” Voris said. “The only way you defend a guy like that is to get 11 guys in the right spot and fit in the right place. We did that pretty consistently.”

Sophomore running back Trae Heeter helped the Bulldogs stave off Albion’s comeback attempt and seal the victory.

Butler handed off to Heeter four times on its final possession to run the clock out on the Britons’ chances.

The Bulldogs will look to continue their success Saturday as they travel to Terre Haute to play the Indiana State Sycamores at Memorial Stadium.

Butler’s defense will be put to the test against the Sycamores. Indiana State amassed 351 points and found the end zone 48 times last season, both school records.

In order to overcome the Sycamores, Huck and the Bulldogs will need to stay focused on the high goals they have set for themselves.

“Our expectations are to return to the ’09 stature, win some games and eventually win a championship,” Huck said.